Drayson Bowman Drayson Bowman ( born March 8 , 1989 ) is an American professional ice hockey center who currently plays for the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League . He was selected 72nd overall by the Hurricanes in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft . During his four - year junior career in the Western Hockey League ( WHL ) , he won a Memorial Cup with the Spokane Chiefs in 2008 and was named a WHL West Second Team All - Star in 2009 . Early life . Born in Grand Rapids , Michigan Bowman and his family moved to Littleton , Colorado , in the early 1990s . His father , Mark Bowman , owns a financial consulting company in Colorado . Bowman attended Deer Creek Middle School in Littleton . A Colorado Avalanche fan , he has mentioned having looked up to Joe Sakic as a player . In 2003 , he and his family moved to Vancouver , British Columbia to better his opportunities in hockey . He attended Vancouver Christian School while playing bantam for the North Vancouver Winter Hawks . Playing career . Junior . Bowman was drafted eighth overall by the Spokane Chiefs in the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft . He debuted in four games with the Chiefs the following season in 2004 – 05 while playing Junior B with the Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League ( KIJHL ) . He recorded 29 goals and 59 points over 47 games with the Dynamiters to be named the Eddie Mountain Division ' s rookie of the year . Bowman joined the Chiefs full - time in 2005 – 06 and notched 17 goals and 34 points over 72 games to be named the team ' s rookie of the year . Bowman entered the following campaign having been ranked the ninth - best WHL prospect in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ( CSB ) ' s preliminary rankings . He was invited to play in the CHL Top Prospects Game and was subsequently listed in the CSB ' s midterm rankings as 44th among North American draft - eligible skaters . Bowman finished the 2006 – 07 season with an improved 24 goals and 43 points in 61 games . Entering the 2007 NHL Entry Draft , he moved up to 36th among North American skaters . Bowman was selected 72nd overall by the Carolina Hurricanes . Upon being drafted , Bowman returned to the Chiefs and recorded 82 points in 66 games , first in team scoring . His 42 goals tied for fourth in the league . Bowman added a team - leading 20 points in 21 playoff games as the Chiefs captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions . The league title earned the Chiefs a berth in the 2008 Memorial Cup in Kitchener , Ontario . Bowman notched a hat trick in the opening game of the tournament , including the game - tying goal late in the third period of a 5 – 4 overtime win over the Belleville Bulls . He went on to score in all four games of the tournament , including game - winners against the Kitchener Rangers in the round - robin and final , as the Chiefs went undefeated to capture the Memorial Cup as Canadian major junior champions . With six goals in four games , Bowman was named to the Memorial Cup All - Star Team . Following his Memorial Cup performance , the Hurricanes signed him to a three - year , US $ 2 . 06 million contract on July 31 , 2008 . Playing in his third season with the Chiefs in 2008 – 09 , Drayson was named an alternate captain to Justin McCrae along with Seth Compton and Jared Spurgeon . He was named WHL and CHL Player of the Week after recording 12 points in three games for the week ending February 1 , 2009 . The next month , he earned his second WHL and CHL Player of the Week distinction with an eight - point effort in two games for the week ending March 15 , 2009 . He finished the season with 47 goals , fourth in the league , and 83 points . He was named to the WHL West Second All - Star Team along with teammate Dustin Tokarski . Bowman and the Chiefs were not , however , able to defend their WHL or CHL titles as they were eliminated in seven games of the second round of the WHL playoffs by the Vancouver Giants . Professional . Upon the completion of Bowman ' s third WHL season , he was called up by the Hurricanes to travel and practice with the team during their 2009 playoff run . The following season , he was assigned to the Hurricanes ' American Hockey League ( AHL ) affiliate , the Albany River Rats . He scored his first professional goal in his AHL debut with Albany on October 3 , 2009 , in a 6 – 3 loss to the Manchester Monarchs . He was recalled from the AHL midway through the season and made his NHL debut on January 16 , 2010 , a 5 – 3 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers . After being sent back down to Albany , he received another call - up on March 24 in light of an injury to forward Tuomo Ruutu . He scored his first and second NHL goals both in the first period of his seventh game with the Hurricanes on April 6 in an 8 – 5 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning . Bowman made the Hurricanes ' roster out of training camp in 2010 – 11 , but was returned to the AHL within a month . With the Hurricanes having changed their minor league affiliate , he joined a new team , the Charlotte Checkers . After recording 30 points ( 12 goals and 18 assists ) over 51 games with the Checkers , he was re - called on March 10 , 2011 . Spending the remainder of the season with the Hurricanes , he finished 2010 – 11 with one assist over 23 games , averaging 10 minutes of ice time , in the NHL . Carolina failed to qualify for the playoffs , coming within three points of the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference . With his NHL season over , the Hurricanes returned him to the AHL , where the Checkers had qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs . Bowman contributed 8 points ( 2 goals and 6 assists ) over 15 games as the Checkers were eliminated in the Conference Finals by the Binghamton Senators . International play . Bowman was named to the United States ' under - 20 team for the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa , Ontario . He was joined on the national team by Spokane Chiefs teammates Tyler Johnson and Mitchell Wahl . Playing against Germany in the first game of preliminaries , he scored twice and was named player of the game . Over six games at the tournament , Bowman totalled three goals and one assist , tying for fifth in team point - scoring . After losing to Slovakia 5 – 3 in the quarterfinal , the United States beat the Czech Republic 3 – 2 in overtime of their placement game to rank fifth in the tournament . Personal life . Drayson ' s younger brother , Collin , is currently playing major junior hockey as a defenceman with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League .