The Checkers made a pair of moves today to clear up some space on their blue line, releasing Mike Cornell from his PTO and returning Austin Levi to Stockton of the ECHL.
Cornell has been with the team on a PTO since late February, when he was brought on to help fill in after Rasmus Rissanen was injured and Michal Jordan recalled. The 27-year-old recorded five points (1g, 4a) in his 18 games with the Checkers while establishing himself as a tough player who wasn't afraid to mix it up with his opponents, leading to his 76 penalty minutes during the short stint with Charlotte.
The third-year blue liner out of the University of Maine will now return to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, where he has five points (1g, 4a) in 14 games this season. Cornell has also suited up for two other AHL teams this season, Springfield and St. John's, though his stay in Charlotte has been his longest.
For Levi, this marked his third stint this season with the Checkers, where he has accumulated one assist and six penalty minutes in 15 games.
A third-round pick by Carolina in 2010, Levi began his ECHL season in Florida, where he spent the majority of his rookie year in 2013-14. After being recalled by Charlotte in mid-January, Levi was assigned to a different ECHL team, the Stockton Thunder, where he has 14 points (4g, 10a) in 40 games this season. Levi will now return to Stockton as they wrap up their campaign.
After these moves, the Checkers are now left with seven defensemen, including Josh Wesley, who has been practicing with the team but has yet to make his pro debut, and newcomer Roland McKeown, who joined the team this morning for practice after his Kingston team was eliminated from the OHL playoffs. Unless the team adds another defenseman in the meantime, that loss of Cornell and Levi would dictate that one of the two defensemen would make their pro debut this weekend, following in the footsteps of Brett Pesce, who made his last week.
