Paul Branecky

The Hurricanes’ defensive picture continues to get clearer, which is nothing but good news for the Checkers.

On Wednesday morning, the Checkers’ parent club assigned the 19-year-old rookie blueliner to Charlotte, where he is expected to suit up for the team’s three-games-in-three-days set beginning Friday. Faulk made his NHL debut with the Canes this season, skating in the team’s first three games before sitting out the next three as a healthy scratch.

With the Checkers, Faulk (6-foot-0, 205 pounds) immediately becomes one of the team’s top defensemen. He should play big minutes in all situations, which was the role coach Jeff Daniels had envisioned for him all along before the player’s eye-opening training camp that allowed him to stay for the start of the NHL campaign.

The University of Minnesota-Duluth product, who won an NCAA championship in his only collegiate season, made his professional debut during the Checkers’ spring run to the Eastern Conference Final, recording two assists in the 13 games. A second-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2010 (37th overall), Faulk also has international experience, having represented Team USA at the 2011 World Junior Championship.

The move leaves the Checkers with eight healthy defensemen. Should Faulk stay beyond this weekend's games (Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice indicated that he could be back in Raleigh sooner rather than later), Ryan Donald, who has been a healthy scratch for the team’s first four games, would become a candidate for an assignment to Florida (ECHL).

Either way, Daniels will have to make another lineup decision for this weekend to accommodate Faulk’s arrival.