This summer, we profiled two of Carolina’s brightest young blueline prospects -- Roland McKeown and Haydn Fleury -- and their quest to make the Hurricanes this season.
Well, both their chances just increased a bit.
Ryan Murphy, who’s appeared in over 120 games for the ‘Canes over the last three years, has suffered a lower-body injury and will miss the next 3-4 weeks, per the News & Observer.
The 12th overall pick in 2011, Murphy has dealt with a number of health issues since making his NHL debut, which has resulted in him never playing more than 48 games in a single season. While the ‘Canes aren’t writing him off or anything, it will be interesting to see what happens with him moving forward.
Do remember that Murphy was one of the highest picks from a previous regime -- Jim Rutherford was the GM at the time, and Paul Maurice was the coach.
So, back to the present.
Here’s what the ‘Canes lined up on defense ahead of tonight’s game versus Washington:
#Canes defensive pairs:
— Michael Smith (@MichaelSmithNC) October 7, 2016
Slavin-Faulk
Hainsey-Pesce
Hanifin-McKeown
That’s not far off what the opening-night lineup could resemble, with Fleury being the No. 7 guy. That said, another prospect -- Trevor Carrick, a fourth-round pick in 2012 -- could also be in the mix, as he’s still on the active roster.