Team USA could use Justin Faulk at the upcoming World Junior Championships tournament. The current state of the Carolina Hurricanes makes him needed more in Raleigh than in Edmonton.

Even though Washington was preparing for a playoff run of its own, and experiencing multiple injuries on the blue line, the team released Carlson to play at the World Junior tournament in Saskatchewan. Carlson ended up winning gold for Team USA with his overtime goal against Canada.

This year, despite starving for wins, the Anaheim Ducks released right wing Devante Smith-Pelly to play for Team Canada in in the tournament, which begins Dec. 26. Ducks general manager Bob Murray said in a statement that the tournament would be more beneficial to his development than remaining with a losing Anaheim team. "This season wasn't going too great up there, and for a first-year guy, they didn't want me to be around the negativity," Smith-Pelly elaborated to the Toronto Sun. Tampa Bay Lightning rookie Brett Connolly was also released by his team to play for Canada.

With the precedent set by Carlson, Smith-Pelly, and Connolly, hopes were high when the Carolina Hurricanes' Justin Faulk was selected to Team USA's preliminary roster for the 2012 tournament in Alberta. The Hurricanes' season is not going much better than the Ducks', but with Faulk becoming an increasingly integral component of Carolina's roster, his tournament appearance was becoming less of a sure thing. Faulk said that he was fine with whatever the Hurricanes decided.

"I will never, ever be disappointed to play for USA Hockey. I've played for USA Hockey the last three years of my life and played on the U.S. team for two years. If I get a chance to wear the jersey it's obviously a thrill for me," Faulk told the Raleigh News & Observer last week. "At the same time it's amazing to be in (the NHL). You never want to do anything that might cost you a spot on the team or anything. That's why I'm leaving it up to them to make that decision."

Faulk didn't have to worry so much about his place with the Hurricanes. The team announced Monday he will not be made available to Team USA.

"Justin has already become an integral part of our team at a very young age," Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said in a statement. "We believe it is in the best interest of our organization and his development for him to remain with the Carolina Hurricanes this year."

"As much as we would like him to participate in the (tournament), he is playing as a top-four defenseman with our club at this time," Rutherford told NHL.com last week.

At 10-19-6, the Hurricanes might have been able to afford sending Faulk to the tournament, but some key injuries have left the team scrambling for players to fill the holes in the roster. Faulk remaining with the Hurricanes is not a surprise in light of the concussion to defenseman Joni Pitkanen in particular that has him sidelined indefinitely.

In Pitkanen's absence, Faulk has had to pick up the slack, averaging nearly 22 minutes a game, more than one minute above second-year defenseman Jamie McBain and veteran Tim Gleason. The Hurricanes just got Jay Harrison, Faulk's usual blueline partner, back from a long concussion-related absence on Sunday.

With so many men out of the lineup, the rookie Faulk had to adapt to the NHL very quickly. Faulk started by scoring his first NHL goal Dec. 9 in a loss to the Winnipeg Jets, and now spends quality time on the Hurricanes' first power-play unit, manning the point with Jaroslav Spacek.

The Hurricanes clearly need Faulk to weather this season's storm, but the teenager also needs to spend this time of transition with his NHL team. The team is still struggling to put together wins under Kirk Muller; any progress that Faulk has made under Muller could be halted by spending several weeks away from the NHL.

"Some of the young kids, it's a process of learning. That's what we're doing here," Muller told the Globe and Mail of the positive changes he's seen in Faulk and the team. "Every day we've got to learn and take something from it."

Notes

Just five games after being struck in the eye with an errant puck, Martin St. Louis returned to the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup Wednesday night against San Jose on Wednesday sporting a full metal cage on his helmet. Coach Guy Boucher hadn't expected St. Louis to be back until after Christmas, but St. Louis surprised the team by saying he was ready to play in the first of a two-game road trip. St. Louis said doctors have told him to wear the cage for a month, after which he has strongly considered wearing a visor on a regular basis. St. Louis scored a goal in the Lightning's 7-2 loss to the Sharks. ... Washington Capitals C Jay Beagle has been cleared for contact after suffering a concussion on Oct. 13. Beagle is not quite ready yet for game action, but the news is encouraging. Beagle says there is no specific timeline for his return. "If I get hit and my head doesn't feel right then we've got to step back again," Beagle told reporters. "So I'm not looking at any timeline or anything; I'm just taking it day by day." ... Capitals RW Mike Knuble played in his 1,000th career game Tuesday and was rewarded with a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators. "With (Knuble's) big night, they were ready to go and they wanted to win the game for him," coach Dale Hunter told media. ... The Winnipeg Jets slid back into third place in the Southeast Division this week, but seem to have settled into a good pace, going 6-3-1 in their last 10 games prior to Thursday. Coach Claude Noel is pleased with the team's comfort as a unit. "The normal stage we're in now is more that people have settled in to play their roles, settled down and the team game is settled down," Noel told reporters. "It's like it's a comfort level and your game's a lot more steady, not so erratic. Just watch the players how they react, respond on the ice. That's how I know." ... While the Florida Panthers are still flying high at the top of the Southeast standings, they're without several key players, hit by a new rash of injuries this week. Sean Bergenheim (groin), Jack Skille (shoulder), Marco Sturm, and Mikael Samuelsson are on the shelf, joining Marcel Goc (concussion) and Scottie Upshall (abdominal) on the list of Florida's wounded. On Thursday, the Panthers will have lost 122 man games this season to injury.

Photos by Getty Images

Set as favorite

Bookmark

Email this

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/hide comments

Write comment

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment