Shell
09-15-2003, 01:11 PM
'Canes ready for fresh start
By LUKE DECOCK
September 15, 2003
At the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic in August, Jeff O'Neill was discussing the Carolina Hurricanes' injury woes with someone who really understood.
"I was actually talking to Matt Doherty about that," O'Neill said. "You have a couple guys go down and all of a sudden the coach doesn't know what he's doing and nobody knows what they're doing and people get fired.
"But if those guys stay healthy, everything's fine. Injuries play a big part. You can't overlook it, but you can't use it as an excuse."
A season-ending injury to center Sean May contributed to the slide that cost Doherty his job as North Carolina basketball coach.
Season-ending injuries to center Rod Brind'Amour and winger Erik Cole erased any chance of a comeback last season as the Canes slid from conference champions to last place. Brind'Amour tore a tendon in his hand; Cole broke his ankle.
O'Neill was one of only three players to play in all 82 games as the Canes' man-games lost jumped from an average of 111 over the previous three seasons to 293 last season.
There's no question fatigue played a role in the numbers, with less than two months between the final game of the Stanley Cup finals and voluntary preseason workouts.
Many players came back still nursing injuries suffered during the relentless grind of the playoffs.
Many players played hurt because there was no one left in the organization to replace them.
But as the Canes prepare for a new season, there has been no activity in training camp specifically designed to address last season's injuries because they feel that the biggest injuries were the catastrophic injuries they had for so long managed to avoid.
"If we'd had a bunch of pulled groins and stuff like that, it'd be a different story," said defenseman Sean Hill, who played in all 82 games. "The preventable ones, we did all right with. We just got hit so hard by the other ones. It kind of takes away from the fact we didn't miss many games due to groin pulls and that type of thing."
Injuries that could be classified as preventable - strained groins and the like - accounted for only 28 of the Canes' man-games lost. Illness accounted for another seven man-games lost and chronic back injuries for 34.
Concussions accounted for 43, broken bones for 81, shoulder injuries for 41.
Of the 290 man-games the Canes lost last season, only 72 came during the first half of the season. A startling 218 came in the second 41 games.
That's still not close to the NHL record of 536 the Los Angeles Kings set last season. But for a team that has been among the NHL's healthiest teams over the past five years, it was pretty painful.
So there will be some changes. For the second season in a row, the NHL has insisted that all players use new helmets, and new, softer elbow pads are mandatory this year. And trainer Pete Friesen said the Canes are looking at some new types of shoulder protection.
On the ice, the Canes will do a little more cross-training - just in case.
"The thing we'll focus on is making sure all players are capable of stepping up," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said. "Our fourth line guys will learn bits of what the power play is all about and we want to take our seventh defenseman in this camp and make sure he can play 20 minutes if he has to."
But there is no way to prevent Cole's skate from catching a rut as he splits two defensemen, snapping his ankle.
And there's no way to prevent Bret Hedican getting checked into the crossbar, causing a concussion.
Along with the torn tendon in Brind'Amour's hand, those were three of the most damaging injuries to hit the Canes last season amid a string of misfortune that went beyond bad luck and well into the bizarre.
The first day of training camp last season was a harbinger. Midway through the first practice, goalie Kevin Weekes suffered a seizure the team said was related to dehydration.
In November, while playing some of the best hockey of his career, Weekes was again injured when Hedican was checked into him, elbowing Weekes in his head and causing a concussion.
Then it got weirder.
After scoring three goals in his first nine NHL games, rookie winger Jeff Heerema broke both bones in his right wrist during an 8-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
Damian Surma became the fifth Carolina player to score a goal in his NHL debut, then injured his shoulder celebrating the score.
After Weekes tore a ligament in his right thumb, Patrick DesRochers was recalled to take over the goalkeeping duties. He lasted only two games before breaking his arm during a pregame skate.
By the time the Canes were eliminated from playoff contention in March, 11 players were injured.
Now, they start fresh. Even players who underwent offseason surgeries - Brind'Amour, Cole, Weekes - say they feel fine.
"The first time I took the ice in the summer, obviously with my hand I was a little apprehensive for obvious reasons," Weekes said. "After the first three or four sessions, that kind of subsided."
The Canes go into this season hoping last season's waves of injuries have subsided as well.
By LUKE DECOCK
September 15, 2003
At the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic in August, Jeff O'Neill was discussing the Carolina Hurricanes' injury woes with someone who really understood.
"I was actually talking to Matt Doherty about that," O'Neill said. "You have a couple guys go down and all of a sudden the coach doesn't know what he's doing and nobody knows what they're doing and people get fired.
"But if those guys stay healthy, everything's fine. Injuries play a big part. You can't overlook it, but you can't use it as an excuse."
A season-ending injury to center Sean May contributed to the slide that cost Doherty his job as North Carolina basketball coach.
Season-ending injuries to center Rod Brind'Amour and winger Erik Cole erased any chance of a comeback last season as the Canes slid from conference champions to last place. Brind'Amour tore a tendon in his hand; Cole broke his ankle.
O'Neill was one of only three players to play in all 82 games as the Canes' man-games lost jumped from an average of 111 over the previous three seasons to 293 last season.
There's no question fatigue played a role in the numbers, with less than two months between the final game of the Stanley Cup finals and voluntary preseason workouts.
Many players came back still nursing injuries suffered during the relentless grind of the playoffs.
Many players played hurt because there was no one left in the organization to replace them.
But as the Canes prepare for a new season, there has been no activity in training camp specifically designed to address last season's injuries because they feel that the biggest injuries were the catastrophic injuries they had for so long managed to avoid.
"If we'd had a bunch of pulled groins and stuff like that, it'd be a different story," said defenseman Sean Hill, who played in all 82 games. "The preventable ones, we did all right with. We just got hit so hard by the other ones. It kind of takes away from the fact we didn't miss many games due to groin pulls and that type of thing."
Injuries that could be classified as preventable - strained groins and the like - accounted for only 28 of the Canes' man-games lost. Illness accounted for another seven man-games lost and chronic back injuries for 34.
Concussions accounted for 43, broken bones for 81, shoulder injuries for 41.
Of the 290 man-games the Canes lost last season, only 72 came during the first half of the season. A startling 218 came in the second 41 games.
That's still not close to the NHL record of 536 the Los Angeles Kings set last season. But for a team that has been among the NHL's healthiest teams over the past five years, it was pretty painful.
So there will be some changes. For the second season in a row, the NHL has insisted that all players use new helmets, and new, softer elbow pads are mandatory this year. And trainer Pete Friesen said the Canes are looking at some new types of shoulder protection.
On the ice, the Canes will do a little more cross-training - just in case.
"The thing we'll focus on is making sure all players are capable of stepping up," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said. "Our fourth line guys will learn bits of what the power play is all about and we want to take our seventh defenseman in this camp and make sure he can play 20 minutes if he has to."
But there is no way to prevent Cole's skate from catching a rut as he splits two defensemen, snapping his ankle.
And there's no way to prevent Bret Hedican getting checked into the crossbar, causing a concussion.
Along with the torn tendon in Brind'Amour's hand, those were three of the most damaging injuries to hit the Canes last season amid a string of misfortune that went beyond bad luck and well into the bizarre.
The first day of training camp last season was a harbinger. Midway through the first practice, goalie Kevin Weekes suffered a seizure the team said was related to dehydration.
In November, while playing some of the best hockey of his career, Weekes was again injured when Hedican was checked into him, elbowing Weekes in his head and causing a concussion.
Then it got weirder.
After scoring three goals in his first nine NHL games, rookie winger Jeff Heerema broke both bones in his right wrist during an 8-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
Damian Surma became the fifth Carolina player to score a goal in his NHL debut, then injured his shoulder celebrating the score.
After Weekes tore a ligament in his right thumb, Patrick DesRochers was recalled to take over the goalkeeping duties. He lasted only two games before breaking his arm during a pregame skate.
By the time the Canes were eliminated from playoff contention in March, 11 players were injured.
Now, they start fresh. Even players who underwent offseason surgeries - Brind'Amour, Cole, Weekes - say they feel fine.
"The first time I took the ice in the summer, obviously with my hand I was a little apprehensive for obvious reasons," Weekes said. "After the first three or four sessions, that kind of subsided."
The Canes go into this season hoping last season's waves of injuries have subsided as well.