What an exciting ride it was. Coach Rod Brind’Amour’s first season leading the Carolina Hurricanes defied expectations as he guided the team through three action-packed rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. These Raleigh sportscasters had a front row seat to all the action and here, they recount the most noteworthy ‘Canes moments that will surely live on, even though our beloved bunch of jerks is no longer playing for the Cup. To the players, we say thanks for all the memories!
Mark Armstrong, ABC 11
The best moment for me remains the buildup to Game 3 of the Capitals series. The parking lots filled once again with tailgaters, the anticipation and excitement so palpable. Once inside, the wall of sound as Canes fans unleashed 10 years’ worth of dedication and frustration into the air. It was like a great burden was lifted from an entire fan base and franchise. That the game wound up 5-0 and everyone got to party for two and half hours was pretty great as well.
Todd “Gibby” Gibson, CBS 17
To me, the most exciting thing has come off the ice, just seeing the pure joy on the faces of Canes fans. With each home win the team is attracting more and more fans and that is great to see. I’m hoping this run fuels the youth movement to the game in our area like it did back in 2006. As a reporter I’ve covered national championship games, a Super Bowl, multiple US Opens, and the Stanley Cup playoffs rates up there with any of those. This is the Hurricanes’ time to once again become relevant and the ride has been a fun one.
Mary Dunleavy, WRAL
My favorite moment was Game 3 against the Capitals. It was the first time the Hurricanes returned to home ice during the playoffs. My ears were ringing PNC was so loud. Fans were screaming in my ear and I didn’t care because I knew Raleigh was rallying around the Canes. It’s been a fun ride ever since. My favorite thing to ask the players about is home ice advantage. Raleigh definitely came to play this year.
Jeff Jones, CBS 17
Following the Hurricanes this season has been filled with memorable moments—this team really is one of the closest groups I’ve ever covered. They have told me time and time how much they genuinely like each other, and you can see that in the way they play—that quality helped them overachieve late in the season.
Another awesome aspect of covering this team has been watching the community rally. To be around 19,000 screaming fans in PNC Arena is an amazing experience, and the team’s success created that—well, their success and Hamilton the Pig.
I believe the entire state is excited about what the future holds for this team, and I’m excited to tell their stories to our community.
Arran Andersen, CBS17
No NHL venue can hold a candle to PNC Arena in the postseason. However, my most exciting moment came inside the CBS17 studio. I was anchoring the night the Hurricanes and Capitals met in Game 7. The game went to Double OT, which meant it wasn’t over when I started my sportscast. I was reading highlights, while our News Team, was gathered in the Weather Center watching the game. They kept me posted and I promised our viewers an update.
Brock McGinn scored. I heard a roar from our control room and my producer told me, through my ear piece, that the Canes had won. I honestly don’t know what came out of my mouth, but I’ll never forget the reaction from fans gathered at a watch party in Glenwood South. We immediately took a live shot of their celebration.
In the middle of the mayhem and madness our photographer zoomed in on a father and son hugging, while crying tears of joy. It was an incredible moment. At that point there was no need for words, their raw emotion said it all. To this day I get goosebumps thinking about it.
Jeff Gravley, WRAL
Being in the playoff atmosphere at PNC Arena just makes me smile. I have missed the unique experience of being surrounded by towel-waving fans who raise such a ruckus that my ears hurt and the hair stands up on the back of my neck. If you attend a game and don’t get chills, something is wrong. You don’t have to be a hockey fan to enjoy the vibes generated by a Carolina Hurricanes playoff run.
Joe Mazur, ABC 11
The most exciting moment for me so far was covering Game 7 in Washington. There is nothing like the drama of a playoff Game 7 seven in any sport. In hockey you can feel the massive amount of energy in the building and it’s on another level. You’re concentrating on the action and holding your breath knowing that any play can be the difference in the season continuing or ending. Man, how I missed that edge-of-your-seat excitement.
During the season, these Hurricanes players spend their days at practice, on the road and in the locker room. The games go on late, and the press conferences go on even later. With their season now at an end, these players are hanging up their jerseys for a well-deserved break, just in time for Father’s Day. At home, they’re not the heroes we think of on the ice but heroes that carry the title of “Dad.” Being away from family isn’t easy, especially as a professional athlete, but it makes the offseason that much sweeter. No matter how the team plays, these dads always win when they come home to their kids.
When former team captain, Stanley cup champ and NHL legend Rod Brind’Amour was named last year as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, he had one mission for the upcoming season: to take the team to the playoffs. And, while we can’t tell you whether the Canes are bringing home another Stanley cup—as of press time, the team is locked in a mighty playoff battle with defending champions, the Washington Capitals—we can, for Roddy Brind’Amour, happily say “mission accomplished.” The outlook wasn’t always so rosy. As in all sports, brilliant hockey players don’t always make the best head coaches and Brind’Amour, who spent the last seven seasons as the team’s assistant coach, had his share of doubters. A disastrous, humiliating 2017-2018 season was still fresh in mind when Brind’Amour was hired to succeed Bill Peters, and naysayers made the argument that Brind’Amour was at least partially to blame for that. There was always the risk that the marquee defensive forward could flame out spectacularly, putting Canes management in the uncomfortable position of having to fire another beloved franchise figurehead, à la former player-turned-general-manager Ron Francis. For Canes fans, who before this year hadn’t seen their team make it to the playoffs in nearly a decade, it’s hard to think of any scenario more demoralizing than that. But Brind’Amour, widely praised for his work ethic, leadership attributes and strength of character, rose to the challenge. He presciently named Stanley cup veteran Justin Williams the team’s captain and promptly began racking up the wins. The team’s state of play against the Capitals has modulated from electric to anemic but PNC Arena has seen record-setting attendance numbers and Canes fans have reason to feel good about their team. To borrow a turn of phrase, Brind’Amour has made Hurricanes hockey great again. Stanley cup or no, we think his seat is safe.
They hate us ‘cause they ain’t us! This is clearly what the Carolina Hurricanes were thinking when hockey commentator Don Cherry called the team “a bunch of jerks” during the players’ post-game celebrations on the ice following their February defeat of the Edmonton Oilers. “This is the National Hockey League,” Cherry said. “These guys, to me, are jerks. They’re still not drawing [fans]. I’ll tell you one thing, they better not do this in the playoffs.”
Naturally, the Hurricanes decided to embrace the hate in the coolest way possible: with a T-shirt emblazoned with “bunch of jerks” in large, all-caps letters. The team also briefly changed its Twitter bio to “That bunch of jerks with the fun celebrations.” The Canes’ celebrations have come to be known as “Storm Surges,” and include limbo, human dominoes, bowling and other games. After moving into the NHL playoff wild card spot, we think the players had a pretty good reason to be celebrating. If winning makes them jerks, then so be it. Go Canes!
For the last 11 years, Cam Ward has been a fixture on the ice. As the longest playing player on the Hurricanes, he was a part of the 2005-2006 Stanley Cup winning team, received the prestigious Conn Smythe Trophy, and is a big reason why the Canes still have a chance at the playoffs this year. With more than 600 career games, Ward’s career longevity in Raleigh doesn’t go unrecognized by the player.
“I’ve taken a lot of pride in being here as long as I have been,” says Cam. “All you have to do is look around the locker room and realize it’s pretty rare in this game where a player can stay with the same organization for as long as I’ve been able to.”
Ward may be one of the most recognizable players on the team; however, he and his family have kept a low profile in the community, eschewing publicity as much as possible. Ward sits in the locker room after practice still in his skates, his mask is off and though he seems a bit tired he’s ready to talk. The conversation steers away from hockey and to another subject—wine. He visibly perks up when he starts speaking about his passion for it.
“I first got interested in wine when I turned pro with the Hurricanes,” he says. “It all began with travelling during the hockey season, going out to restaurants, and seeing [retired hockey player] Ray Whitney go over the wine list and try new things. It really piqued my interest.”
Ward also started collecting. “I enjoy the hunt for the hard-to-get wines,” he says, and his wine cellar at home is now filled with bottles from favorite vineyards, most with a story to tell and, of course, a few prized vintages. Amongst his most cherished are a 2007 Harlan Estate, an etched 3-litre Continuum, and a 2007 Hundred Acre Ark. But he says he’s not the kind of collector that keeps his wines stashed away; he enjoys sharing them with friends and family.
“I think that’s what it’s all about—the conversations and memories you’re able to create while sharing wine is something that I enjoy,” he says. “I enjoy going to the wineries, having a great experience then bringing a bottle home, opening it and sharing my story.”
Perhaps this connection between wine and conversation is one reason that led Ward to take his passion for it to the next level and start his own winery, Vineyard 36. Quite appropriately one of its taglines is “passion becomes contagious when it is shared.”
Ward partnered with hockey player and former teammate Tim Gleason, who shares his passion for wine, and Jason Earnest of Tobacco Road Cellars to establish the winery in Napa Valley. Ward is very hands-on when it comes to the business, traveling to Napa several times a year to check on the winery and pursue connections. “Wine can’t sell itself, you have to go out and sell it,” he says. “We like to make our decisions as a team and we have some exciting stuff ahead in the future. We’re driving to be great. It’s the same with hockey; you don’t want to be complacent. You want to be the best.”
When asked if post hockey he sees himself at the winery crushing grapes, he chuckles: “I absolutely love the Napa Valley area. I wish it was closer.”
His wife Cody shares his enthusiasm for wine but leaves the business to him. “I definitely partake in enjoying the wine,” says Cody. “It’s fun to watch him find that joy and passion for something outside of hockey.
For the most part the couple has enjoyed their privacy but recently they decided to publicly share an incredibly personal story about their son, Nolan, who was born profoundly deaf. “We hesitated for a long time about putting it out in the pubic,” says Cody. “Even the night before it came out, Cam and I looked at each other and thought, are we doing the right thing?”
In the end, the couple decided it was important to tell their story and raise awareness about cochlear implants. They chose to recount their journey in The Player’s Tribune, giving a thorough account of the events—finding out the news just days after Nolan was born, deciding whether to pursue cochlear implants, seeing their nine and half month old undergo major surgery, and finally hearing Nolan say the words, “I love you.”
“For us, it was a way to raise awareness for hearing loss but also for people to get a more human perspective of the athlete and what Cam goes through,” says Cody. “What people don’t see as he’s skating out onto the ice… that our son is in surgery.”
While Cam also wanted to raise awareness, he saw it as an opportunity to change the way people may perceive hearing loss. “We use the analogy, it’s like glasses. You know how people wear glasses to see, cochlear implants help my son hear,” says Cam. He also says people shouldn’t be afraid of asking questions. “I think it’s more the parents than the kids. Kids ask questions and they don’t know any different, and then the parents would say, ‘I’m sorry he said something.’ You don’t have to be sorry.”
Though skeptical at first, the couple received a lot of positive feedback from sharing their story with friends and family, strangers who had been down the same road, and doctors and medical experts who had guided them through their own journey reaching out. “You hope you’re making good decisions when you put something out into the media,” says Cody, “and I think in the end we did.”
Now thanks to this modern-day miracle, Nolan spends time with his father like any other 6-year-old playing street hockey or going out on the golf course and playing nine holes. On weekends, the family, including 4-year-old Nyla, spends as much time outdoors as possible, riding bikes or scooters, playing in the pool or on the swings. And they have another outdoor adventure to look forward to this summer: “We traded our lake house back in Alberta, Canada. We’re going to move to the beach in the summer at Topsail,” says Cam. “I grew up on the lake but my kids absolutely love the beach.”
Decidedly, the couple considers North Carolina home, and Cam hopes to continue his hockey career in Raleigh. “I see the way the organization is trending; its definitely going towards the right direction with the bright future of the players. I really want to be a part of that too,” he says. “I feel like I still can be an impact and a leader in a certain way with such a young team.” And part of passing down his wisdom to his younger teammates might just include teaching them about fine wine after playing games on the road.
For the last 11 years, Cam Ward has been a fixture on the ice. As the longest playing player on the Hurricanes, he was a part of the 2005-2006 Stanley Cup winning team, received the prestigious Conn Smythe Trophy, and is a big reason why the Canes still have a chance at the playoffs this year. With more than 600 career games, Ward’s career longevity in Raleigh doesn’t go unrecognized by the player.
Perhaps this connection between wine and conversation is one reason that led Ward to take his passion for it to the next level and start his own winery, Vineyard 36. Quite appropriately one of its taglines is “passion becomes contagious when it is shared.”
In the end, the couple decided it was important to tell their story and raise awareness about cochlear implants. They chose to recount their journey in The Player’s Tribune, giving a thorough account of the events—finding out the news just days after Nolan was born, deciding whether to pursue cochlear implants, seeing their nine and half month old undergo major surgery, and finally hearing Nolan say the words, “I love you.”