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‘Canes drop Torres from PTO, send first-rounders Bean and Gauthier to junior

Raffi Torres

San Jose Sharks’ Raffi Torres shouts after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

AP

Raffi Torres’ time as a Hurricane is over.

On Thursday, Carolina announced that the veteran forward has been released from his training camp tryout, after appearing in a handful of preseason games.

Torres, 34, did look as though he sufficiently recovered from a knee injury that’s cost him most of the last three seasons. Those knee problems, along with various suspensions, have limited him to just five regular season games since ’13-14.

But even with those problems solved, Torres didn’t show enough to stick with a Carolina club that’s got plenty of youth -- and speed -- at the forward position.

And speaking of youth, Carolina’s first two picks at this year’s draft -- defenseman Jake Bean (13th overall) and forward Julien Gauthier (21st) -- have been sent back to their junior teams in WHL Calgary and QMJHL Val d’Or.

Bean, 18, was the third defenseman off the board at the June draft, behind Vancouver’s Olli Juolevi and Montreal’s Mikhail Sergachev. Gauthier, also 18, was one of the most physically imposing prospects taken this year -- he stands 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, and comes from a lineage of bodybuilders (both his dad and grandfather competed).

In addition to Bean and Gauthier, other touted prospects were sent packing from ‘Canes camp today as well. They include Aleksi Saarela (acquired in the Eric Staal-to-New York trade) and Valentin Zykov (acquired in the Kris Versteeg-to-L.A. trade).