Thank you for the support

Dear Readers,

For the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of covering an NHL team thanks to Canes Country.

Coming out of college in the middle of the pandemic, I thought I wasn’t going to really see that dream continued, but this site gave me the opportunity to keep going.

A lot of the thanks for that goes to former Canes Country site manager, Andrew Schnittker. He was also my editor at Technician, NC State’s student-run news organization, and the guy that first gave me the opportunity to cover an NHL game (March 1, 2019, the Hurricanes beat the St. Louis Blues 5-2).

He was also the site manager at Canes Country that next season when the pandemic hit. He reached out to give me yet another opportunity and I’ve cherished it ever since.

I also have to thank Alec Sawyer, the site manager before me for trusting me enough to hand over the reins while also helping to support me throughout the season despite how busy he was with his new job.

And of course, I’m grateful to the team I worked with that provided great Hurricanes content to you all day in and day out.

And lastly, but certainly not least, I’m thankful to all you readers who have supported the work I’ve produced over the years.

Canes Country has given me the opportunity to cover some of the Hurricanes best moment over the past few seasons: the Stadium Series, the team’s first Hall-of-Fame induction and multiple playoff runs, and I’ve grown as a journalist thanks to the opportunity I was given here. I hope I’ve given you readers enjoyable content and consistent coverage.

I will no longer be writing for Canes Country, but this is not the end of my coverage of the team. Another opportunity has presented itself to me and so I will be transitioning to a new outlet that I will announce in a few days, where I will continue to provide the same level of coverage if you want to still follow me and my work (I will have an announcement on Twitter at @RyanHenkel_ on Wednesday).

As much as I have enjoyed the site and the team I’ve worked with, this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. That coupled with the uncertainty surrounding our site as a whole ever since Vox/SBNation cut support for 28 of the 34 team sites earlier in the season.

My hope is to see Canes Country continue strong for the community that’s been fostered here, but at this time, the path forward is still uncertain. I’m sure that in time, new leadership will take up the reins, but for now, all I can offer is my support behind the scenes until we can make a smooth transition.

So once again, all I can say is thank you.

-Ryan