Sports - Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Drayson Bowman to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The deal, announced Wednesday, will pay the 19-year-old $550,000 in the first year, $600,000 in the second and $650,000 in the third at the NHL level. It will pay $65,000 at the minor-league level for all three seasons, while Bowman will also get a signing bonus of $262,500.

Carolina drafted Bowman in the third round of the 2007 draft. He would be eligible to return to his junior hockey team if he doesn't make the Hurricanes' roster following training camp, but assistant general manager Ron Francis said Bowman could compete for a spot in Raleigh this fall.