The Hurricanes' first-ever "Parking and Traffic Town Hall Summit" at the RBC Center lasted 2 1/2 hours, created some lively debate (but few venomous comments from the sufferers) and produced some interesting suggestions.
The question now: will it lead to any meaningful changes to help Canes fans get in and out of the arena parking lots in a more timely, organized manner?
Hurricanes trainer Pete Friesen will hold his third annual pre-camp 5K around the RBC Center on Sept. 13, but this one may be a little more meaningful than the first two.
Friesen said the event will be held in honor of young Julia Rowe, whose battle with leukemia proved so inspiring to the Hurricanes during their run to the Stanley Cup in 2006.
No Zac, but there will be Zach.
Zach Boychuk, the Canes' first-round draft pick, will be at the team's training camp next month, albeit in a limited role. Boychuk underwent surgery a month ago to repair a broken bone in his left wrist, but Canes' general manager Jim Rutherford said the 19-year-old center is "ahead of schedule" in his rehabilitation.
"It's good timing that we caught [the injury] when we caught it," Rutherford said. "He'll be able to come to camp and it should be a great experience for him.
The Canes' Jan. 15 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the RBC Center will have a 7:30 p.m. start. The time change was made to accommodate NHL Canadian television rightsholder TSN.
The Canes won't have their second-round draft pick, forward Zac Dalpe, at training camp next month.
Dalpe informed the team Monday that he would attend Ohio State this year, Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said today. Rutherford said Dalpe was offered a contract.
The Canes have invited Jeff O'Neill to training camp to take a look, but what does that mean?
Does the former Hurricanes forward have a legitimate chance of making the roster? Could O'Neill be used, say, as a fourth-line center? Would he accept an assignment in Albany, if need be? Can he still be an effective NHL player?
Pipe dream or the real thing? Good chance or no chance? What do you think?
Officially, Luke DeCock's shoe size is a 12. Unofficially, when it comes to hockey and the Canes ...
Let's be honest. Does Luke know N.C. State sports and the ACC like I do? No.
Do I know the Canes and the NHL like Luke? No. He might have been the best beat writer in the league.
Another confession: his shoes will be hard to fill. One thing I
can promise is to work hard on the beat. And part of that, hopefully, will be with your help. Come here often. Talk to me. N.C. State fans did. Now, I want to hear from you.
This will be announced in tomorrow's paper, but I felt the readers who have helped make this blog so successful should know first: I will no longer be covering the Hurricanes for the N&O; instead, I am becoming a general sports columnist and Chip Alexander will be taking over the beat (and this blog).
Chip, who has covered N.C. State for the N&O and has worked at the paper since 1979, has a long background and solid foundation in hockey. He covered the NHL expansion bids and eventual move of the Hartford Whalers to Raleigh and has been an integral part of the N&O's coverage team for all four of the team's playoff appearances.
In my new role, I will continue to write about the Hurricanes, but from a columnist's perspective, which should broaden and deepen the scope of our coverage of the team.
I'll also have a blog of my own, Talking Points, which you can visit at blogs.newsobserver.com/decock, but thanks for making this blog so successful as well as your continued support.
The Hockey News' preview magazine has hit newsstands, and in addition to their predictions, the magazine's staff ranked the top 50 players in the game.
Carolina's Eric Staal was the Hurricanes' only representative, coming in at No. 19. (He was 18th last season.) Rod Brind'Amour, who was 38th last season, fell off the list. (Sidney Crosby is No. 1 and Alex Ovechkin No. 2.)
Chad LaRose's brief baseball career may be over after his adventures at the Durham Bulls game Thursday night.
Invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, LaRose's toss was a little high, sailed over the catcher and hit a young musician, standing near the backstop, in the small of the back.
"I just threw it a little high and the catcher never tried to catch it," LaRose said.
The good news was that she was unharmed and got to spend some quality time with LaRose during the game.
"She came up to the seats and got pictures with me and everything," LaRose said. "I was the one more hurt by it than her, I think. … Everyone's fine except for me. I'm traumatized by the whole situation."
