If it didn’t already feel like hockey was back upon us, it certainly will this week.

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With media credential applications for this season already submitted, approved and sent to print, and media guide deadlines quickly approaching, two major events will eat up a lot of our time this week.

Tomorrow will mark our annual Carolina Hurricanes Media Golf Tournament and Media Day. Ten foursomes comprised of Hurricanes players and staff and important members of the local sports media will tee off together in my favorite CanesPR tradition. Started by my predecessors Chris Brown and Jerry Peters during the team’s first few seasons in North Carolina, the Hurricanes Media Golf Tournament is a chance for media members to get to know the players in a more relaxed environment. It is one thing to see a player here and there after a practice or after a game, but a whole different level of familiarity is created when you spend 18 holes in a golf cart with him. We’ve seen lasting relationships formed between reporters and the athletes they cover through the tournament, making it a worthwhile event to continue for reasons that go beyond just a fun day on the links.

After the golf tournament, all the participants will gather in the clubhouse for lunch, and an extended media access. The post-golf tournament media access is always one of the most productive of the year for those that attend. It is the first formal opportunity to get players arriving back in town on tape talking about the upcoming season, and it is a relaxed and comfortable environment that often results in the best interviews.

Following Tuesday’s festivities, the team will finally reveal its new third jersey at a press event on the ice at the RBC Center on Wednesday. It is unique press event for us, in that the general public will be invited to attend, which should make for a fun way for folks to spend their lunch hour. Eric Staal, Cam Ward and Tim Gleason will be the first Hurricanes to skate onto their home ice in their new uniforms, and lunch will be available for purchase for fans in attendance.

And if all that isn’t enough to make you feel like hockey is right around the corner, take a quick glance at the RBC Center live webcam.

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