Remember back in 2006 when the Hurricanes tried to put jerseys on a few statues downtown and some people got upset? One lame-brain went so far as to slash a couple of jerseys apart with a utility knife, before he was told to stop by the police. The remaining jerseys were taken down as well, never to return to their previous "sacred" locations in history.
This nonsense could only happen in Raleigh, right?
Apparently not. According to this article in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, the Penguins, (along with Reebok), wanted to hang a couple of huge Stanley Cup related banners on buildings in downtown Pittsburgh. The owners/managers of the buildings didn't have a problem with it, but the city council along with the mayor couldn't pass the required legislation in time because of bickering concerning an unrelated dispute.
You've "gotta" love politicians.
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In Hurricanes related news, I stumbled upon this article in USA Today written by Red Line Report publisher, Kyle Woodlief. In the story, the author reviews the status of some prospects and potential draft picks. Toward the end he goes on to say....
An internal debate has been raging at Red Line Report since last November on the top two ranked western Tier II players on our list. Last month, Zac Dalpe of Penticton and Joe Colborne of Camrose........As for Dalpe, who is committed to attend Ohio State next fall, there were some, shall we say, "interesting" developments with him recently when he was selected by the Plymouth Whalers in the second round of the OHL Priority Draft. For now, Dalpe is still a Buckeye.
But what we at Red Line are wondering is: did the Carolina Hurricanes show a peek at their hand for the draft in all this?
Of course, the Whalers and Hurricanes organizations have close ties, since both are owned by Peter Karmanos. Would the Hurricanes take Dalpe with their 14th overall selection (we like him, but that seems a bit high to us) at the NHL Draft in June? And if so, would they then steer Dalpe toward Plymouth for next season?
It's just idle speculation on our part, but hey — idle speculation stirs the pot and besides, it's just plain fun.
This guy certainly knows the Hurricanes scouting staff and how they operate. It's no secret that they love to draft and work with players out of Plymouth. His "idle speculation" makes sense to me and just might come to fruition. Here are a couple of other write-ups about Dalpe.
This from the Hockey News......
If you haven’t heard of Zac Dalpe yet, don’t worry; he has a tendency to make noise in a hurry. After attracting little interest from the NCAA two summers ago, Dalpe blew the doors off the competition with the Ontario Jr. B Stratford Cullitons. Three games into the season, he had a scholarship to Ohio State. "I think I had 14 points in three games," Dalpe recalled. That outburst also caught the attention of the Jr. A Vees, who operate on the other side of the country in B.C.
"It was kind of random, to be honest," Dalpe said of the interest. Nevertheless, it was a challenge he wanted to take. "I wanted to mature and grow up in B.C. and as soon as I came over I fell in love with it."
And the Vees are falling in love with Dalpe. Much like fellow Jr. A prospect Joe Colborne, Dalpe was just 5-foot-8 a year and a half ago; he now stands 6-foot-1. Scouts are high on his stellar two-way play and willingness to battle for pucks, something Dalpe is more than happy to keep working on. "I want to come out of the corner with the puck more often than not," he said. With 39 points in 30 games (and just six penalty minutes), Dalpe seems to be doing just that. Draft eligible in 2008.
More about him on NHL.com. He's currently ranked number 16 in the top 30 North American skaters.
Of course we will be looking at a variety of draft possibilities when we get closer to the actual draft, but this guy looks like a good possibility.
John Mellencamp