Carolina Hurricanes today announced that the team has assigned defenseman Justin Faulk to the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Faulk, 19, made his NHL debut with the Hurricanes in the team’s season opener on Oct. 7 against Tampa Bay. The South St. Paul, MN, native has played in three of the Hurricanes’ six games this season, averaging 18:59 of ice time per game. Faulk (6’0”, 205 lbs.) is in his first full professional season after winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship with the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in 2010-11. The Hurricanes drafted Faulk in the second round, 37th overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

The Carolina Hurricanes will continue their four-game road swing on Friday at St. Louis (8 p.m. ET, FOX Sports Carolinas HD, Hurricanes Radio Network) in the first game of a back-to-back set that wraps up on Saturday at Winnipeg. The Hurricanes will return to the RBC Center on Tuesday, Oct. 25, to face the Ottawa Senators. For information on 2011-12 Carolina Hurricanes ticket packages, please visit www.CarolinaHurricanes.com, or call 1-866-NHL-CANES.