April 10, 2012 1:48 PM
Fresh off a collegiate career that was about as successful as one could hope for, Brian Dumoulin is ready to begin his next step with the Checkers.
Dumoulin, a 20-year-old defenseman who last week won his second NCAA national championship in three seasons with Boston College, signed an entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. With the Canes’ season over, Dumoulin will report to Charlotte on an amateur tryout basis for the remainder of the regular season and, potentially, the playoffs.
 It’s not yet clear whose spot he would take in the lineup when he joins the team for Friday’s game in Peoria (he will not make it for Tuesday’s game in Rockford), but it does seem clear that he will play immediately.
“Ideally Charlotte gets in the playoffs with Dumoulin playing and they have a run in the playoffs for him to get that experience,” Hurricanes General Manager Jim Rutherford told the media in Raleigh on Monday. “Even as good a player as he’s been in college, it’s still a big jump, especially for a defenseman.”
Dumoulin will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Justin Faulk, who debuted with the Checkers after winning a national championship of his own at the University of Minnesota-Duluth before going on to be a key contributor with Carolina and one of the NHL’s top rookies the very next season. Should Dumoulin not contend for a full-time job at the Hurricanes’ training camp next season, he would play an important role with Charlotte.
By signing with Carolina, Dumoulin, the team’s second-round pick (51st overall) in 2009, decided to forego his senior season at Boston College. He does so with a list of individual accomplishments to go with his two national titles, including his status as a finalist for this year’s Hobey Baker award as one of the best players in all of college hockey and a second straight season of first-team All-America honors.
“Brian is a big, puck-moving defenseman who achieved at a high level throughout his time at Boston College,” Hurricanes Director of Hockey Operations Ron Francis said in a team release. “His success there speaks for itself, and it is important for his continued development that he now begins his professional career.”
Having just completed his amateur career, Dumoulin, who played alongside Checkers goalie John Muse for two seasons in college, is able to play for Charlotte despite not being on the team’s Clear Day roster. He finished his time at Boston College with 83 points (11g, 72a) and a plus-90 rating in 123 games. |
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