Carolina Hurricanes

The Canes have announced they will hold Hurricanes Summerfest from July 16-20 at PNC Arena, incorporating the annual Prospects Development Camp. There also will be an inaugural ‘Canes Elite Players Camp, where participants will receive instruction directly from Canes coach Kirk Muller and his staff of Rod Brind’Amour, Dave Lewis, John MacLean and Greg Stefan. The team’s Prospects Development Camp will see most or all of the Hurricanes’ 2013 draft class, other previously-drafted players and select invitees descend on Raleigh for a week of training. The camp’s on-ice sessions will be open to the public, and the week will wrap up with a game and skills competition on Saturday at noon. A complete roster and schedule for the Prospects Development Camp will be released in early July. The Elite Players Camp will take place in conjunction with the Prospects Development Camp and is open to U-18, U-16 and U-14 AAA and AA players. Participants will use the NHL ice and facilities at PNC Arena, and will receive training and instruction from Hurricanes coaches and staff. Players in the U-12 AAA and AA, U-10 AA and U-8 advanced levels can register for the ‘Canes Power Skating Clinic, to be held from July 17-20 at PNC Arena. For one hour per day, participants will receive power skating instruction from elite skating coach Kim Muir. Muir has an extensive background that includes mentoring players from the Hurricanes’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. From July 19-20, hockey coaches from all levels can learn directly from Muller and his staff at the inaugural ‘Canes Coaches’ Clinic. Muller will discuss devising a practice plan, teach team systems and offer tips on implementing systems, while the team’s assistant coaches will focus on special teams.

Hurricanes fans are breathing a collective sigh of relief this morning as the organization announced the status of team captain Eric Staal, who suffered a knee injury while playing in the IIHF World Championships on Thursday. Based on MRI and medical staff evaluation, Staal has been diagnosed with a third degree MCL sprain, and while still a significant injury, he will not require surgery, and the recovery timeline should allow Staal to be healed in time for the start of the 2013-14 season. Following is the official press release from the Hurricanes. RALEIGH, NC – Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test on team captain Eric Staal’s right knee revealed a third-degree sprain of the medial collateral ligament (MCL). Surgery will not be required to repair the ligament, and Staal’s rehabilitation should last three months. It is expected that he will be healthy and ready to play to start the 2013-14 season. Staal, 28, was injured when he took a knee-on-knee hit from defenseman Alexander Edler in the first period of Canada’s quarterfinal game at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships on Thursday in Stockholm, Sweden. Edler received a five-minute major kneeing penalty and a game misconduct by the game’s officials. On Friday, the IIHF Independent Disciplinary Panel determined that Edler should have received a match penalty as a result of the play and suspended him for the remainder of the tournament. In his nine NHL seasons, Staal has missed just 14 games, and only 12 of those due to injury/illness, having played in 690 of Carolina’s 704 regular-season games (98%) since the beginning of his rookie year of 2003-04. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only Henrik Sedin (VAN – 698), Martin St. Louis (TB – 697), Joe Thornton (BOS-SJ – 693) and Olli Jokinen (FLA-PHX-CGY-NYR-WPG – 692) have played more regular-season games than Staal in that time frame. The Thunder Bay, Ont., played in a Hurricanes-best (since relocation) 349 consecutive games from March 20, 2004-Nov. 1, 2009, and he currently holds the team’s longest active games-played streak of 149 games, dating back to March 1, 2011.

Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal has a sprained right knee but the injury will not require surgery, it was determined Saturday. Staal has a third-degree sprain of the right MCL and his recovery time has been set at three months. It is expected he will be ready for the start of the 2013-2014 season. Staal suffered a knee-on-knee hit Thursday during Canada's game against Sweden in the IIHF World Championship in Stockholm. Swedish defenseman Alex Edler, who hit Staal, was suspended for the remainder of the event by the IIHF for what its disciplinary panel called a "reckless, dangerous" hit. Staal returned to Raleigh from Sweden on Friday night and underwent an MRI on Saturday. Canes goalie Cam Ward suffered a third-degree MCL sprain in March that held him out the rest of the season.

Defenseman Alex Edler of Sweden has been suspended for the remainder of the IIHF World Championship for his knee-on-knee hit Thursday on Eric Staal. Staal, the captain of the Carolina Hurricanes, was to return to Raleigh on Friday from Stockholm and will have an MRI exam Saturday. The severity of his knee injury then will be determined. Edler, who plays for the Vancouver Canucks, was given the suspension Friday by the IIHF independent disciplinary panel. The IIHF, in its release, called Edler's hit on Staal in Thursday's quarterfinal game between Canada and Sweden "reckless, dangerous and ... in disregard to the vulnerability of his opponent." Edler was given a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct. Staal, the Team Canada captain, needed to be helped off the ice. Canes goalie Cam Ward suffered a third-degree knee sprain -- a tear of the MCL in his left knee -- in early March and was sidelined for the remainder of the season. Defenseman Justin Faulk sustained a second-degree knee sprain and was out nine games.

Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal suffered a leg injury Thursday in the IIHF World Championships in Stockholm. Staal, who also is serving as Canada's team captain, took a knee-on-knee hit from Alex Edler of Sweden with 4:14 left in the first period. He fell to the ice in pain, clutching his right knee. After being attended to by a Team Canada trainer, Staal was helped off the ice by teammates and then to the locker room, unable to put any weight on his right leg. Edler, who defenseman plays for the Vancouver Canucks, was given a five-minute kneeing major and ejected from the quarterfinal-round game. Staal took a shot from the top of the left circle, collected the rebound and was attempting to backhand a shot when hit by Edler.

Moments ago, Eric Staal was injured in the IIHF World Championships game against Sweden. It was a knee-on-knee with Alexander Edler and looked bad, I am sure that video of this will be on Youtube soon. Eric was in obvious pain on the ice and had to be helped off the ice and into the dressing room. Hope this will not be a long-term injury, but knee injuries tend to be long term. As this just happened, there is no official word on this yet. Moments ago, Eric Staal was injured in the IIHF World Championships game against Sweden. It was a knee-on-knee with Alexander Edler and looked bad, I am sure that video of this will be on Youtube soon. Eric was in obvious pain on the ice and had to be helped off the ice and into the dressing room. Hope this will not be a long-term injury, but knee injuries tend to be long term. As this just happened, there is no official word on this yet.

Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal suffered what could be a serious injury following a knee-on-knee hit from Vancouver’s Alexander Edler during Thursday’s Canada-Sweden game at the World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden. Edler was given a five minute major for kneeing and ejected from the game following the hit that left Staal writhing on the ice in pain. Here is a Vine clip from @mattbrigidi that shows the hit and Staal's reaction. We'll update any news on Staal as we get it.

Congratulations to Patrick Kane on being named a finalist for the 2013 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy! The Lady Byng Trophy is awarded to the player that 'exhibits the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability'. Kane had 23 goals, 32 assists and a team high 55 assists. He also had just eight penalty minutes this season despite averaging 20:03 of ice time per game.

Congratulations to Jonathan Toews on being named a finalist for the 2013 Selke Trophy! The Selke Trophy is awarded to the NHL's top defensive forward as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Toews had 23 goals, 25 assists and 48 points this season. He also finished the season tied for the league lead with 56 takeaways and had a +28 rating.

We're into the second round, and with that, a new round of the Canes Country Playoff Super Schedule. What will your next two weeks look like? Read on. Note that just about everything is now on NBCSN. Only one game (so far) is scheduled for CNBC, so if you're like my wife who never fails to have trouble finding CNBC, fear not. Also, all games beginning this round are nationally televised, so if you happen to be reading from another team's market there won't be any blackout concerns to deal with this time around. Enjoy!