Following their regular season home finale, the Checkers have released forwards Derek Arnold and Ryan Rashid from their PTOs.
Arnold suited up for five games with the Checkers and came away with a goal and an assist, both AHL firsts. The rookie was called upon to fill in on a depleted Charlotte forward corps, even centering the top line in Saturday’s big matchup with Milwaukee. The 26-year-old Arnold will now return to the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs as they begin the Kelly Cup playoffs.
Rashid was brought on Sunday morning as insurance in case Brendan Woods wasn’t able to get to Charlotte from Florida, where he played with the Hurricanes Saturday night, in time for puck drop. Woods ended up making it, so Rashid served as a healthy extra in the Checkers’ 4-2 loss to Milwaukee. The second-year pro's ECHL team, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, saw their season end on Saturday.
The Checkers have a few days to regroup before heading to Cleveland for their two most important games of the season. As it stands they have 13 healthy options at forward, as well as two injured players – Andrew Miller and Valentin Zykov – who have been skating with the team in an effort to return to action. In addition, Derek Ryan and Phil Di Giuseppe, both of whom are in Carolina after suffering injuries, are eligible to return to Charlotte should they recover from their ailments.
