Rodney returns, again

The Carolina Hurricanes today reassigned defenseman Bryan Rodney to the River Rats. 

Rodney was recalled for the second time this season on November 25th. He played one game this time around, registering over 20 minutes of ice-time, four shots on goal and an even plus/minus rating. 

Rodney was filling in for injured Canes' D-man Joni Pitkanen, who is expected to be back in the line-up tonight.

Albany captain Pat Dwyer remains in Raleigh, as forward Chad LaRose has been sidelined with a lower-body injury. 

Forward Scott Walker, who has been out with an upper-body injury since November 15, participated today at the team's morning skate. Goaltender Cam Ward was also briefly on the ice.

Rodney called back up

Defenseman Bryan Rodney today was called back up to the Carolina Hurricanes to fill in for the injury-prone Joni Pitkanen. 

Pitkanen left the Canes' game last night in Raleigh with an upper-body condition. He has been in and out of the line-up since the start of the season.

Rodney was reassigned to the River Rats from Carolina just last Friday, but skated in only two contests before getting the call once again.  

Albany captain Pat Dwyer, who was called up to the Hurricanes on November 19, may soon be reassigned. 

Dwyer was a healthy scratch last night as Carolina forward Tuomo Ruutu returned after missing one game. 

Star forward Eric Staal, who sat out 10 games with an upper-body injury, registered over 20 minutes of ice-time in his second game back.

The Hurricanes blew a 4-1 lead to the Atlanta Thrashers, losing 6-4 after allowing five unanswered goals in the third period.

Canes lose another D-man UPDATED

Just as the Carolina Hurricanes regained one defenseman, they lost another.

The good news: Joni Pitkanen is back skating a regular shift with the Canes and playing fantastic. The bad news: Tim Gleason could be the organization's latest defensive casualty.

Gleason left tonight's game against the New York Islanders with an upper body injury. We are still waiting for an update on his condition. 

At the start of the season fans in Albany were expecting Casey Borer, Jay Harrison and Brett Carson to hold down the Rats' blue line. Borer never made to training camp; Harrison never made it to Albany; and Carson was injured in his second game. 

The saga continues. 

During the offseason the Rats wisely signed Jonathan Paiement and Benn Olson for defensive depth. Less than four weeks into the season, both are proving to be invaluable. 

UPDATE: Gleason went in for X-rays after the game. He is now listed as day-to-day, so we assume nothing is fractured. According to Chip Alexander, Gleason will probably sit out Friday's game against the Colorado Avalanche. Jay Harrison will be back in. 

News & Notes

• The Rats' front office is hoping to draw some big crowds at the Times Union Center this weekend, especially on Saturday for the second game of the Northway rivalry. Promotions were announced today, including a giveaway of River Rats' Thurderstix to the first 5,000 fans. Bring your friends. Get those curtains open!

• The River Rats' ECHL affiliate, the Florida Everblades, have started the season with a 1-1-1-0 record. Jacob Micflikier, who has a two-way deal with the Rats, leads the Blades in points with a goal and three assists. Rob Hennigar, who is also signed on a two-way deal, is the team's second highest scorer with a goal and two assists. Veteran goaltender Mike Morrison, another two-way player, has been in net for two of Blades' three games, registering a win and an overtime loss, and stopping 44 of 49 shots. The Fort Myers News-Press has a nice article on Morrison.

• In Carolina, defenseman Joni Pitkanen finally appears to be on the path to recovery. When Pitkanen returns to full strength, Jay Harrison will likely be headed to Albany. There is a possibility the Canes will keep Harrison as a seventh D-man, but informed sources think otherwise.

• Michael Ryan, who suffered a concussion in a NHL preseason game on September 21, has been out of action for a full month now. We would be lying if we said we weren't worried. Still waiting for an official update on his condition. When he gets healthy, expect him to play in Albany.

• Casey Borer is back home in Minnesota recuperating from neck surgery. We don't expect him to be at full strength until January at best.
  

News & Notes

• Defenseman Zack FitzGerald is spotlighted in the Troy Record.

• Injured leader Mike Angeldis is the focus of the Albany Times Union.

• Goaltender Mike Murphy will get the first start of his pro career this weekend. Coach Jeff Daniels says Murphy will likely play against Rochester on Saturday.

• Forward Harrison Reed will play in his first contest of the 2009-10 season tonight against the Portland Pirates. Reed was impressive at training camp and in the preseason. Expect him to skate hard. Phil Janack has more.

• Fans in Albany can forget about seeing defenseman Jay Harrison in the short-term. Carolina D-man Joni Pitkanen remains day-to-day. Pitkanen, who underwent knee surgery in September, skated in his first contest of the season Tuesday night, but did not play in the third period because of soreness in his knee. Pitkanen also sat out of practice the last two days. That means Harrison will be back in the line-up for Carolina this weekend. 

• Coach Jeff Daniels tells Phil Janack that the injury to Carolina's Erik Cole should not affect things in Albany, at least not for the time being. Former River Rat Tim Conboy filled in for the Canes Tuesday night in a 2-1 shootout win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Conboy had a fight in the first period, but did not play a regular shift. He registered only 3:25 of ice-time. Conboy will likely play again tonight in the Canes' contest against the Florida Panthers. 

• Portland tonight will be without blueliner Joe DiPenta, who was recently handed a one-game suspension for taking a two-handed chop at Kip Brennan of the Springfield Falcons.
  

Pitkanen, Conboy to play; Ryan feeling better

According to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, Carolina Defenseman Joni Pitkanen, who has been out with a bum knee since the start of the season, should will return to action tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

If Pitkanen proves to be fully recuperated, the Canes will have a decision to make regarding D-man Jay Harrison: assign him to Albany or keep him in Raleigh as a seventh defenseman. 

Also scheduled to play for Carolina tonight is former Albany captain Tim Conboy. With Carolina forward Erik Cole out with a leg fracture, Conboy is getting a chance to skate. The Canes appear comfortable with the current roster, at least for the time being.

Michael Ryan, who suffered a concussion during the Hurricanes' second preseason game on September 21, says he is feeling much better. Still no definitive word on his return, but we expect it to come sooner rather than later. 

News & Notes

• Forward Michael Ryan, who reportedly suffered a concussion in an NHL preseason game last Monday, is still not skating. Ryan, who was a leader for Albany last season, is one of the only remaining two-way players on the Carolina Hurricanes roster. The other is defenseman Jay Harrison.

• Carolina D-man Joni Pitkanen, who underwent knee surgery on September 10, is back at practice and playing alongside Aaron Ward. As a result, Jay Harrison has been bumped back to the seventh defensive slot. Pitkanen remains questionable for full competition, so Harrison could still play in the Canes' home opener Friday.

• Trevor Gillies is impressing folks at training camp in Rochester. The former Albany fan-favorite could soon be an enemy with the Amerks. 

• Ryan McGinnis and Aaron Clarke, who both played for the River Rats towards the end of last season, have been released from training camp with the Adirondack Phantoms. They have ECHL teams waiting on them. McGinnis will report to the Kalamazoo Wings. Clarke will go to the Wheeling Nailers.

• Former River Rat Ryan Bayda earned a two-way deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins and is on course to make the NHL roster...or not (update)...Bayda was sent down to Wilkes-Barre on September 30.
  

Dwyer, Boychuk assigned to Albany

The Hurricanes today assigned Pat Dwyer and Zach Boychuk to Albany, reducing the number of two-way players in Carolina to just four: Brandon Sutter, Michael Ryan, Jay Harrison and Jamie McBain.

Boychuk and Dwyer are not expected to play in tonight's preseason match between the River Rats and Phantoms.

The Canes, meanwhile, will dress a veteran line-up tonight against the Atlanta Thrashers. Brandon Sutter will not play. Jay Harrison will likely fill in for Joni Pitkanen, who skated this morning for the first time since having knee surgery.

Borer begins healing; Pitkanen still out

Casey Borer
(Photo by jbk-ltd)

Chip Alexander, who covers the Carolina Hurricanes for the Raleigh News & Observer, has a few updates on his twitter page regarding Casey Borer. Hat tip to Jennifer, aka sandpiper214, for first noticing.

Canes' General Manager Jim Rutherford tells Alexander that Borer's neck surgery, which took place on Monday, went well and the prognosis is good.

Borer is expected to wear a neck brace for the next six weeks. If everything is sound when the brace comes off, he should be able to start skating again sometime in November. Keep your fingers crossed.

In other news, defenseman Joni Pitkanen will miss Carolina's two final exhibition games. Pitkanen, who is still recovering from knee surgery, was expected to start practicing Tuesday, but his rehab went slower than anticipated. He is now set to hit the ice next week. If Pitkanen is unable to play in Carolina's home opener next Friday, D-man Jay Harrison will likely be included in the line-up.

Rats Included In First Carolina Preseason Game

The Carolina Hurricanes have released the team's roster for tomorrow night's first preseason game at the RBC Center in Raleigh. Notable names include Nicolas Blanchard, Michael Ryan, Pat Dwyer, Brandon Sutter, Zach Boychuk, Bryan Rodney, Jay Harrison, Brett Carson and Justin Peters. The team will face-off against the Nashville Predators at 7pm. Read more at Tracking the Storm.

Important notes: Hurricanes' coach Paul Maurice says D-man Joni Pitkanen is "progressing nicely" and is expected to return for the team's two final exhibition games. If this holds true, the Rats will most likely have Jay Harrison and/or Brett Carson to start the season.

Several of the Rats' "higher-end skaters" are expected to play in all four Carolina preseason games. This means fans in Albany will probably get to see some of the ECHL crop during the Rats' two-game exhibition series with the Adirondack Phantoms. The Rats play the Phantoms in Glens Falls on September 25th and again at home on September 26th.

Nick Dodge has put up a new blog entry.

Canes Announce Training Camp Roster; Borer Scheduled for Surgery

Hurricanes General Manager Jim Rutherford today announced who will be invited to the team's upcoming training camp. The full list of skaters is available here.

Notable names include goaltenders Justin Peters and Mike Murphy; defensemen Brett Carson, Bryan Rodney, Jamie McBain, Jay Harrison and Brett Bellemore; and forwards Zach Boychuk, Brandon Sutter, Michael Ryan, Pat Dwyer, Drayson Bowman, Steven Goertzen, Matt Kennedy, Mike Angelidis, Chris Terry, Nick Dodge, Jerome Samson and Nicolas Blanchard.

Defenseman Casey Borer was scheduled to participate, but (hold your breath) he is now scheduled for neck surgery.

Borer, who suffered a broken neck in the River Rats' February bus crash, was said to be on a clear path to recovery this August. Things apparently changed. No word on when he'll be back.

Carolina D-man Joni Pitkanen will also undergo surgery. He is expected to miss two to four weeks to repair torn cartilage in his knee. So if the process goes slow, an opening could be available for an Albany defenseman at the start of the season.

Good thing the Rats inked some defensive depth.