The Carolina Hurricanes are close to returning another of their injured starters as defenseman K'Andre Miller is looking more and more like he'll be ready to go on Thursday.

The 25-year-old blueliner has missed the Canes' last six games with a lower-body injury, but he's been practicing with the team over the past two days and on Wednesday, he was taking reps back alongside his normal partner, Jalen Chatfield.

"We'll see," Miller said when asked if he feels he'll be ready for Thursday. "Gonna talk with the medical staff and we'll kind of make our decision from there."

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour had been hoping that the defenseman would be ready for Tuesday's game against New York, but has insisted that Miller is very close to returning still.

"We'll find out in the morning," Brind'Amour said on Wednesday when asked about Miller's availability against Minnesota. "It's definitely, like I said the other day, getting closer. I would hope that he'll play tomorrow."

Before the injury, Miller had been off to a great start in Carolina, with two goals, four points, six hits and eight blocks in six games. He was also controlling a 58.14 CF% and 52.48 xGF%, while outscoring opponents 4-3 in his minutes.

"He couldn't have played much better to start," Brind'Amour said on Miller. "I was so impressed with just his range, his skating ability, which fits perfectly. He was kind of doing it all for us there until he went out. It's a big piece we've been missing."

He was logging big minutes for the Hurricanes and getting used in all situations, so it was a tough blow for the team to lose him, especially given the number of injuries that followed his.  

"Obviously you never want to be out of the lineup, but health comes first at the end of the day," Miller said. "Figured I'd just use the couple of games off to try and get my body back where I want it to be."

With Miller (and more) out with injury, the Canes had to rely on quite a few rookies on the backend, but the team has managed to find ways to win despite the inexperience on the blueline.

"They've been doing unbelievable," Miller said on the rookies. "It's been really fun to watch from a different perspective. I think they've done such a great job. Everybody knows with having three or four guys in your lineup that obviously haven't played NHL games is tough on them, but I think they've done a great job of responding to the adversity and we've gotten some really big wins when we've needed them."

While the young guys have done well enough, getting actual veteran NHL players back in the lineup will go a long way for the Hurricanes.

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The Chicago Blackhawks have inserted a lot of good young players into their lineup who have become NHL regulars in the last few seasons. Connor Bedard, Sam Rinzel, Frank Nazar, Alex Vlasic, and Artyom Levshunov are examples of young men who have not had any need to come out of the lineup for an extended period since making it on a full-time basis. 

There is a lot more where that came from. Not every single one of Kyle Davidson’s selections is going to pan out, just based on simple probabilities, but that same math suggests that even more help is on the way based on the volume of talent in the organization. 

There are five prospects, in particular, who seem like players who could be impacting the NHL roster by this time next year. 

Oliver Moore

The Chicago Blackhawks called up Oliver Moore on Monday ahead of their game against the Seattle Kraken. He made his NHL season debut, which was his 10th game played in the league. 

In those 10 games, Moore has four assists. He is still looking for his first NHL goal. All of his skills, especially his speed, are going to allow him to score a lot in this league. By this time next season, he may be a key contributor to all areas of the game. 

Once Jeff Blashill feels comfortable, he is going to use Moore on the penalty kill. He believes that his speed will allow him to be great at it. Not only will he help in keeping the opposition from scoring, but that burst could help him get short-handed chances of his own.

The Rockford IceHogs run a different PK scheme than they do in Chicago, so he wants Moore to have a practice or two doing it before putting him on that assignment. 

Roman Kantserov 

The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Roman Kantserov in the second round, 44th overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft. Now, at age 21, he is one of the most prolific goal scorers in the KHL. 

Playing for the Metallurg Magnitogorsk, he has 14 goals and 10 assists for 24 points in 23 games. It's one thing to be a point per game player that young in the KHL, a league full of veteran pros, and it's another to be scoring goals as often as he does. 

When the Blackhawks are able to bring him to North America, he will have the tools needed to translate that to the ice in the NHL. It won't be long before he's scoring goals in Chicago.

Nick Lardis

On Tuesday, the American Hockey League announced that Rockford IceHogs forward Nick Lardis was the AHL's Rookie of the Month for October. 

Rockford IceHogs Forward Nick Lardis Is Recognized By AHL - Community PostOn Tuesday, the AHL recognized Nick Lardis of the Rockford IceHogs as the Rookie of the Month for October. 

In the 8 October games, Lardis had 4 goals and 8 assists for 12 points. To go from dominating the OHL to producing at a high level in the AHL means that his skills translate to the pro game. Next for him is showing he can play in the NHL.

That transaction will come sooner rather than later. With Oliver Moore already up, you'd think that Lardis is next on the list in terms of forwards on the IceHogs waiting for the call. By this time next year, if all goes well, Lardis will be making an impact in the NHL. 

Sacha Boisvert 

Sacha Boisvert was one of the best freshmen in college hockey, playing for North Dakota in 2025-26. Now, after transferring to Boston University, he is looking to help the team get to yet another Frozen Four. 

Jay Pandolfo's team always seems to get there at BU, and Boisvert is a key to that success. In six games played so far this year, Boisvert has 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 points. 

It's isn't all about offense for Boisvert, though. He is capable of producing at a high level, but he never takes a shift off in the defensive zone. 

Becoming a great two-way bottom-six center is exactly what the Blackhawks need from a player with Boisvert's set of skills. If he becomes even better than that, regardless of his minutes in the NHL, the Blackhawks will be that much better of a team. 

Anton Frondell

The Chicago Blackhawks made Anton Frondell the third overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Since then, he decided to sign with the team but play the 2025-26 season in the Swedish League. 

That has turned out to be a great decision for him as he seems to be improving every day. He could have played in the NHL and fit in, but this is better for his long-term development. 

In 17 games played with Djugardens of the SHL, Frondell has 8 goals and 4 assists for 12 points in 17 games. For the SHL, and for being a teenager, those are impressive numbers. 

Is Frondell going to be a two-way center like his own personal player comp, Aleksander Barkov, or will he fit in more on the wing with the Blackhawks?

That remains to be seen once they get him over to North American hockey on a full-time basis. The tools are there for him to be a high-end player, no matter which route they go. 

It is not likely that all five of these guys, or any player in the system for that matter, will be a superstar in the NHL. What they can become, knowing that potential stars like Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Sam Rinzel, and Artyom Levshunov are already in the lineup, are players who contribute to the overall success of the team in different ways. 

They could be stars like one of those aforementioned players, or they could become impact depth guys like Ryan Greene. You need those types to win Stanley Cups. 

You may notice that all five of the players listed here are forwards. Well, the Blackhawks have a plethora of young defensemen already on the NHL team. Sam Rinzel, Artyom Levshunov, Louis Crevier, Alex Vlasic, and Wyatt Kaiser are already fighting for ice.

There are also Ethan Del Mastro, Nolan Allan, and Kevin Korchinski in the AHL just waiting for their chance. It is unclear who among those waiting will stick around long term, so it's hard to say who will impact the team by this year next year. 

In goal, Spencer Knight is the number one for the foreseeable future. Arvid Soderblom and Drew Commesso are both working on becoming full-time starting goalies, which may take some time to figure out.

Right now, these five forwards listed are the youngest players in the organization who may start impacting the NHL club any time from now through next year. 

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The Calgary Flames (3-9-2) return home after a four-game road trip where they went 1-2-1 to face the Columbus Blue Jackets (7-5-0)

The Blue Jackets, while ranked 29th in even-strength time on ice, are fourth in shots on goal and sixth in goals scored, proving to be a mighty offence.

Their top playing line of Dmitri Voronkov-Sean Monahan-Kirill Marchenko is tied for fourth in the league in scoring the most goals (9) for lines that have played more than 100 minutes of 5v5 hockey. This line is also tied for giving up the least goals (1) for lines in that category.

When it comes to the power play, they are ranked 23rd and they don't often get to go on the man-advantage as their time on the ice in power play situations (50:38) is the second-lowest in the league. On the other hand, Calgary has been on penalty-kill the fourth-longest (83:34) and as we mentioned in our Three Takeaways for the Flames-Flyers game, Calgary has had BOTH its regulation wins in games where it had been short-handed the least without giving up a goal (2:00 vs Rangers, 1:37 vs Flyers). The only other game where the Flames were short-handed for a lower time was against Vegas on Oct. 18 (1:45), but they gave up three power play goals in that nightmare of a game.

On the Flames blue line, the duo of Rasmus Andersson-Kevin Bahl is tied with five other pairs for third in giving up the lowest goals (5) for pairs that have played 125 minutes or more of even-strength hockey

On the Blue Jackets' defence, Columbus has given up the sixth-most shots on goal and the 10th-most high-danger scoring chances.

Their main duo is Zack Werenski-Denton Mateychuk who are tied with four other pairs in conceding the second-lowest goals (4) for pairs that have played at least 125 minutes of even-strength hockey.

The main strength with Columbus lies within net: they are number one in save percentage in even-strength situations. Both of their goalies have a save percentage of above 0.900 after starting in six games each and it's been confirmed that in Wednesday's contest, Jet Greaves will be goaltender for Columbus. He currently carries the lower GAA of the two at 2.68 with a 3-3-0 record.

Dustin Wolf is confirmed in net for Calgary and will be hoping for an encore of the game against the Flyers.

As for the Flames power play, this game might give them the opportunity to try something new as Columbus' penalty-kill is the second-worst in the league.

Bottom Line

This is a tough match-up, but the Flames can come away with a win if they can get a good performance from Wolf and don't commit foolish penalties on the ice. There's also the part about getting past the the top save percentage team in even-strength hockey, but if they do that, they're golden.

The American Hockey League announced Wednesday that former Grand Rapids Griffins forward Alexandre Giroux will be inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame during the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic in Rockford, Illinois. The ceremony, scheduled for February 11, will honor Giroux alongside Chris Bourque, Jim Wiemer, and Wendell Young, cementing his legacy as one of the league’s all-time greats.

🌟THE CLASS OF 2026🌟

Recognized by the AHL Hall of Fame Selection Committee as the latest group of enshrinees are Chris Bourque, Alexandre Giroux, Jim Wiemer and Wendell Young.

🔗: https://t.co/ySr0sBhAmUpic.twitter.com/TeanpP0JSn

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) November 5, 2025

Giroux’s professional journey began in the 2001-02 season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, the team’s inaugural campaign in the AHL and final season as an affiliate of the Ottawa Senators. After a strong rookie season with 27 points in 70 games and a plus-five rating for the West Division champions, Giroux followed Ottawa’s move to a new AHL affiliate, joining the Binghamton Senators. Despite his talent, NHL opportunities were limited.

The AHL announced that former Griffins forward Alexandre Giroux will be inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame during the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic in Rockford, Illinois #GoGRG

DETAILS | 🔗 https://t.co/MGoPxXl2Hlpic.twitter.com/thTsWGe6Pv

— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) November 5, 2025

His fortunes changed in 2003-04 when the Senators traded him to the New York Rangers. He was immediately assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, where he spent the season before earning his first NHL appearance with the Rangers. In 2006, Giroux signed a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals and scored his first NHL goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 16. He later joined the Atlanta Thrashers’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, before returning to the Capitals organization at the 2008 trade deadline.

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12/10/08: BOS @ WSH: Alexandre Giroux, 1st of the season (3rd of career) Assisted by Viktor Kozlov and Tom Poti pic.twitter.com/UdU5C7quqp

— Random NHL Goal a Day (@NHLGoalADay) December 13, 2024

Giroux’s AHL success reached its peak with the Hershey Bears, where he helped lead the team to back-to-back Calder Cup championships in 2009 and 2010. During this period, he achieved feats few in league history can match, including consecutive 50-goal seasons, a 60-goal campaign, a record 15-game goal streak, and league MVP honors in 2008-09. He compiled 139 goals and 255 points over two seasons. Over his 11 AHL seasons, Giroux reached seventh on the all-time goals list with 368, finishing his career with 704 points in 771 games and adding 103 points in 118 playoff contests. His clutch play included a record five career playoff overtime goals.

Happy Alexandre Giroux day to those who celebrate! Technically it was yesterday but it was nearing midnight in Hershey when Giroux scored a legendary goal in Hershey Bears history. pic.twitter.com/oRoWgFQNjg

— Bears Hockey Nation (@HBHNationBlog) June 12, 2023

Although his NHL career was limited to 48 games with the Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Capitals, and Edmonton Oilers, totaling 12 points, Giroux’s professional impact extended overseas. He competed in Russia’s KHL, Switzerland’s Swiss-A league, and France with Grenoble, helping the team win a league title. He concluded his career in Quebec with Thetford Assurancia of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey.

Giroux becomes the fourth former Grand Rapids player to enter the AHL Hall of Fame, joining Michel Picard, Bryan Helmer, and Darren Haydar. From his start in Grand Rapids to his record-setting AHL dominance and international ventures, Alexandre Giroux’s career represents perseverance, skill, and a deep passion for the game, making him a deserving addition to hockey’s Hall of Fame.

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