Canes Country's Guide to the Hurricanes Training Camp: Group A

My count down clock says 30 minutes till Training Camp starts for the 2010-11 Carolina Hurricanes. Today they get their physicals, their pictures taken and do conditioning tests. Tomorrow, at 9:00 AM sharp, the first group of skaters, among them the newest faces of the franchise, takes the ice at the RBC Center. Raleigh, North Carolina: meet "Group A".

The Canes put out their list of invitees Thursday night following the final game in Traverse City, as the young Canes won the contest in double-overtime, on a goal by Jeff Skinner with the assist from Zac Dalpe. If you've been reading here the last month, you know those names very well. But if you're wondering about some of the other less-than-household names, or wondering what's new since last April, Canes Country is here to help. 

After the jump, take a look at the Canes Country Guide to Training Camp. And, just like we did for Prospects Camp, we've also set up a downloadable .pdf version of  Canes Country's Guide to Training Camp for you to print out and take with you as you head to the RBC tomorrow for the first On-Ice practice of the 2010-11 season. Last, don't forget our new feature this season, the Canes Country Calendar. It's always there in the left column of the front page, loaded with all the details and links on when, who, and where for all practices and games throughout the season.

Group A

A quick census of Group A:

Twenty-three  players: 13 Forwards, 8 Defensemen, 2 Goaltenders.

Age: This group is an average age of 22 years, 4 months. Jeff Skinner is the youngest at 18 years, 4 months; Zack Fitzgerald is the oldest, at 25 years, 3 months. Birthday trivia: Bobby Sanguinetti, like Cam Ward, is a "Leap Day" baby, born February 29, 1988 (four years after Ward).

Nationality: 15 were born in Canada, 5 in the US (all defensemen - coincidence?), and there are 3 European-born players.

Height: Brett Bellemore and Jared Staal are the tallest, listed at 6' 4". Three players show up at the "vertically challenged" end of the roster, standing 5'-10" tall: Jeff Skinner, Chris Terry and Nick Dodge.

Weight: According to the numbers available now, Jared Staal is heaviest at 210 lbs. and Goaltender Mike Murphy is the lightest at 165 lbs. Since they are weighing in today, after a summer of weight management and training, I suspect these numbers are subject to change.

Our downloadable .pdf version: With photos and few more familiar names, it's ready to print-and-go. Here's the link once more: Canes Country's Guide to 2010 Training Camp 

GROUP "A" (as of 9/17/10)

Keep in mind, each player's group assignment is subject to change on a daily basis, and you can read into those coaching decisions as much significance as you want - that's the interesting part. At the beginning, it appears Group B is the NHL group, and Group A will either return to their Junior team or play in Charlotte. But, as we've been discussing for weeks, all bets are off on where it will all fall out in the next two weeks. I guarantee there will be moves involving the players named above, and it's gonna be some kind of fun to follow.

The Canes Country Calendar is new section we've set up this season to check on the schedule for games, practice and fan events, including relevant links. The first pre-season game is next Tuesday, September 21 at 7pm, when the Canes host the Florida Panthers. There are three more games in rapid-fire succession from there  (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) , with the cut off for assignment to AHL teams without any waivers required coming on Saturday, September 25.

Group A practices are as follows for the next week:

If you can't make it to Raleigh, you should be able to check it out on the RBC's webcam which updates still images every minute. 

Finally, I'll be posting the "Group B" roster and table later this afternoon. See you tomorrow!