Thursday, May 10, 2012

The calm before the Storm


The whirlwind of activity and excitement that the NHL season provides in every city ended just over a month ago in Raleigh, N.C.

The Carolina Hurricanes put forth a valiant effort to make the playoffs when many predicted that they wouldn't even come close.

Kudos to coach Kirk Muller and 'the boys' to pick it up and play out and ride out the season to the delight of sellouts and near-sellouts at home - in the newly dubbed PNC Arena.

Carolina Hurricanes jerseys as part of NC Sports Hall of Fame induction announcement - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting, LLC
After hitting turbulent winds early on during the season, and then subsiding slightly to make a crew change, the Hurricanes' ship harnessed the energy around it and sailed at 'full speed ahead'.

Energy was high again, but it was forecast to die back down by early April - which it did.

As the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs are heading into the Conference championship rounds, the awarding of the Stanley Cup will soon follow and so will the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and the league's recognition and awards ceremony.

Just after that, Prospect Camp will follow and not far behind that, Training Camp and the start of the 2012-2013 season.

Or will it? CBA talks will determine how that timeline flows.

Regardless, it is a calm time of the year to enjoy some sun, take care of the yard, golf, run, walk and/or watch  the Carolina Hurricanes' 10-Year Anniversary DVD over and over (for Hurricanes fans only) until all the aforementioned dates and events eventually arrive.

That's when the gusts will create energy that will feed more talk, news and activity coming from and swirling around your favorite NHL team.

That doesn't mean that the energy is not there and work is not getting done right now, but when the time comes, be ready for 'the storm' to pick it back up quickly.

If you're not ready for it, the energy will 'rock you' like it always does in August and September - 'like a hurricane'.

Then it will be time to hold on and hope that the ship you are riding on completes it journey and advances farther than it has recently.

For now, enjoy the calm, but prep your 'Storm' kits accordingly.

Recent Carolina Hurricanes news from Examiner.com:
 
Hurricanes’ 2006 Stanley Cup win is now history in North Carolina