Carolina Hurricanes‘ 1st round pick in the 2011 draft (#12 overall) defenseman Ryan Murphy(7) has made the at least 2.5 hour commute between Raleigh and minor league affiliate Charlotte Checkers so many times in his short 2-year pro career that he must be feeling like a bit of a yo-yo.
The not so big 5’11” 185 lbs. blue liner definitely has shown an ability to put up points on the scoreboard.
He was virtually a point per game performer in 4 years of OHL with Kitchener Rangers and his 17 assists in 22 AHL games nears his 19 helper mark set last season.
That is unless he stays rooted with the parent club, where he has 5 assists in 17 NHL games, only slightly off the 2 goals and 10 assists in 48 contests he put up as a rookie.
The 21-year old is signed through 2016 on a three-year entry level deal and knows he has to work his tail off to stay put.
He was recently sent back down to the farm team so he could appear in the All-Star Game.
He helped the Western Conference to a 14-12 victory with 3 assists and a +5 rating and then immediately was recalled.