The Carolina Hurricanes announced on Tuesday that the club has called up forward Saku Maenalanen from the Charlotte Checkers. In a corresponding move, the Hurricanes assigned forward Janne Kuokkanen to the Checkers.
Kuokkanen’s most recent stint in Raleigh was plagued by inconsistency and defensive zone mistakes. In turn, his minutes went down and, instead of playing him in a fourth-line role, he has been sent back to Charlotte to get the minutes that a high-upside skill player needs.
Maenalanen skated in his NHL debut on December 7 against the Anaheim Ducks and had 6:49 of ice time.