RALEIGH, N.C. – Just a few days after Christmas, forward Zach Boychuk will get another chance to play with the Carolina Hurricanes.
He’ll also get to show Carolina fans in Raleigh what he’s been up to with the team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate club, the Charlotte Checkers, since they last saw him.
According to a tweet that Boychuk put out on Thursday for all to see the night before the team officially announced his recall, apparently he had known since Christmas Eve that he would appear with the Hurricanes as they prepared to face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.
Boychuk got his only and previous recall to Raleigh back on Dec. 6, packing his bag that morning, and filling in wherever Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller needed him to play in a 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks.
He did just that and recorded an assist, his lone NHL point of the year, in one NHL game played, and in just under eight minutes played – 7:53 to be exact.
After the game, Boychuk hopped back in his car and returned to Charlotte and picked up his scoring pace where left it as he tallied eight points (5g, 3a) in his next seven games.
Currently sitting atop Charlotte’s scoring list with 27 points (14g, 13a) in 29 games which includes 10 power play goals, five of which he’s scored in December, it seems that the 24-year old, sixth-year pro has justifiably earned another chance to play with Carolina.
As the Hurricanes (14-15-8) try to generate more goals, it makes sense that they infuse hot hands like the ones Boychuk currently holds.
In addition to rewarding Boychuk for his efforts leading a struggling Checkers team (12-16-0-1), it can only motivate a few more Hurricanes regulars who have strayed away from the offensive fire to jump back in to fuel and stoke it more.
Currently sitting only one spot above last place in the Metropolitan Division, the Hurricanes will need to find pours of gasoline from anywhere and everywhere they can find them to increase the small sparks of offense they currently have burning.