Storm Debris: The “We’re Iced In And Have Cabin Fever” Edition

We’re finally out from under the ice and snow from last weekend, but with the kids still out of school across parts of the area today, you’re probably looking for something — anything — to keep you from watching Finding Dory for the 36th time since Saturday. Fear not; we’re here to provide you some reading material that doubles as a convenient distraction.

The Edwards Mill Report

• First up, if you have not read Michael Smith’s account of Jorge Alves’ day in the sun, you need to do that right now. Seriously, stop reading this article and go read it.
• As if to prove the point that Alves is becoming a household name across the sporting world (and beyond), CBS News’ Steve Hartman was at practice yesterday. Hartman is the host of the On the Road segment for the CBS Evening News - the one pioneered by late North Carolina native Charles Kuralt.

• The name Ron Smith, who died last week at age 72, may not ring a bell. But if you ever owned a sweater with Erik Cole, or Shane Willis, or Chad LaRose, or Jaroslav Svoboda (and, really, if you did, please send us a picture) on the back, you have Smith to thank. [News and Observer]
• The Hockey News called Julien Gauthier “a beast” after his performance at the World Juniors. [THN]
• Newly sworn-in Gov. Roy Cooper is a huge Hurricanes fan - to the point that his Twitter account occasionally dabbles in hockey commentary - so it was appropriate that his first interview as governor with Adam and Joe on 99.9 yesterday began with four minutes of hockey talk. [WRAL SportsFan audio]
• Longtime Triangle residents will remember the Sports Bar with Mike Solarte on 850 The Buzz, which at one time was the only place in Triangle media to get hockey talk on a regular basis. Solarte has been in Charlotte for years now as the sports director for Time Warner Cable News, but he still gets back up here for Canes games often and guested on the Cheaters Never Win podcast last week. [Section 328]
• This has been mentioned in a couple different places recently, and we’ll have a full story on it coming up tomorrow, but in case you’ve missed it, the third jerseys are going away after this season as the NHL switches their uniform provider from Reebok to Adidas. [Star-Tribune, and more details from Puck Daddy]

In Memoriam

• A couple of significant losses in the hockey community over the past few days. First, from our own SBN family, the Columbus Blue Jackets blog The Cannon lost contributor Jeff Little. Our condolences to his family and to The Cannon community. [The Cannon]
• NYPD Detective Steven McDonald, shot while attempting to question a suspect in 1986 that resulted in him being paralyzed from the neck down, died yesterday at age 59. McDonald is the namesake of the Rangers’ Extra Effort award that has been given out since 1988, as voted on by Rangers fans to the player who goes above and beyond the call of duty. [New York Times]
• And finally, Milt Schmidt, the oldest living former NHL player, died at age 98 just days after being named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players. [Boston Globe]

Elsewhere in the League

• There’s so much smoke around the Colorado Avalanche, the fire has to be enough to heat a castle. Elliotte Friedman, in his 30 Thoughts column yesterday, spitballed that the Canes would make a logical trading partner for the Avs if they decide to make a move. (Sound familiar?) [Sportsnet]
• Meanwhile, just about every other NHL blog is getting their two cents in on whether their team should enter the Duchendeskog sweepstakes, including the Canadiens... [The Hockey Writers]
• ...and the Islanders... [Eyes on Isles]
• ...and the Sabres... [Die By The Blade]
• ...and even the Canucks... [The Canuck Way]
• ...and meanwhile the Colorado perspective is “whoa, chill out, y’all.” [Mile High Hockey]
• Gerard Gallant swears up and down to Pierre LeBrun that he wasn’t fired from the Florida Panthers because of analytics; rather, that what he said wasn’t what ownership wanted to hear. (Perhaps because he disagreed with them on, uh, the manner of player evaluation? Just a thought.) [ESPN]
• Jaromir Jagr wants to play until he’s 55?! My daughter will be in high school by then. She’s 3. [The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record]
• Bob McKenzie says that Steve Yzerman is willing to trade “anybody” to help bolster the Lightning’s defense corps. Hmm. Hmmmmmmmmm. [Raw Charge]
• And the Lightning are not going to fire Jon Cooper, in news that should surprise absolutely no one but for the fact that it’s January and the Lightning are hovering around the wild-card cutoff line. [Tampa Bay Times]

And finally...

• There’s no link to this, but I’ll paste a news release we got from the Canes yesterday. A young man from Onslow County is going to play ball hockey with Jeff Skinner tomorrow through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and it’s going to be all sorts of awesome.

CANES TO GRANT CHASE’S WISH THURSDAY
Media invited to take part in Make-A-Wish event following practice

The Carolina Hurricanes today announced that the team will grant the wish of seven-year-old Chase following practice at PNC Arena on Thursday. Chase, who is from Onslow County and came to the team through Make-A-Wish® Eastern North Carolina, hopes to play street hockey with Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner.

Media are welcome to cover Chase’s day, as a street hockey game is held following the Hurricanes’ practice on Thursday. After the game, Chase, who has cancer, will be available for a special news conference in the media room on the arena level, at approximately 1 p.m. In addition to Thursday’s events, the team will host Chase and his family in a suite during Friday’s home game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Make-A-Wish® Eastern North Carolina grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. Founded in 1986, the chapter serves all medically eligible children who reside in the 49 counties east of the Orange / Alamance county line. The chapter operates solely through generous donations of individuals, corporations and foundations. With the help of more than 200 volunteers, including the Board of Directors, Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina has granted more than 3,300 wishes since its inception. More information is available on the chapter website at eastnc.wish.org. You can also follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.