Carolina Hurricanes: Bill Peters to Coach Canada and a New Prospect Signs

As the Carolina Hurricanes season winds down the news from Raleigh and the rest of the hockey world doesn’t. Here’s what’s going on Around the Storm.

Bill Peters to be named Head Coach of Team Canada

According to various news outlets, and initially reported by Darren Dreger on Twitter, Carolina Hurricanes Coach Bill Peters will be named the Head Coach for Team Canada in the upcoming World Championships in Russia next month.

After being selected by Mike Babcock to be an assistant coach for the World Cup Canadian Team in September, and showing that he can get the most out of a team this season with the Canes, Peters has obviously earned the chance to guide Canada in this IIHF qualifier tournament.

As a former Assistant Coach with the Red Wings under Babcock, as well as a student and teacher of the Babcock system that is working so well in Carolina, this will be a great tune-up for a lot of the Canadian players who will play under both coaches later this year.

READ: Bill Peters is the #1 Reason the Canes will Contend Next Season

Peter’s has coached on the international stage before, but this will be his first men’s team. He was the gold medal winning Canadian coach for the 2008 U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. This is the first coaching or roster announcement related to the World Championship so expect more to follow soon as the NHL season winds down.

Carolina Hurricanes sign prospect Clark Bishop

On Monday Hurricanes General Manager Ron Francis announced that 2014 5th round draft pick Clark Bishop had signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the organization. It’s a two-way deal that pays him between $575,000 and $650,000 on the NHL level, and $65,000 in the minor leagues.

"“Clark has shown improvement in each year of his career with Cape Breton,” said Francis. “He is a strong two-way player and a proven leader who has been part of his team’s leadership group for three of his four junior seasons.”"

Bishop, a 20 year old forward, has played 50 games with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), tallying a career-high 16 goals and 23 assists. He’s been the Screaming Eagles Captain for two seasons, and was an Assistant Captain in his second season with them.

He’s also had success at the international level, winning gold with Team Canada at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and totaling five points in five games for Canada Atlantic at the 2013 U-17 World Hockey Challenge.

The I-85 Corridor is getting a workout from the Canes

The Hurricanes and the Checkers have officially changed their relationship status on Facebook to “Revolving Door”.

As the Canes need bodies up front for every remaining game, and the Checkers are in a serious playoff push, it’s become a daily news item that the teams have exchanged players.

Immediately after the loss to Columbus on Saturday the Canes reassigned Patrick Brown, Brendan Woods and Brody Sutter to the Checkers before their next game.

On Monday Brown was back on the road to Raleigh along with Sergey Tolchinsky, who was impressive in his first stint with the big club just last week. Both will play in Boston tonight.

We’re wondering if these guys are getting the standard mileage allowance for all this travel up I-85, or if there is a special rate outlined in entry-level NHL contracts. Could be a nice bonus for these frequent travelers.

Coach Peters spoke to the media after practice

Here are some of the highlights, quotes and video, courtesy of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Coach Peters’ take on the newest Carolina Hurricane, Clark Bishop: “Honest, hard-working guy. He’s got some grit to him. He’s a guy we see fitting in down the road.”

After missing four games with an upper-body injury, Riley Nash is expected to be back on the roster for the game against the Bruins, according to Peters.

When asked by WRAL’s Mike Maniscalco about the much-improved play of Elias Lindholm since joining Jordan Staal’s line, Coach Peters said, “He’s been better in every area. He’s been a real good player here. We’re going to get a look at him in the middle here. We like him where he’s at on the wing, but we want to find out a little bit in the middle. We moved him there against Columbus, we’ll give him a full game there against Boston and just take it game by game.”

Here’s the full video:

Next: A Roller-Coaster Week for the Hurricanes

The Storm Front Forecast

Tuesday 7:00 pm @ TD Garden against the Boston Bruins

Thursday 7:00 pm @ PNC Arena against the Montreal Canadeins

Saturday 7:00 pm @ BB&T Center against the Florida Panthers