At a time in last season, the Hurricanes were struggling to muster up any kind of good consistent effort. As they were "circling the drain", forwards and defenseman alike were dropping like flies due to either injury or the "Bucket in front of you - while you're stuck on the toilet - and losing 12 lbs. for 3 days" flu that struck the whole team.
One bright spot among that rather crap-tacular period was the call-up of Albany River Rat and St. Cloud State alum, Casey Borer. There was something about him that Caniac Nation immediately approved of. I myself, was just happy to see team management give someone else a shot. The D-corps seemed either tired, complacent or too old if they weren't on the shelf due to injury/flu.
In eleven games on the Carolina bench, Borer registered 2 assists and 1 goal (I won't forget seeing Roddy Brind'amour go down and snatch the puck up for Casey's souvenir). He may have been a -3, but his 6 goal, 13 assist and +19 in 61 Albany games seem to suggest he's defensively sound enough to cover up for any potential flaws in his game.
In March, Casey was playing a game against the Syracuse Crunch when this happened:
"It was the start of the period, and they didn't let the ice freeze," Borer said. "I was carrying the puck up and it got stuck in the water, and I kind of twisted back for it with my torso, and my knees didn't come with me. The guy was already lining up to hit me, and I was in a vulnerable position. My knee must have been exposed, and we just got twisted up weird." - Wikipedia
Assuming that he can make a full recovery, I'd be surprised if Borer is not a part of the 3rd line D-pairing for the Canes come October.
Besides, with John Grahame banished signing to play in Russia - who is there on the team for the stalkers? Casey has had at least one fan girl vowing for his love since his college days:
The Daily Target
6 years ago
