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RALEIGH - Jason Karmanos first skated when he was 3 years old.
His play as a teenager landed him a spot on the Harvard University hockey team, and he ultimately signed a contract to compete in the minor leagues.
But when an injury left Karmanos blind in his right eye at the age of 22, it ended his hopes of playing in the National Hockey League.
He walked away from the game.
Karmanos went to Boston to work with the investment bank Robertson Stephens and Co. - a show of independence from his software tycoon father, Pete Karmanos Jr.
"I had always been the sponsor's kid," Karmanos says of his days in Youth Hockey. "I hadn't had a real job. I knew I could learn a lot."
Ultimately hockey and family ties brought him back. Karmanos now is in his fifth season as vice president and assistant general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, the NHL team in which his father holds a majority ownership.
The younger Karmanos,' work with the franchise until now has revolved around hockey operations - from negotiating contracts for minor league players to working with scouts.
But his imprint on the NHL team is slowly growing. Karmanos is the likely successor to Jim Cain, the team president-who is departing (Story, page 1).
For the past year, Karmanos has been at the table for weekly executive...