Have you been missing hockey since the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup three months ago?
Yes, it’s been almost three months since the Hurricanes skated off the ice in Las Vegas with Lord Stanley’s Cup. It’s felt both like ages and just yesterday because of how deep the Canes went into the season playing plus all the celebrations throughout the summer. Still, for the rest of the NHL it’s been ages since actual competative hockey has been played—and that includes fans of the two teams that will be in Wake
County starting this weekend.
That’s right, folks. Actual, real hockey will be available for fans to watch kicks off this weekend, and in one week this team will go from no hockey to playing a preseason game down in Florida. That’s how quickly things are going to go from zero to 60. We are, after all, only about two weeks from the 5 PM season opener against Florida.
Let’s talk about the signs of the season getting closer and soak them all in:
First off, anyone concerned that the renovations in Lenovo Center wouldn’t be ready in time for the home opener in two weeks had their fears tamped down on Saturday morning as the team released photos of what the ice will look like. It’s a fitting setting for a team that is the defending Stanley Cup Champion, reminding everyone coming in who they’ll have to knock off in order to take the Cup this year.
The decision to leave empty space at the red line except for the occasional Hurricane Warning flag was an especially good one, it makes the design pop.
Fans will get a chance to see this logo for themselves for the first time next Tuesday, September 22nd in the only true home game of the preseason before they head to Greensboro on Thursday, September 24th.
It took until the last possible second but we now know when the actual Training Camp for the players that’ll play on that ice will start. On Friday, the Hurricanes announced the official start of Training Camp. The Wake Competition Center will host the start of camp on Thursday, September 17th at 9 AM. Along with that, we even have a schedule.
Looking at that schedule it is notable that a lot of the camp will happen at the Wake Competition Center, with only the sessions next weekend and then before the season opener to be over at Lenovo Center. Something important to note for the fans—none of the sessions will be open to the general public this camp. Media will be allowed in on all morning skates and camp sessions, so it will be worth following the usual folks on the various social media channels to get your information about how the sessions are going.
Of cousre, some of the players that’ll be participating in those training camp sessions will be on the ice starting Sunday in the Prospect Showcase. There are some big names that are going to participate. Bradley Nadeau will likely pop after getting some NHL exposure next year, not to mention it’s his chance to earn a roster spot with Seth Jarvis missing the start of the season recovering from his shoulder surgery. There’s also the Canes debut of Charlie Cerrato after a couple of successful years at Penn State.
The Canes will be taking on both the prospects of the Nashville Predators and the Tampa Bay Lightning over at the Wake Competition Center. The good news for fans is that this event is not only open to the public, it is free! This includes the event that faces off at 2:30 Sunday. If you can tear yourself away from the opening of the NFL season, you’ll get the chance to see the future of the NHL on display in a more intimate session.
That said, dropping what you are doing and driving to squeeze yourself into a freezing arena in Morrisville isn’t the easiest thing to do. So, if you want to have a feed of the event going on while you enjoy other events on Sundays, keep an eye on the social media channels for the links or head to https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/ and find the links to the feed. With the event happening locally, the familiar voices of Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy will call the two Hurricanes games. The first game will be Sunday at 2:30 PM against the Predators, while the second Carolina game will be Tuesday against Tampa at 2 PM. On Monday at 2 PM the Lightning and Predators prospects will face off, and the outstanding Casey Ditzel of the Greensboro Gargoyles will call that game.
As an aside it’s been fun seeing the Gargoyles and the Canes collaborate more. Once the Charlotte Checkers moved to the Panthers, it’s great having one of the affiliates so close to Raleigh to where fans have a chance to see the future so close to the home club. The Gargoyles have been working hard as an org to embrace Carolina, and expect that collaboration to present itself further when the Canes play in Greensboro on Thursday, September 24th.
If you want to know just what to make of both the Prospect Showcase and how some of the prospects are fairing at Training Camp, make sure to follow Canes Prospects on the social media platform of your choice. This is their time to shine, and the insight will be valuable.
Actual hockey to talk about, and soon. Let the excitement build, and can we hear of other ways to watch the Hurricanes Hockey Network please?
