The Blog of Canes' Media Relations Director Mike Sundheim

You've probably seen him, but never noticed him. He's that guy breezing by in the background while Rod Brind'Amour is talking about the big win on TV. The guy with the walkie-talkie standing behind the corner boards near the end of the game at the RBC Center. The one running into the RecZone with piles of paper in his arms. That guy is Mike Sundheim, the Hurricanes' Director of Media Relations, and this season, Mike is going to share his experiences as just a regular guy traveling around North America with an NHL team in his blog, "The Guy Behind the Guy."

Blog Central

Staal at the U.S. Open
September 3, 2008

Sorry it’s been awhile… It’s that time of year when we really have to buckle down and make the final preparations for the season. Training camp is just 16 days away, so it is crunch time in the RBC Center offices. But I wanted to check in with a quick note today.

Eric Staal will be at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center tonight in New York, sitting courtside for the U.S. Open. The appearance is part of a three-day media tour in New York City for Eric, along with his brothers, Marc and Jordan. Today is more of a leisure day for Eric, as he basically arrives in the city, checks in at his hotel, and heads to Flushing Meadows for some tennis.

Tomorrow, Eric will have a full slate of media-related activities. He will start with several NHL properties including the NHL Network and NHL.com, prior to sitting down for interviews with outlets including Sports Illustrated, ESPN, the Associated Press, the New York Times and USA Today. After an afternoon break, he’ll be back to work with an NHL Images photo shoot and interviews with NHL Radio and Versus.

After another shoot with Versus on Thursday, and an on-ice session for TSN, Eric will wrap-up his media blitz, and head to the airport.

The entire three-day blitz was arranged and organized by the NHL’s PR arm, and in particular a fellow named Jamey Horan. Perhaps it is the result of having a player anointed a “star” by the league for the first time, but from my perspective the league is doing a much better job of promoting its players, particularly players from a smaller market like ours. Including the time after we won the Stanley Cup in 2006, the league has invited players from our team to New York several times, and they are always treated in a first-class manner, with their time maximized for as much positive exposure as possible. So kudos to Jamey and his crew in New York, and to the NHL for recognizing talented PR professionals who love the game and its players like he does.

A Little History
July 31, 2008

The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that their pre-season game on Sept. 27 against the Carolina Hurricanes would not be played at the Wachovia Center. Instead, it will be played at the old Wachovia Spectrum, and will mark the final time that NHL teams skate at the historic arena, which will be demolished at the conclusion of the upcoming AHL season.

We heard about this a few weeks ago (it was why we quietly changed the times of our pre-season home-and-home with the Flyers to 1 p.m. in Philly on Sept. 27 and 3 p.m. in Raleigh on Sept. 28), and we were all pretty excited. I came into this job a little too late when it came to seeing most of the grand old buildings of hockey. While baseball has managed to keep a few of its historic stadiums open, like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, most of the hockey’s historic rinks gave way to bigger and “better” before I started traveling with the team in 2000. Chicago Stadium closed its doors in 1994. The Boston Garden followed the next year, and both the Spectrum and Montreal Forum ceased to be the home of their primary occupants in 1996. Maple Leaf Gardens closed its doors in 1999, while I was still an intern here. So the Islanders’ Nassau Coliseum (1972), Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena-Igloo-Mellon Arena (hosted the Penguins since 1967) and the latest incarnation of Madison Square Garden (1968) were as close as I have been able to get to the hockey buildings of old. 

But the pre-season game at the Spectrum will give those of us who began our NHL careers after the start of the third millennium a chance to experience one more old-time hockey building. The Spectrum opened on Sept. 30, 1967 with the Quaker City Jazz Festival and was home to the Flyers from 1967 until 1996. Ten NBA and NHL championship series and four NHL and NBA All-Star Games were held there. It was where Christian Laettner hit his buzzer-beater to beat Kentucky in the 1992 NCAA Regional. It was home to concerts from Billy Joel and Led Zeppelin to Guns ‘N Roses and the Cure. On Jan. 11, 1976, the Flyers defeated the Soviet Red Army team there, becoming the first NHL team to defeat the vaunted Soviets, at the height of the Cold War. The Spectrum was where the “Broad Street Bullies” truly became the “Broad Street Bullies.”

Just another little something on ice to look forward to on a scorching day in July in North Carolina.


Media Alert: Ron Francis, Pete Friesen and Jack Friesen will be part of a special live show on NBC-17 on Saturday night. The show will discuss sports medicine, wellness and fitness from the perspectives of a professional athlete, a fitness trainer and a kid training to make it in athletics. The 30-minute special will begin at 7:30 p.m. on NBC-17. Also, for those of you trying to plan ahead, this year's Friesen 5K will take place on Sept. 14 at 9 a.m. Rumor has it that along with the slew of current Canes that always participates in the run, one former Cane with red hair may fly in to make an appearance. 

Catching Up
July 17, 2008

First of all, I apologize for the gap between posts. The draft, a nice vacation to Italy and a focus on working on the media guide have kept me busy these last few weeks. As part of working on the media guide, though, I’ve had a chance to check in with a number of players over the past few days, so I figured I would take a couple minutes off to post something here as well.

I talked to Matt Cullen for a bit today, and it is a busy week for the Hurricanes center. Matt’s own charity, Cully’s Kids, is hosting its biggest annual event this weekend in the Fargo-Moorhead area, the 2008 Cully’s Kids Celebrity Weekend. Matt and his wife, Bridget, started Cully’s Kids with the mission to “provide financial resources to organizations that support children's healthcare needs, with an emphasis on cancer.” The Cully’s Kids Celebrity Weekend features a golf tournament, concert and silent auction on Friday, and a “celebration picnic” on Saturday. You can read more about Cully’s Kids and the Cully’s Kids Celebrity Weekend at cullyskids.com. Also, Matt will call in to The Insiders on 99.9 FM The Fan this afternoon at 5:20 to talk about his foundation, as well as the upcoming season in Carolina.

Among the other players I have reached today were new Canes Joni Pitkanen and Josef Melichar. I actually missed Pitkanen the first time, and didn’t leave a message (It marked my first career phone call to Finland and I couldn’t understand the answering service on his phone. Though I did recognize the beep as I hung up. Oops.)  Anyway, he spotted the RBC Center phone number on his caller ID, and contacted Mari Jeter in the hockey office to see who was trying to reach him. Joni, who is spending the summer in his hometown of Oulu, Finland, was easy-going and had some good responses to my standard media guide questions. Among his answers, he told me that the person he would most like to meet from history was Elvis Presley, that he is a big Manchester United Fan, that his favorite movie is Old School and that his favorite vacation spot is Spain.

Melichar was also great to talk to (his English is excellent). He is in his hometown of Ceskych Budejovic in the Czech Republic, with his wife, Lucie, and their sons Josef and Jakub. He told me that his favorite player growing up was Raymond Bourque and that his father, also named Josef Melichar, played second division hockey in the Czech Republic. Josef’s favorite place to vacation is Croatia (which, from the commercials I saw while in Italy, does in fact look awesome) and his most memorable goal was his first because he felt like he was “waiting over 100 years for that.”  Josef enjoys doing work around the house during the summer and is a trained electrician.

Needless to say, between the schedule coming out today and speaking to a few of these guys on the phone, the season suddenly feels like it is a little closer. Training camp opens in almost exactly two months.

Two other quick plugs for today’s blog. I often get emails in the middle of the season from students asking about internships, and I have to explain that we normally try to hire our interns before the season and keep them for the entire year. Well, we’re coming up on that time when we start to look for students for the upcoming season, so now is a good time to contact me if you want to throw your name in the race. Our internships are extremely competitive, and most of the students that we hire for our available positions (Media Relations office intern, Hockey Operations intern and Media Relations Game Night Intern) are awarded to students who already have a couple of internships under their belts. We really only look at students who are still in college, either juniors or seniors, and are obviously close enough to drive to the RBC Center as often as needed. If you are thinking about contacting me about internships, please be aware of the time commitment (we prefer that our game night interns commit to working close to all of the 44 scheduled home games, and all potential playoff games), and the fact that our internships are unpaid, other than a small per-game rate for the game night positions.

All that said, our internships are a great experience (whether in our department or elsewhere in the company), and it is pretty close to impossible to break into sports in any way without first serving internships. You can contact me through the “comment” field below if you are interested.

And a quick thanks for yahoo.com’s Greg Wyshynski for the nice “Guy Behind the Guy” shout-out on his blog, The Puck Daddy.  If you don’t read Greg’s blog yet, it is worth a look for its unique look around the league. Greg also does a pretty terrific job frequently updating his blog (unlike others, ahem). Last I checked, he already had five posts already TODAY.

Face of a Role Model
June 5, 2008

When I think about my time with the Hurricanes, I can see a lot of faces. I can remember eyes happy and sad and mouths smiling and frowning on players and co-workers who have come and gone, experiencing the full range of emotions. Together, we have experienced loss – a teammate gone too soon, a last-place finish in the league – and victory  – our first division title in 1999, the ultimate high in 2006. Only one face has been there through it all*. Glen Wesley not only epitomizes the ultimate professional, giving everything he had night-in and night-out for the good of his team, but a true role model, someone whose off-ice actions speak as loudly as his on-ice dedication.

After 20 years and 1,626 total games in the National Hockey League, his body bears the marks and scars of a man who was not afraid to dive in front of a 100-mph slapshot, and who showed no hesitation in returning to play after neck surgery or a close encounter with an open penalty-box door. Glen played through more afflictions than I can even want to try to recall, from nights when he would get sick on the bench and then go out to kill a penalty to times when he would take a slapshot to the ankle, force himself back up, and then throw his body in front of another shot. Those are the things that allow you to play in this league for 20 years, appear in an All-Star Game, go to four Stanley Cup Finals and get your number in the rafters. There is no player I have ever watched who made me realize that I in no way would have the intestinal fortitude to make it as a professional hockey player more than Glen Wesley. It is truly impossible for me to comprehend what he put his body through for 20 years.

And if his selfless efforts on the ice didn’t make you wonder just how big his heart could possibly be, his actions outside the rink magnify it even more. As much as any of my memories of Glen, the day he took the Stanley Cup to the Wounded Warriors barrack at Camp Lejeune truly stands out. After 18 seasons of trying to win the Cup, Glen took several hours out of the little time he had with the trophy to share it with men and women that he personally considered to be true heroes. As much as he had given his body for his work, the soldiers there that day had given themselves in a way that even he had trouble imagining. It was incredible to watch their faces light up as the most famous trophy in sports entered the room. But it was just as special to see Glen’s face, clearly in awe of the injured warriors and their selfless commitment to their country. To me, even more than any of the tough-as-nails, slap-shot blocking, front-of-net-protecting moments on the ice, that day truly epitomized Glen Wesley as a human being. 

So when I think about the faces I have seen in 10 years with this team, the face I recall the most is the face that I saw the most – nearly every day of every season, out there wearing number two. A huge smile during a post-practice banter with John Forslund. Heartbreak after a loss in Game 5 in Detroit, the third time he had reached the finals only to come up just short. A look of frustration as he spoke to the media after a tough loss at home, since no matter how tough the loss, Glen would always stand up to address the cameras. Pure euphoria as he finally pulled that silver chalice up over his head. And finally a look of true pride today as he announced he was hanging up his skates.

The face of the ultimate Hurricane, and a true role model.

* Save a half dozen games in 2003 when he did the organization a favor by accepting a trade to Toronto, helping us acquire a second-round pick that then helped us acquire a first round pick named Andrew Ladd. Further proof that Glen was a true company man.

May Updates
May 29, 2008

With the Stanley Cup Finals in full swing and the draft rapidly approaching, things will finally start picking back up soon for those of us in media relations land. Next week, the entire Hurricanes scouting staff will be here as we start making the big decisions from player moves and free agency this summer to exactly who we might take with the 14th overall pick in Ottawa. A few doors down, Kyle and I are getting ready to really get going on our major summer project, the Media Guide. In less than three weeks, we will head to Ottawa for the broadcast and public relations meetings scheduled for draft week.

Anyway, I wanted to throw a few quick media alerts out there for everyone:

Those of you who have the NHL Network have probably already noticed, but there has been a fair amount of Canes-oriented programming lately. That will continue throughout today. At 4:30 p.m., the NHL Network will air a show called “Frozen in Time: The 2005-2006 Carolina Hurricanes.” At 7 p.m., a show called “Top 10 Shootout Goals and Saves of the 2005-06 Season” comes on. And then at 10 p.m., the network will show Game 5 of the 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinals, featuring the Hurricanes hosting the New Jersey Devils (The game will actually re-air several times over the following few days.) Saturday night, you can catch the replay of the first Game 7 win in franchise history, as the NHL Network shows Game 7 of the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals against the Buffalo Sabres. Sunday at 7, a show called “Top 10 Offensive Performances of the 2006 Playoffs” airs. And I have a sneaking suspicion that you might be able to catch a few of the games from the following round, the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, next week on NHL Network.

Hurricanes prospect Drayson Bowman has obviously gotten his fair share of press after his impressive Memorial Cup performance. (Hurricanes prospect Justin McCrae also played quite well for the Chiefs throughout the post-season.) Here are a few links to stories about Bowman, a native of Littleton, Colorado:

• Broken trophy still beautiful for Chiefs
• American secrets making Canadian moves
• Move made by Bowman pays off
• The Hot List: Vision of the Future
• Big Chief Leads Way
• Spokane caps two-year revival

Also, a word about a former prospect. Thanks to blog reader Ken for this link , which highlights former Hurricanes draft pick Jamie Hoffman, now playing AA baseball for Jacksonville. Hoffman, who was in the area last week when Jacksonville took on the Carolina Mudcats, discusses his decision to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers several years back, following his baseball dreams rather than his hockey aspirations.

Canes to Appear on Good Morning America
May 21, 2008

As they have throughout this year's Dancing with the Stars season, a group of current and former Hurricanes players and their wives gathered together last night to watch the season finale of the hit ABC show. This time, however, they had some extra guests.

A crew from Good Morning America dropped in at Erik Cole's house Tuesday night to watch some of Dancing with the Stars finalist Kristi Yamaguchi's biggest fans enjoying her big victory. Ray and Brijet Whitney, Craig and Anne Adams and Cory Stillman joined Erik and Emily Cole in sending their congratulations to Kristi on taking home the Mirrorball Trophy.

Brijet, Emily and Anne also had a chance to talk to the crew about the origins of Kristi's journey to prime-time dancing fame.  The Hurricanes wives played a major role in encouraging the Olympic gold medalist to go on the show in the first place. Ray, Brijet, Anne and Emily had also all experienced the show firsthand earlier in the season, joining Bret Hedican in the live studio audience of the show.

You catch catch the footage filmed at the Cole house during Good Morning America on Wednesday, which airs from 7-9 am on ABC.

This and That
April 28, 2008

Needless to say, these aren’t the busiest days around here. Nonetheless, there have been a few things going on that I thought I would pass along.

Before leaving for Quebec City, where he will lead Team Canada into action at the World Championships, Eric Staal took care of a few extra odds and ends. He filmed a video for Marbles Kids Museum that will be part of a new hockey display at the museum formerly known as Exploris. He sat down with television producer Michael Hamilton for a show called “The Journey” that will feature the new generation of stars in the NHL: Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin and Staal. And, perhaps most importantly, he finally picked his prize as MVP of the 2008 All-Star Game. Though the Dodge Journey presented at the game looked like a fine vehicle, Eric chose to switch it out for a Dodge Ram 1500 truck instead. The order has been placed and his truck could be ready by the time he returns from Canada.

Speaking of the World Championships, fans can catch the games live again this year, streaming on WCSN.com. Cam Ward split time with Pascal Leclaire in Canada’s exhibition opener, as the host nation knocked off Finland 3-2. The lone goal Ward allowed in his 30 minutes of ice time was to Finland’s Tuomo Ruutu. Team USA also won its exhibition opener, 5-1 against Sweden.

Away from hockey, those of you following Dancing With The Stars on ABC have probably caught a glimpse or two of the frontrunner’s husband, both in the crowd at the performances and making a cameo during a practice. Bret Hedican is currently staying with his wife, Kristi Yamaguchi, and their two daughters out in Los Angeles while Kristi practices and performs on the show. Last night, the family sat down with ABC-11’s Rebecca Hall to film a piece about what their lives have been like during the filming of the hit show. You can catch Hall’s feature on ABC-11 today during the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. news broadcasts.

I know it’s been an eye-opening experience for Bret (And Kristi), as Dancing With the Stars has drawn more than 20 million viewers on a given night this season, and the media coverage can get pretty intense around the show. DWTS airs again live tonight at 8 p.m. ET, and you can vote for Kristi and her partner, Mark Ballas, on abc.com after the show.

As always, XM Radio’s Home Ice is a fine place to hear coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Starting this week, XM will have a new guest analyst to talk about the Conference Semifinals, as Hurricanes Assistant Coach Jeff Daniels joins Gary Green and Jim Tatti every Thursday at 3:25.

Speaking of playoff coverage, those of you watching Versus continue to hear the familiar voice of John Forslund during the network’s broadcasts. After calling the first two games of the San Jose-Dallas series out in Northern California, John is traveling to Denver today. He will broadcast Games 3 and 4 of the Detroit-Colorado series from Pepsi Arena this week.

No Joy in Mudville
April 5, 2008

With the exception of June 13, 2002, last night was the most difficult night of my professional career. I would like to say I woke up this morning and the sun came up and I felt better. But it is cloudy out, and I just don’t. For some reason, this one really stings. And it will probably sting for a while.

Forty-three wins. With the exception of the 2005-06 season, when Carolina won a franchise-best 52 games, the Hurricanes’ 43 wins this season was tied for the most in the entire 28-year National Hockey League history of the franchise. And before you try to qualify it by saying the numbers are skewed because of the shootout, Carolina won just two shootouts this year. Even if you take those away, the 41 wins remaining would be the third-highest win total in the team’s history, behind only 2005-06 and 1986-87.

The only thing skewed about it is that 43 wins will likely be one win too few for the Hurricanes. In a world without shootouts, the Hurricanes would sit even with the Montreal Canadiens for the most wins in the Eastern Conference, with 41. More non-shootout wins than the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins or anyone else in the East.

But this is not a world without shootouts. And those extra points that all of those teams received for overtime games and shootout victories add up to what could be a long summer for the Hurricanes, who battled through so much to get themselves into a position to make the playoffs. The Stanley Cup Playoffs, where games are not decided by shootouts, but rather by heart and determination and effort, the types of qualities that allow a team whose second-leading scorer played in only 66 games to battle on.

It almost makes you wish that the season had taken the turn that so many expected it to when what seemed at the time like the death-blow happened on Feb. 14, when Georges Laraque ended Rod Brind’Amour’s season. Maybe it would have just been easier to handle if the Canes slipped quietly into the night when Brind’Amour, Ray Whitney, Justin Williams, Matt Cullen and the rest were all out of the lineup. If we succumbed to 336 man-games lost, so many of them high-profile, star man-games. If we never got so close that we could taste it.

But then we wouldn’t have had the chance to see the Scott Walker-Keith Aucoin-Ryan Bayda line frustrate the heck out of teams with their constant cycling. Or to see Joe Corvo exact revenge on his former team and Sergei Samsonov rediscover the scoring touch that made him a star. Or to watch players like Tim Conboy and Wade Brookbank and Joe Jensen make an impact in the NHL. Or to see Cam Ward emerge, giving the Hurricanes a chance with a career-high, season-ending, 20-game start streak.

Or to see Eric Staal put the team on his back like the superstar he is, willing the Hurricanes to 15 wins in their last 23 games.

No, barring a second consecutive miracle effort from Craig Anderson and the Florida Panthers, we are stuck with the sting. And the 20 men who sat stunned, silent and somber in the lockers last night after firing 46 shots on net only to fall one win – one goal – short will be able to take little comfort in the journey that allowed them to get that close, against so many obstacles.

So the clouds and the rain can stay for today. It is okay that it hurts, because if it didn’t, something would really be wrong.

Down to This
April 4, 2008

Several times in interviews yesterday, I heard Chad LaRose use the words “game seven.”

It may sound a little extreme, but when you think about it, it’s dead-on. It’s one game. You win the game, you play on. You don’t, and your season is (in all likelihood) over. For the Hurricanes, we can expect nothing less than playoff-style intensity for the final game of the regular season.

A win would give the Hurricanes their fourth title in the nine-year history of the Southeast Division. It would give Carolina points in 16 of their final 17 home games of the season. It would extend their RBC Center unbeaten streak against the Panthers to 16 games, dating back to December 2002. It would make the Hurricanes 16-5-2 in 23 games without their captain, Rod Brind’Amour, a span during which the team will lose nearly 150 man-games due to injury.

But most of all, it will bring the Stanley Cup Playoffs back to Raleigh. Where that number that popped up three times in the above paragraph – 16 – will be the magic number once again.

As of now, tickets are still available for tonight’s game. Every little bit counts, and the Hurricanes could use every ounce of energy the Caniacs can muster for this one. So get here early. Catch the live band before the game during your tailgate. Pick up your free hat on the way in to watch warm-ups. Watch a Caniac win a brand new car. See another one win a house. Take a shot that you will be one of the lucky few to win a jersey off of the back of one of the Hurricanes players on the ice after the game.

And help the Hurricanes win another banner for the RBC Center’s rafters, so they can play on.

Media Alerts: Ron Francis will be part of Chris Clark’s show on 620 the Bull today at 12:05.  Justin Williams will join David Glenn on 850 The Buzz at 5:05 today. 

Photo Finish
April 3, 2008

With the Canes just one win away from wrapping up their fourth Southeast Division title, and preparing for their third game in four nights to finish the regular season, Coach Laviolette gave most of the players the option of staying off the ice this morning to rest their ailments. After a team meeting this morning, a small group of guys did jump on the ice for practice, while about an equal number chose some spirited soccer action over the ice time. But the biggest semi-controversy of the day involved a puck and a camera lens.

One of the most important goals of last night’s 6-2 win against Tampa Bay came when a Dennis Seidenberg power-play dump-in took a crazy hop off the RBC Center boards right onto the stick of Scott Walker, who was driving the net. Walker took advantage of the fortuitous bounce, and buried his 14th goal of the season, putting Carolina up 4-1 close to halfway through the second period.

I got a call after the game from our team photographer, Gregg Forwerck, who had found out that another photographer at the game, Andy Mead, had his camera lens broken when a dump-in struck the hole in the glass he was using to take pictures. The story was that it was in fact Seidenberg’s dump-in that struck Mead’s camera, and thus the $500 in damage done to the photographer’s camera had directly benefited Walker and the Canes.

We went with it this morning, even having Walker sign a puck for Mead (“Thanks for the assist”) to commemorate the moment. But upon further review by the Hurricanes coaching staff, replays clearly showed that Seidenberg’s dump-in had struck a stanchion above the face-off circle and at least 10-15 feet away from where the camera position was located. Mead’s camera had likely been struck about 30 seconds earlier on the same power-play, when Joe Corvo’s dump-in took a funny bounce and allowed Tampa to clear the puck

Given the timing of both events, it is easy to see how the photo folks mixed up the sequence. But given that it was a pretty good story to begin with, and taking into consideration Mead’s loss either way, I’m pretty sure we’ll still pass that puck along to him.

Also, I apologize for my absence around these parts. As usual, this is a crazy time of year for everyone here, as we prepare for potential playoff games in Raleigh. To get that playoff action, the Hurricanes will likely have to beat the Florida Panthers tomorrow night. Hopefully, we will have the type of energy from the RBC Center crowd on Friday night that we had on Wednesday.

The bounces wouldn’t hurt, either. But as our head coach says regularly, “You make your own bounces.” Can’t argue with that.

Media Alerts: Hat trick hero Chad LaRose is doing some radio this afternoon. He will join 850 The Buzz’s David Glenn at 3:20. At 4:05, he will call in to Sirius Radio’s Hockey Night in Canada Radio show, hosted by Elliot Friedman and Craig Simpson.

Hurricanes Assistant Coach Jeff Daniels will join 99.9 FM The Fan’s Mike Maniscalco tonight for the final Canes Corner of the regular season, at Bass Lake Draft House at 6 p.m.

Something Special
March 17, 2008

Updates

• Listen to Scott Walker's interview with Team 1040 in Vancouver here: Part 1 | Part 2
• Listen to Tim Conboy and Ryan Bayda on Canes Corner here
• Listen to Jim Rutherford's interview with 850 The Buzz here.

• Including the game in which he was injured on his first shift of the game, the Hurricanes won their 11th game in 15 without their captain, Rod Brind’Amour. During those 15 games, Carolina has lost 98 man games due to injury. Nearly 100 man games lost in just 15 games, and the Hurricanes have won 11 of those 15.
   
• Patrick Eaves scored possibly the most important goal of the game, earning his first goal in a Hurricanes sweater on a power-play tally to answer Ottawa’s five-on-three goal and tied the score in the first period. Needless to say, Eaves is fighting through some maladies of his own, so to see him fly around against his old team, and be rewarded with a little bit of payback was pretty special.
   
• Speaking of payback, I am not sure I have ever seen a player have quite the storybook game that Joe Corvo had in his first game against his former team. It is one thing to joke around about scoring a hat trick in your first game against your old squad, it is another to actually get it done, with three gorgeous tallies in a 5-1 victory. If you watched the reactions of his new teammates when the hats started flying out of the stands, you can tell just how special that moment was for Joe Corvo. Corvo’s hat trick was also the first by a Carolina defenseman since Sandis Ozolinsh netted three at Chicago on March 4, 2001.
   
• At a team dinner after the game, an entire table was filled with players who spent serious time in Albany this year. Ryan Bayda, Keith Aucoin, Joe Jensen, Tim Conboy, Wade Brookbank and Patrick Dwyer were all at the function. In total, 11 players have played for both Tom Rowe’s Albany River Rats and the Carolina Hurricanes this season. Those players have not only held their own, but have provided the spark to have the Hurricanes playing their best hockey at the most important time of the season.
   
• Without that spark, who knows where Carolina would be right now. The Washington Capitals are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games. The Florida Panthers are 7-2-1. And yet both teams have lost ground to Carolina during their last 10, as the Hurricanes went 8-2-0. If we feel at all frustrated that the lead is still only five points, imagine how those teams feel that it is still a five-point cushion.
   
• Nearly 19,000 people packed into the RBC Center for yesterday’s game against Ottawa, a hockey game on Tobacco Road that overlapped with the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Championship Game. It was the second consecutive sell-out crowd for Carolina. The last one, against the Sabres last Saturday night, overlapped with the North Carolina vs. Duke basketball game. For any of you who have followed this team since the early days, I am pretty sure I don’t have to explain the significance of that one.

Baby Rutherford
March 11, 2008

Another new addition arrived this morning, as President and General Manager Jim Rutherford’s wife, Leslie, gave birth to a baby boy, James Samuel John Rutherford, at 7:50 a.m. James Samuel John weighed in at 6 lbs, 5 oz., and both he and his mother are doing well.

Obviously, Mr. Rutherford will be hanging back in Raleigh today, when the Canes make their first trip to Chicago in almost exactly four years. This year’s game will have a little bit of a reunion feel to it, as Tuomo Ruutu, Sergei Samsonov, Andrew Ladd, Craig Adams and Kevyn Adams all gets shots at their former teams. With the exception of Kevyn, they are each facing a team that they played for this season.

The reunion tour come to Raleigh on Sunday, when the Ottawa Senators visit the RBC Center and Joe Corvo, Patrick Eaves, Mike Commodore, Cory Stillman and Martin Gerber get the same opportunity. 

Media Alerts
We’ve taken advantage of the time between games here to have some guys do a little radio. Yesterday afternoon, Joe Corvo joined Phil Esposito on NHL Home Ice (listen here) on XM radio around 4:45 p.m.. Glen Wesley jumped on the air with David Glenn on 850 the Buzz around 5:30 p.m. And, of course, Erik Cole joined Mike Maniscalco on 99.9 FM The Fan’s weekly show, Canes Corner from 6-7 p.m. If any of those entities post those interviews on their websites, I will try to update this with the links.

Today, Matt Cullen will be on NHL Live on XM’s Home Ice channel at 12:15 p.m.

In addition to the player publicity, there was a nice piece on ESPN.com about one of our favorite behind-the-scenes people. Gregg Forwerck has been the Hurricanes team photographer since day 1 in Greensboro, and continues to commute from Charlotte to make most of the beautiful photograhy you see in our publications and promotional pieces. The story on espn.com is about his work for Topps in trading cards. 

Lots of Alerts
March 3, 2008

Today was one of those days that seemed easy enough. After a day off on Sunday, we had an afternoon practice followed by the Season Ticket Holder Party. But thanks to a nice little home stand at the RBC Center, the Hurricanes are suddenly wanted men.

So we squeezed in a video shoot with eight players for Versus before practice. And a few phone interviews. And scheduled a few more radio appearances. The results are the media alerts below, the best kinds of busy for our PR department.

Media Alerts

• Cam Ward will be on “The Fanatics” on 99.9 The Fan Tuesday morning at 8:40 a.m.
  Update - you can hear the interview here.
   
• Erik Cole will be on XM Radio’s NHL Home Ice with Scott Laughlin Tuesday at 8:45 a.m.
  Update - you can hear the interview here.
  
  
• Sergei Samsonov will be on the other Fan, the Fan 590 in Toronto, at 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning. The Fan 590 streams here.
   
• Samsonov is featured by Canadian Press writer Pierre LeBrun in his Sportsnet.ca column, which is available here.
   
• Also, keep an eye on CBS Sportsline’s NHL page over the next few hours. Sportsline’s Wes Goldstein spoke to Samsonov and Peter Laviolette via telephone this afternoon and a column about the former Calder Trophy winner will appear there soon.
   
• The Storm Squad is featured along with other “NHL Ice Girls” as part of a photo gallery on CNNSI.com this week.
   
• And Chad LaRose will be the guest for 99.9 The Fan’s “Canes Corner” with Mike Maniscalco on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Falls Tap Room.

Ruutu’s “Welcome to Carolina”
Feb. 27, 2008

After the game last night, I went into the training room to see what kind of update I could get on Tuomo Ruutu. Not only was Ruutu the newest Hurricane, but he had made quite an impact in his debut, punishing the Devils with several of the biggest hits we’ve seen in Raleigh all year, setting up the Hurricanes’ first goal and earning third star honors. So, obviously, the media not only wanted an update on his condition, they wanted a chance to get Ruutu on camera talking about his wild day.

When I mentioned to Pete Friesen what I was looking for, he pretty much gave me one of those “You’ve-gotta-be-kidding-me” looks that made it clear that Ruutu’s local media debut would have to wait until Wednesday. The 25-year-old Finn had taken a nasty high stick from Devils forward Patrik Elias late in the game, and was in no shape to face the cameras. I did stick around in the training room though, so I could at least give the press a final tally on the total number of stitches required to close Ruutu’s wounds (which was about 40, internal and external stitches included).

When the doctors finished their work, Ruutu emerged from the room where they were working on him and popped into the main area of the training room. Left eye already swelling up and face littered with stitches, he saw Brian Tatum and I standing there, smiled and stuck out his hand. I was thinking to myself, “I think if I just got up after having doctors thread my face for 45 minutes, the last thing I would feel like doing is walking around shaking people’s hands and making small talk.” But, after arriving at the RBC Center via police escort from RDU at 6:50 p.m. for a 7 p.m. game, Tuomo was excited to finally meet all the people who had just come into his life, facial lacerations or not.

Time will tell, but I get the feeling from talking to people that what I had just witnessed was Tuomo Ruutu in a nutshell.

Today, left eye fully swollen shut, Ruutu did finally meet the Carolina press at the RecZone. Still wearing the non-stop smile from last night, Ruutu even cracked a few jokes about his new battle scar, calling it his “welcome to Carolina” moment. While his playing status for tomorrow night remains uncertain because of his swollen left eye, it is quite clear the injury has done little to damage his spirit and affable personality. Ruutu is simply thrilled to get a fresh start in Carolina. Fired up about being on a first-place team. And absolutely starving for an opportunity to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in his young career.  

And based on the reactions he got with a hit on Colin White during his first shift last night, and after his name was called on the Hurricanes first scoring play, I think we can be excited about a player who could very well become a fan favorite around these parts.

Media Alerts
99.9 The Fan’s Adam Harris caught up with Ruutu today at practice, so look for clips and a full interview on that station or in the Hurricanes audio section of The Fan’s website.

Also, 850 The Buzz’s David Glenn talked to Hurricanes tough guy Wade Brookbank today about the impact he had on last night’s contest. So look for that interview to air on Glenn’s show at 5:40 Wednesday evening.

Ruutu Alerts
Feb. 26, 2008

Some quick media alerts in connection with today’s acquisition of Tuomo Ruutu from the Chicago Blackhawks:

• As always, the News & Observer’s hockey blog, “Lord Stanley’s Blog,” is a great source for breaking Hurricanes news and reaction. The N&O’s Luke DeCock caught up with Jim Rutherford minutes after today’s trade went through.
• Ron Francis will join “The Insiders” on 99.9 FM The Fan this afternoon at 3:20. The Fan is available streaming live here.  Also, if you missed Joe Corvo’s appearance on “The Insiders” yesterday afternoon, you can hear it here.
• Francis will also phone in to David Glenn’s show on 850 The Buzz this afternoon at 3:40. The Buzz is available streaming live here.

Ruutu’s journey to Raleigh from Chicago has already faced a few flight delays, but we are hoping that he is able to get off the ground soon, and be in the lineup this evening. He will wear number 15 for the Hurricanes, last worn in Carolina by Brad Isbister. Ruutu will be the first Finnish player to pull on a Hurricanes sweater since Sami Kapanen. 

Cover Game Answers
Feb. 25, 2008

I had some great responses to the cover game contest – so great, in fact, that a few fans found some items that I hadn’t even noticed. The earliest and most accurate response came from 22-year-old John Gottshall. John spotted 34 items in the photo from the cover of our 2007-08 Media Guide, all but a few of which were completely correct and accurate. For his superb Caniac detective work, John will enjoy the game on Tuesday night from The Guy Behind the Guy’s seats in section 209. (Though, of course, TGBTG has never actually sat in those seats, for obvious reasons).

With the addition of a few items that fans picked out that I didn’t know had made it onto the final product, here is a complete (I think) list of the 37 distinct pieces of memorabilia in the photo. The items are depicted clockwise, starting in the bottom and left-hand corner and finishing in the bottom right-hand corner.  See my previous blog entry for the photo.

1.  “I Was There” commemorative puck: first pre-season game in Greensboro (9/13/97)
2. Commemorative puck: inaugural season in Greensboro
3. Rod Brind’Amour jersey, 2007-08
4. Hardees 2002-03 Carolina Hurricanes team “autographed” puck
5. Hardees 2002-03 Bobblehead of Ron Francis
6. Hardees 2002-03 Bobblehead of Rod Brind’Amour
7. Game puck: 2002 Stanley Cup Finals
8. Commemorative puck: 2006 Stanley Cup Champions
9. Game puck: Carolina Hurricanes 2005-06 regular season
10. Commemorative puck: ABC Sports coverage of 2002 Stanley Cup Finals
11. Jersey patch from 2002 Stanley Cup Finals
12. Photo of Glen Wesley
13. Game Ticket, Opening Night of Inaugural Season, 10/3/97 (Just above Peter Laviolette’s head in photo of Glen Wesley)
14. Photo of Carolina Hurricanes White House visit with George W. Bush
15. 2006 Stanley Cup replica presented to players and hockey staff
16. Storm Squad uniform patch
17. Original Stormy doll
18. News & Observer front page, June 20, 2006
19. Goalie stick autographed by 1997-98 Hurricanes
20. Rod Brind’Amour hockey glove
21. Ron Francis game helmet
22. Rod Brind’Amour “Victory” inspirational plaque
23. 2006 Eastern Conference Champions hat
24. News & Observer “Canes Reign” keepsake section, June 21, 2006
25. Photo of Eric Staal’s first NHL goal at Boston, 10/23/03
26. Whatever It Takes rally towel from 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs
27. Team-issued equipment bag (underneath “Whatever It Takes” towel)
28. Hurricanes Watch Game Program, 2001 Stanley Cup Playoffs
29. Commemorative Puck, Rod Brind’Amour’s 1000th point (Distributed 12/29/06)
30. (Can only see top sliver) Commemorative puck, Ron Francis 500 goals
31. Game Puck, 2006 Stanley Cup Finals
32. Commemorative Puck, 2006 Stanley Cup Finals Match-up
33. Relentless wristband sold to benefit Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
34. Shafer vineyards “Relentless” wine, as presented by Peter Laviolette to MVP of 2006 Conference Finals
35. Game Program: Inaugural regular season game vs. Pittsburgh (10/3/97)
36. Sporting News from June 2002 with Arturs Irbe on cover
37. Gray 2006 Southeast Division Champions t-shirt (underneath Opening Night Program and Sporting News)

Media Alerts: A few quick alerts for today. Chad Sokol’s road trip piece on the Hurricanes for NBC-17 is available now on the NBC-17 website. Also, Joe Corvo will be a guest on “The Insiders” on 99.9 FM The Fan this afternoon at 4 p.m. Fellow new addition Patrick Eaves will journey to the Bass Lake Draft House on Wednesday night to be the featured guest on Canes Corner, hosted by Mike Maniscalco, from 6-7 p.m. 

Also, the new issues of Wake Living and Fifteen501 magazines are out and available complimentary at business throughout Wake, Durham and Orange counties. The magazines continue to provide me with an opportunity to submit a column each issue, with the spring column focusing on the great work that Doug Warf and the Carolina Hurricanes Kids ‘N Community Foundation do for the area. It looks like last night’s Casino Night event raised more than $200,000 for the Foundation, money that Doug will direct to great educational and children’s organizations in the Triangle.  

I also want to congratulate the Junior Hurricanes AAA Squirt Team on capturing the championship of the 2008 Fargo Flyers International Squirt Hockey Tournament. The team, which includes Matthew Forslund and Peter Laviolette, Jr., clinched the title with a victory against a team from Colorado. The tournament included 48 teams, mostly from Minnesota and North Dakota and featuring some familiar cities for Hurricanes fans like Moorhead, MN, former home of Matt Cullen, and Thunder Bay, Ont., home to the Staals.

The Cover Game
Feb. 23, 2008

By now, some of you have probably seen the cover from our 2007-08 Media Guide, which was published in early October. The idea behind this year’s cover was to capture a glimpse into just how much history the Hurricanes have accumulated in just one decade of action in the Tar Heel State. We felt the final version captured the spirit of the “Our team. Our tradition” slogan that the marketing department established for the 10th Anniversary season.

To do the shoot, we gathered more than 100 pieces of memorabilia, mostly from our own homes and offices and those of our co-workers. It was pretty overwhelming to see all of the pieces piled in the Hurricanes locker room, where Hurricanes photographer Gregg Forwerck set up shop to make his magic happen. Gradually, we adjusted and whittled everything down to the final result. As best as I can count, 32 small pieces of Hurricanes history made it onto the final cover. Some are more easily identified than others, either because they are partially obscured or because of the ways that shadows fell.

So I decided today that we’ll do a little contest. The first Caniac to specifically identify at least 25 of the 32 items on the cover will get my two tickets for Tuesday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils. On some items, I’ll be looking for specifics (what a puck is commemorating, where a fan could have gotten certain promotional items, the date of a newspaper), and others can be more general (who is in a photo). But ultimately, I’ll judge whether your answers are accurate enough to win the contest.

Good luck, Caniacs. I’ll post the winner’s name and the answer to the full list of 32 items as I see them on Tuesday morning.

Big game tonight and a gorgeous day for tailgating. We expect the RBC Center to be packed to the rafters this evening, as we pay tribute to our nation’s military and try to knock of the Capitals in our most important regular season game to date.

If you can’t make it over here, tonight’s game will be televised on FSN South.

Sokol’s Road Trip
Feb. 19, 2008

A few posts back, I mentioned that NBC-17’s Chad Sokol was on the road trip to Nashville to put together a feature about life on the road for the Hurricanes. If you are heading to tonight’s game at the RBC Center, go ahead and set your DVR to record NBC-17’s 7 p.m. news broadcast, because the station will debut Sokol’s segment during their evening broadcast tonight, most likely somewhere between 7:20 and 7:45. If you miss it tonight, it will re-air on Sunday, Feb. 24th during NBC-17’s Sportszone, which airs from 11:30 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Also, if you hadn’t already seen it, the Hurricanes will have a connection with the upcoming season of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” as Bret Hedican’s lovely wife, Kristi Yamaguchi, joins the competition. The sixth season of the show will debut on March 17.

Just a reminder that tonight is Eric Staal figurine night. The first 10,000 folks into the RBC Center will get the limited edition collectable item.

Trade Media Alerts
Feb. 11, 2008

Some quick media alerts for today in the aftermath of our trade with Ottawa. Jim Rutherford will appear on the following radio shows to discuss the deal: 

• Fan 99.9 FM. Jim will join “The Insiders” on the Raleigh sports talk channel at 4:20 p.m.
• Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 112. He will join hosts Jeff Marek, Kelly Hrudey and Ron MacLean around 4:45 p.m.
• XM Satellite Radio, Home Ice. He will join Phil Esposito around 5:25 p.m.
• Toronto 640 AM. He will be on the Bill Watters Show on the Toronto station this evening.
• 850 The Buzz, Morgan Patrick show. JIm will join Morgan's show this evening, which airs between 6-8 p.m. on the Raleigh sports talk station.

Also, Erik Cole will be on 99.9 FM at 6 p.m. I will try to send more updates to this list as they come in, since there are few other possibilities out there.

---

Comments for Mike?