RALEIGH, N.C. - Carolina Hurricanes president and general manager Jim Rutherford announced today that the team has assigned forward Jiri Tlusty to the Checkers for a conditioning stint.

Tlusty, 22, underwent surgery in late April after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) during the 2010 AHL playoffs. The Slany, Czech Republic, native played in one of Carolina’s five 2010 North American preseason games during training camp, as well as the team’s 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Challenge game against SKA St. Petersburg in Russia.

Tlusty, a veteran of 92 NHL games, can spend as long as two weeks with the Checkers on his conditioning stint before rejoining the Hurricanes.

The Checkers’ home opener is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 15 at Time Warner Cable Arena. Season tickets for the inaugural 2010-11 AHL season are now on sale and season ticket packages start as low as $10 per game. Ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com.

Notes: Forward Chris Terry has points (1g, 2a) in all three of the Checkers’ games thus far…Terry shares the team points lead with Jon Matsumoto (2g, 1a) and Jacob Micflikier (2g, 1a)…Jerome Samson has a two-game goal streak (2g) and leads the team with 19 shots in three games.