Just keep swimming…

My hopes, my dreams, and my winter fashion choices have all been dashed by the latest news from the lockout. The only part of me that’s not weeping is my bank account, but I’m sure I’ll find a way to spend the excess cash anyway. I’m industrious like that.

Anyway, here, have some prattling about some other Charlotte guys.

Riley Nash - Another center! Charlotte has a lot of centers who will be competing for Ye Olde Checking Line Center spot whenever the season finally gets started (“If the season ever gets started,” I whispered, shredding my Staal jersey while crying into my tumbler of whiskey). Nash has been up with the Hurricanes before; he’s 23 now, and has been cooking in Charlotte for the better part of two years. Honestly, he’s nothing to write home about, status as a first rounder aside. The magic “two-way forward” is being thrown around with him, but in Charlotte, Daniels would prefer everyone be a two-way forward. Again, he’s got competition. My money’s on him staying in Charlotte, but he’s a name that’s routinely brought up, and he’s certainly someone to watch while you’re crying into your Americone Dream and trying to keep track of the KHL.

Zach Boychuk - Anyone who follows the Hurricanes should be familiar with this name. Boychuk’s been up and down with the Hurricanes a lot. It’s difficult on a team like last year’s Canes to say how capable he is of making the jump to the big club based on his performance last year, and it’s almost as difficult to make that judgment based on Charlotte’s few games this year. (My, my, I’m cheerful today.) But the bottom line is this: Boychuk’s another C with the potential to be up with the Hurricanes full-time. He could wash out, but he has NHLer potential. He’s not a top six guy, but that never stopped, well, half the league’s forwards.

Jerome Samson - Muller liked his look last year – albeit, again, as a bottom six guy. Samson is a RW who’s capable of playing the 4th line grinder role and maximizing it. He’s reasonably speedy and isn’t too bad at racking up points. Muller will be trying to build a much more stable and consistent bottom six than the Hurricanes had last year; look for Samson to be jockeying to fill one of those roles, assuming you don’t take a swan dive off a cliff from NHL deprivation before then.

Let’s be honest, the real shine in the Hurricanes’ eye is Ryan Murphy, who’s currently up being captain of the Kitchener Rangers. I’ll be expanding poking around the prospects to include non-AHLers soon if this garbage lockout keeps up, along with doing some retrospective stuff. I ain’t got the cash to pay for AHL Live, being a poor student, but I will attempt to keep up with the Checkers as much as possible. For values of “keep up” that equal something other than “photoshopping the logo eating Gary Bettman’s face”, even.