Saturday, July 28, 2012

Semin, Staal apparently make Hurricanes a contender

Jordan Staal gets his jersey from Jim Rutherford - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting LLC
It seems that even Las Vegas thinks that the Carolina Hurricanes are better than 50-1 favorites - more like 25-1 now - to win the Stanley Cup in 2013.

It's amazing what offseason deals can do to change perceptions.

The team held two press conferences on Friday to discuss the recent signing of former Washington Capitals forward, Alexander Semin, and to introduce Jordan Staal to the local media.

Staal was acquired in a trade transacted just before the beginning of the recent NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh.

The young forward was in the area looking for places to live and for the first time since brother Eric, the Hurricanes captain, and he did an 'incognito' drive around during the early summer.

With many signings completed, the team still has some work to do and has been seeking to deal for a 'gritty' and sizeable forward with 'some hands' who can play alongside the team's scoring talent, and be able to deter opposing teams from taking liberties with such players accordingly.

There is much optimism and excitement in Raleigh as season ticket sales are at their highest point in a while according to the team's President and General Manager Jim Rutherford, and he intends to work with the team's corporate partners to help show their enthusiasm for the upcoming season as well.

It continues to be  hot summer in Raleigh heading into the month of August -  the beginning of 'hurricane' season.

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Contract updates from the Carolina Hurricanes

Sunday, July 8, 2012

NHL free agency starts with a spark in Raleigh

With blistering temperatures heating up the entire Triangle area, the Carolina Hurricanes recently completed their Prospect Camp at Raleigh Center Ice in Raleigh, N.C.

As free agency opened, there was quite a lot of excitement surrounding the offseason moves that the Hurricanes were ready to make.

The team struck some deals while making unsuccessful bids on others (see Zach Parise and Ryan Suter).

The trade market is the place which the Hurricanes are currently browsing and may reap some new acquisitions in the near future.

Stay tuned. 

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Sunday, July 1, 2012

Carolina Hurricanes prospects finish intense week

Carolina Hurricanes Prospect Camp - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting LLC
As Ron Francis, Carolina Hurricanes Vice President for Hockey Operations, described the wrap-up of the team's prospect camp at Raleigh Center Ice in Raleigh, N.C.  he started by stating, "I don't know if people understand how tough a week it is."

Francis continued on by noting the 2012 group's positive attitude that it maintained during a daily routine that started at 7 a.m. and didn't finish until 7 p.m. each night for four straight days.

"There's been no complaining, they're still smiling, they're still battling and working hard. "That shows us a lot of character there," Francis said.

Some of what these aspiring NHL players went through physically included running the stairs beginning on the floor of PNC Arena all the way to the roof, completing a five-mile bike test and then running sixteen 100-yard sprints, all before working out on the ice for an hour during the late afternoon.

"They all did really well," Francis stated.

All prospects will now go home and take the information and experience they gathered during the past four days to keep working hard with hopes of eventually earning an opportunity to show what they've got at training camp.

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