Training camp is officially going, and once again the RBC is open for business! I'm going to keep this posting short because I'm planning on leaving for an early lunch and catching part of it. Before I leave though, I wanted to chat briefly about a couple of things I read yesterday and last night. In the News and Observer article yesterday, Luke has an "Injury Report" where he lists Frantisek Kaberle with his bum knee, Andrew Ladd with a sore back, and finally Bret Hedican, whom he says is "nominally healthy". Huh? First of all, Luke himself has said in earlier reports that he thought Hedican looked good. John Forslund has been saying that Hedican seems much healthier than last year. Bret himself said that he just needed more time to rest his hip after his surgery. Now Luke is reporting that he is "nominally" healthy? Weird! Maybe I had better look up the word on Dictionary.com just to make sure that it means what I think it means.
nom·i·nal 
(nÅm'É™-nÉ™l) Pronunciation Key
adj.
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- Of, resembling, relating to, or consisting of a name or names.
- Assigned to or bearing a person's name: nominal shares.
- Of, relating to, or being the amount or face value of a sum of money or a stock certificate, for example, and not the purchasing power or market value.
- Of, relating to, or being the rate of interest or return without adjustment for compounding or inflation.
- Existing in name only.
- Philosophy Of or relating to nominalism.
- Insignificantly small; trifling: a nominal sum.
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Business
- Of, relating to, or being the amount or face value of a sum of money or a stock certificate, for example, and not the purchasing power or market value.
- Of, relating to, or being the rate of interest or return without adjustment for compounding or inflation.
- Grammar Of or relating to a noun or word group that functions as a noun.
- Aerospace & Engineering According to plan or design: a nominal flight check.
I guess this means that he "resembles" being healthy or that he is "barely" healthy? Just when I was feeling a bit more confident about Bret and his return, this "nominal " description has me wondering again! Oh well Caniacs, time will tell. Poor Andrew Ladd seems a bit snake bitten himself. I believe he started off last year's camp partially injured as well. That kid really needs to stay healthy before he can move up to the next level. Forslund reported that Jeff Hamilton is also on the shelf with a possible groin injury. If Ladd and Hamilton end up on the injured reserve list, that makes some room for Brandon Sutter, a player that most Caniacs would love to see hang around Raleigh for awhile this pre-season anyway. I read somewhere that Sutter could end up in Albany, but that is incorrect and is not going to happen. Keep in mind, the AHL has some oddball rules and Brandon is too young to play in that league. It's either back to Red Deer within the Canes first 10 games of the regular season, or he stays with the the big boys in Raleigh. The AHL is not an option for him this year. Speaking of Forslund's new blog, that's a really good read again. John goes into details about what transpired yesterday and it's very interesting.
I'll talk about practice and hopefully share some pictures later tonight. TGIF!
The Wallflowers