Quick Takes: Informal Ice Sessions Commence

We are still in the middle of August, but hockey season is fast approaching.  Players are returning to town and some are starting to work out on their own at Raleigh Center Ice for informal practices, otherwise affectionately known as "Camp Brind'Amour".

There were tweets last week that Patrick Dwyer and Cam Ward were skating, along with a few others.  This morning, Jamie (@jbk_ltd) attended and tweeted that Zac Dalpe, Zach Boychuk, Jay Harrison,  Kevin Westgarth, Brett Bellemore, Tim Gleason, Ryan Murphy, Nicolas Blanchard, Dwyer, and others were on the ice this morning.  (She will be posting some pics here).

It seems the organization has not given up on signing Boychuk yet and Chip Alexander also mentioned on Twitter that the Canes were trying to sign development camp stand out, Sergey Tolchinsky.  Stay tuned.

-----

Peter Koutroumpis interviewed Cam Ward last week and got a couple of good quotes from the hungry goaltender.

"It’s about having everybody buying into the system and having a winning attitude. Obviously missing the playoffs four years in a row – clearly enough is enough. I think the leaders are going to lead by example with the fire and motivation, and come this camp, we’re not messin’ around. This is a big year for us, and there’s gonna’ be no excuses."

Ward claims that he is as healthy as he has ever been.  Read more at the author's new site, Triangle Sports Network.

-----

Koutroumpis also interviewed Pete Friesen, who spoke about the rehab efforts of both Eric Staal and Ward.  Friesen traveled to Thunder Bay to work with Staal and the team captain will also be ready for training camp.

Check out that story at the Examiner.

-----

Chip Alexander started asking a few preseason questions himself in this article from last week's News and Observer, Key Questions for Canes.

Where will Jeff Skinner play, the second or third line?  Will the much maligned defense be improved?  Many of us have the same questions and we will start seeing the answers soon enough.

-----

Caniac Carnival in less than a month....

Hurricanes fans unofficial season starts on Sunday, September 15th, with the annual Caniac Carnival.  The team will be hosting autograph sessions in the morning as well as a red/white scrimmage in the afternoon.   The schedule follows:

For more info, go to Carolina Hurricanes.com.