Fresh off of a big win against the NHL’s #1 team on Tuesday and just prior to a set of 2 home games on Friday and Saturday, Thursday included practice and a tremendous set of feel good fun of a couple different varieties.

The best to recap the fun day is to check out the Twitter feed of @MSmithCanes from today for all 3 stories and @MakeAWishEastNC for coverage of Chase’s day. Michael is the web producer and writer for the team web site and recapped the day with photos included.

 

Bryan Bickell

Bryan Bickell was on the ice for practice today. Important to note is that he was in a yellow non-contact jersey and was not a full participant (again per Michael Smith), but just seeing him on the ice with the team is a positive step and was a fine start to the feel good day.

 

Ryan Murphy

Sometime after practice, Ryan Murphy realized that he was the victim of a prank that saw his car completely filled with packaging peanuts. The best part is the video with his reaction and showing him shoveling up the mess (again on Michael Smith’s Twitter feed).

 

Chase Bass from Make a Wish Foundation wins first, second and third stars in ball hockey game

The Hurricanes also had a fun practice guest. Chase from the Make a Wish Foundation joined the team for practice. He then proceeded to clean up in a ball hockey game against NHLers in the parking lot and won all 3 stars. He was then rewarded for his strong play by signing an NHL contract with Ron Francis. It goes without saying that today represented an incredibly good start to Chase’s young NHL career. I need to discuss in more detail with some Canes prospect experts, but I see him landing somewhere in the top 5 on the list of future Canes.

David Grzybowski from WNCN.com had this story.

ABC11 covered the story and his contract signing HERE.

 

Canes and Coffee is heavy on the bits, bites and analysis of all kinds of hockey stuff ranging from big stuff to minutiae. Today is a tremendous reminder that Canes hockey is supposed to fun. It is also a reminder that there is an important community component that is at its core.

 

Here is hoping that the feel good vibe from Bryan Bickell, prank victim Ryan Murphy and the star of the day Chase carries over into the weekend hockey at PNC Arena.

 

Go Canes!