The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled top defense prospect Scott Morrow to the NHL. It’s the first recall of Morrow’s NHL career, though he did play two games with the Hurricanes at the end of last season. To make room for the move, Carolina has assigned defender Riley Stillman to the minor leagues. This is the third time Stillman has been sent to the AHL this week.
Morrow has been red-hot as of late. He has 10 points, 17 penalty minutes, and 22 shots on net over his last eight AHL games. The hot streak has helped Morrow earn the AHL’s title of highest-scoring rookie defenseman with 29 points in 41 games – just two more than San Jose Sharks prospect Luca Cagnoni’s 27 points in 39 games. Carolina has made the move to recognize Morrow’s strong play, and could quickly reward him with his season debut per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. That might require the Hurricanes to run 11 forwards and seven defensemen in their three remaining games before the 4-Nations break. They could be set up nicely to do that with top winger Andrei Svechnikov day-to-day with an upper-body injury, though the Russian winger did return to practice in full on Monday morning.
The Hurricanes can afford to be a bit relaxed in the days before break. They’ve set a 6-2-2 record over their last 10 games and rank second in the Metropolitan Division with a 32-17-4 record and 68 points. This could be a golden chance to see how Morrow holds up to NHL competition, which will be helpful information with both Dmitry Orlov and Brent Burns headed for unrestricted free agency this summer. Morrow’s minor league performances have more than shown his long-term upside, and strong play over the next few days could earn him a longer NHL stay soon.
Morrow and Nikishin will both be in Raleigh next season. They’ll be ready and it will help that they have cheaper salaries.