Ryan Murphy Joins Checkers On Conditioning Stint

Details Written by Nicholas Niedzielski Published: November 21, 2016

The Checkers’ blue line received a big boost today as the Carolina Hurricanes assigned Ryan Murphy to Charlotte on a conditioning stint.



The fourth-year defenseman has been a powerhouse in the AHL, totaling 65 points in 82 games with the Checkers over his career and being named an AHL All Star in 2015. Last season, Murphy spent 32 games in Charlotte and racked up 24 points, including a career-high seven goals.



The 12th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Murphy has appeared in 128 games with the Hurricanes, though an early injury has left him with just four games this season.



While there’s no definite limit, conditioning stints tend to be short in nature, often lasting a week or two. For Murphy to be officially assigned to Charlotte, he would have to pass through waivers.



In a corresponding move, the Checkers have assigned defenseman Josh Wesley to the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. The rookie appeared in one game during his most recent stint with the Checkers, going scoreless in the team’s overtime loss to Milwaukee last week. With Florida, Wesley has put up three points (1g, 2a) in four games this season.



The Checkers have also recalled forward Levko Koper from Florida. A first-year pro, Koper is tied for second on the Everblades with five goals and has eight points in 13 ECHL games. The 26-year-old wrapped up a four-year career at the University of Alberta last season, where he totaled 139 points (51g, 88a) in 140 games. Prior to that, Koper put up 226 points in 330 WHL games with Spokane from 2006 to 2011, capturing a Memorial Cup in 2008 alongside current Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters.



Koper is being brought in to fill a depleted forward corps for Charlotte. Andrew Miller exited Friday’s contest in the second period due to injury, missing the rest of that game as well as Saturday’s rematch. With just 12 healthy forwards for Saturday, the Checkers then lost Patrick Dwyer to injury, leaving them to play the rest of the contest a man down.