Today the Carolina Hurricanes media staff had the players scattered far and wide across the airwaves, and most of these interviews are now online so you can catch up with those you might have missed. I think this town is ready for some hockey.
From the downtown march on Raleigh's Fayetteville Street yesterday (by LTD)
The Home-opener "Media Blitz" on Web, TV and Radio
Audio from 620 the Buzz: Brandon Sutter and Canes glad to be home - WRALSportsFan.com. They bring up Brett Favre, really? But the rest of it is pretty good.
Very good video here from WRALSportsFan.com: Canes forward Erik Cole has a preview of what to expect.
NHL Live/XM Radio talks with Jeff Skinner (I know Skinner is new meat for many of these interviewers but can we put the figure skating questions to rest?)
And 99.9theFan's Adam Gold and Joe Ovies also had a chance to ask Skinner about figure skating. Listen.
I'll be updating during the afternoon/evening as other links become available. Mike Sundheim, who with Kyle Hanlin, has been guiding each of these media moments has a directory of many of these on the Canes site as well.
Later, watch tonight's "SportsNight" on TWC14 which will run a feature with Tuomo Ruutu. The show airs at 10pm. UPDATE: Here's the link to watch.
UPDATE: Brandon Sutter was on the David Glenn Show, yesterday at 1pm. Here's the link. (Click on "Hour 2")
UPDATE: Tim Gleason on 96 Rock yesterday: listen here. Gleason "likes those quiet young kids" describing Skinner.
UPDATE: Erik Cole on XMRadio's NHL Home Ice Wednesday morning. Here ya go.
UPDATE: Jussi Jokinen on 101.5 Tuesday morning with Bill & Lynda. This link will take you to the Mix101.5 WRAL site, then select "Tuesday" and go to the 9:10 minutes (remaining) to hear it.
After the jump, some more video and audio from after practice today and a few good stories from across the NHL blogosphere.
Post practice spots from today
All of these are worth a listen, and be sure to catch the videos too [and hear the players actually get to talk about hockey.]
Paul Maurice (audio) On the home opener, and how the players will react: "They're an excitable bunch." And he was referring to the players. We already knew that about the fans in the RBC Center.
Eric Staal (audio)
Jeff Skinner (audio)
And now for something completely different
RLD Hockey Talk - 10/26/10 | Blog Talk Radio A rare chance to hear from one of the more familiar hockey bylines in our city, in this podcast conversation with Chip Alexander, the Hurricanes beat writer for the Raleigh News & Observer. Chip comes on at the 37:50 mark, and continues to about 53 minutes. Pardon the interruption (from bad weather in the Nashville region) in the middle. As familiar as we are with the topic, it was good to hear him answer the interviewers' questions in his own way.
Stories in print (or in pixels. Like that you can read)
Ruutu Helping Canes in New Position - Tracking the Storm Blog Using Tuomo Ruutu at center is an experiment that coaches and management hinted at long before it came to pass. So far, the results have been encouraging.
We got to know NHL.com's Dan Rosen when he was "embedded" with the Canes during their European tour and posted multiple stories a day on the team. Here's a follow up from this morning: Maurice pleased with Hurricanes' start - NHL Insider Carolina coach Paul Maurice is content with how his team fared along its nearly 16,000 mile journey to its first home game of the season.
Canes Now - LaRose misses practice but fine for opener
Maurice said he wanted to monitor Tlusty in a few more practices to gauge when he would be ready to be put in the lineup. Tlusty is coming off major knee surgery for an injury that occurred in the AHL playoffs last season. He played in five games with the Checkers during his conditioning stint.
For those of us who will be there at the RBC Center, here are the details from the Canes event planners on what to expect tomorrow night: Canes Set to Host Capitals on Wed. Home Opener
From this morning's print edition: Canes storm home - NewsObserver.com
"Tickets have gone well," [Rutherford] said. "I'm not one to focus on or to be disappointed in the attendance. "I really appreciate the ones who do come. We really have to remind ourselves about the economy we're in and that a lot of people are still in the same position they were a year ago.
And this from Hurricanes Beat, a new source this season joining the Canes blogging community: Hard Hits feature: Sergei Samsonov - HurricanesBeat.com Shoot, Sergei, Shoot! That's how Samsonov can help the young Canes
Power Rankings and other news around the NHL
Kevin Allen of USATODAY.com names his top 5 Rookies' in the NHL this week. None are 2010 draftpicks.
Detroit Red Wings oust Capitals atop NHL Power Rankings - Allan Muir - SI.com and the Hurricanes move from 21st to 11th.
ESPN has the Canes up to 15th, from 21st (from 2nd the week before) in their power rankings.
SBNation.com where the SBN hockey hub ranks each NHL conference separately. The Canes linger at 11th in the East.
Blogger's Breakouts - Fantasy Hockey Scouts Our own Bob Wage puts on his Fantasy Hockey cap and answers nine fantasy related questions about the Canes and the NHL in general.
This last column made me think of some players we've watched with the Hurricanes: Bourne Blog: Why hockey sense is more important than star talent - There's just no substitute for hockey sense. My hunch is, minor league coaches would attest to that. From the AHL on down, there's barely a team in those leagues where you couldn't find a guy that fits the description "boy he's talented. How come he never made it?"
Scouting the Caps
The Capital roster is already seeing some overhaul thanks to various injuries, especially for their defensive corps. A couple posts here explain what (and who) we can expect tomorrow night in Raleigh.
Capitals Insider - Injury and roster update as Caps ready for three-game road trip Goalie Michal Neuvirth to start vs the Canes Wednesday night.
On The Road Again | Dump 'n Chase For the third time in as many days – excluding Sunday’s day off – the Caps had a new face on the ice at their practice/morning skate.
And while our guys have been featured in the hometown press and local sports radio programming today, how's about this from Alexander the Gr8 in the high-style men's magazine GQ? Michael Idov Talks to Alexander Ovechkin: GQ
His may be the perfect face of the NHL: Broad, broken-toothed, misshapen by countless on-ice collisions--an affable Slavic caveman with an NHL scoring title, a dazzling highlight reel, and the capital of the Free World in his gloved, bloodstained hand. If only he had a Stanley Cup to go with it. Michael Idov tracks down Alex Ovechkin enjoying the off-season in Moscow--brooding, training, and finding solace in the arms of his Mother Russia.
The GQ piece was so large and broad in scope (think: Tolstoy) that Puck Daddy kindly prepared these Cliff Notes so you didn't miss the best parts: The 15 things GQ magazine taught us about Alex Ovechkin - Puck Daddy
Example:
12. Ovechkin is fond of the word "telochki" for women.
According to Idov, "the word literally means 'calves' and semantically falls somewhere between 'chicks' and 'bitches.'" According to Google Translate, "telochki" is ... "telochki" in English. So we'll take Idov's word on that.
Ovie's comments regarding the relative "hotness" of American vs Russian women had more than a few American women rolling their eyes yesterday. Here's your chance to express your opinion in a poll from yet another Caps blog: Who Is Hotter? Russian or American Women? | Capitals Outsider