McBain helps a hockey player in pain

After practice at the RBC Center this morning, defenseman Jamie McBain walked among his teammates with a Hurricanes jersey and a card, soliciting signatures on both. The package will be sent to Jack Jablonski, a Minnesota high school hockey player who was paralyzed last week when he was hit head-first into the boards.

McBain said his father coached Jablonski at one point, but his gesture was more than that: It was a recognition by players competing at the highest level in the sport that what happened to Jablonski in a JV game could happen to any of them, at any time. They all shared his pain.

Naturally, McBain didn't have any trouble getting his teammates to sign. Bryan Allen asked him for more details about the incident, and Jay Harrison had been joking about not signing, just to mess with McBain, but instantly turned serious when told about the intended recipient.

The Hurricanes, as an organization, may send something to Jablonski, as most if not all NHL teams no doubt will, but this came straight from the players, who know how lucky they are to be where they are.