Mike Butters on Curadeau being sent down

"We had some guys come down, and he kind of got bumped out of the spot here," Butters said. "He played very well. He got off to a good start and showed some flashes of being an AHL player. He has to work on some things in his everyday details of the game and that will bring him back. Half the reason we called him up was because he got off to a good start there and he deserved it, and the other half was to see if he could play at this level. He showed he could skate at this level, he's a good kid and he works hard."

"He was very positive about this when I met with him," Butters said. "He wanted to know what he needed to do better and he wants to get stronger and better. We could be an injury or two from bringing him back."

Curadeau said he's upbeat about coming back to the Komets and is ready to show what he learned in the AHL.

"It was really good to have that talk with Mike and see that he has plans long-term for me," Curadeau said. "Sometimes in the AHL, I think you have to be in the right place at the right moment, and I don't think that was the right place at the right moment because they have a really, really good team right now. Their record doesn't show the kind of team they have right now.

"I'm very encouraged. Those guys have a lot of NHL experience, and I worked out and talked with them every day. I learned so much stuff. It was better to come back at this point and I'm happy to be back. I hope I can make a difference with the team right away. I'm not disappointed to be back in Fort Wayne because I need to play."