Murphy never had to wait long to hear his name called on draft day. He was selected at No. 3 by Kitchener in the 2009 Ontario Hockey League Draft and No. 12 by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2011 NHL Draft. What each team received was a speedy, offensive-oriented defenseman who can run the power play.

At 16, Murphy led OHL rookie defensemen in scoring with 39 points (six goals) in 62 games. He also had five goals and 17 points in 20 playoff games.

Murphy had his breakout season in 2010-11, with 26 goals and 79 points to finish second behind Windsor's Ryan Ellis in scoring by defensemen.

Murphy spent two more seasons with Kitchener before making his NHL debut with the Hurricanes in a 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 21, 2013. Murphy recorded his first NHL point (an assist) during the second game of the 2013-14 season, a 2-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers, and had two more assists over the next three games before scoring his first NHL goal during a 3-2 Hurricanes win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 17, 2013.

A native of Aurora, Ontario, Murphy led Team Canada in scoring and was named the tournament's top defenseman at the 2011 World Under-18 Championship in Germany after getting 13 points (four goals) in seven games. He scored three points (one goal) in six games for Canada at the 2013 World Junior Championship.