Ponomarev (upper body) was placed on season-opening injured reserve Monday.
Ponomarev will almsot certainly be reassigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once he is cleared to return to action. The 22-year-old Russian played in two NHL games last year for the Hurricanes, tallying one goal and one assist while averaging 9:41 of ice time. While he could earn a call-up from time to time, Ponomarev should see the bulk of his time in the minors this year.