- Cam Ward is moving from goalie scout to assistant goalie development coach with the Hurricanes
- Dustin Tokarski joins Carolina as a goalie scout, and equipment manager Jorge Alves is the club’s EBUG again
- Read below for every staff move the Hurricanes announced for 2026-27
Cam Ward is getting a bigger job in Raleigh.
The Hurricanes announced a batch of staff promotions and additions on Friday, and the goalie who backstopped the 2006 Stanley Cup run is the headliner. Ward shifts from goalie scout to assistant goalie development coach, with his focus on the goaltending prospects Carolina loans to its ECHL affiliate in Greensboro.
Ward won that Cup as a 22-year-old rookie and walked off with the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP. He spent 13 seasons in Carolina and left as the franchise leader in wins and shutouts.
Dustin Tokarski is another new name in the goalie department. The netminder who suited up for Carolina in 2024-25 has joined as a goalie scout, helping the amateur and pro groups evaluate draft picks, trade targets and free agents in net.
Then there is Jorge Alves. The head equipment manager will again handle emergency backup goalie duties for 2026-27, a job that already got him the strangest line in the NHL record book.
Alves signed a pro tryout on New Year’s Eve in 2016 after Eddie Lack got sick, then dressed as the backup behind starter Cam Ward.
He got on the ice for the final 7.6 seconds of a 3-1 loss in Tampa, still the shortest appearance by any player in league history. Watch the seconds that made him a goaltender of record:
Alves talked afterward about the moment he heard his name called.
“It’s unbelievable. I was actually heading back down the tunnel when I heard coach call my name. I couldn’t believe it.”
The equipment manager kept doing his day job, too. He painted the mask he wore that night himself, and he sharpened skates on the bench while the game was going on:
The rest of the release covers the training room, the AHL bench and the front office.
- Donnie Fuller takes over as head athletic trainer after Doug Bennett stepped down following 16 years with the club
- Yuji Katsuta joins as an assistant athletic trainer and massage therapist
- RJ Enga is an assistant coach with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, with Gehrig Sarosy coming in as video coach
- Mike Sundheim adds oversight of the Hurricanes Hockey Network to his communications role
- Zach Ellenthal moves from part-time consultant to full-time pro scout
Ward’s new job starts in Greensboro, where the Gargoyles will house the goalies the defending champions are betting on next.
