Danny

Danny

Ik hoop dat het hem gaat lukken. Wat ik uit Brindies woorden haal, ziet het er best positief uit.
2 sep 2008, 20:08 , Reageer
Linda

Linda

Blijft toch wel een gaaf gezicht: O'Neill in een Canes jersey......
1 sep 2008, 17:35 , Reageer
Danny

Danny

30 aug 2008, 12:24 , Reageer
Danny

Danny

Although his reappearance in Raleigh is sure to invoke feelings of nostalgia for all those who followed the Hurricanes during his seven year stint with the team, Jeff O%u2019Neill doesn%u2019t want to you get too excited just yet.

The 34-year-old forward, who is attempting a comeback with the Canes by way of a training camp tryout, repeatedly downplayed the situation after taking part in one of the Hurricanes%u2019 informal players-only skates this week.


+ Click for larger photo%u201DThis is not really that big a deal,%u201D he said. %u201CThis is just a tryout where we%u2019ll see what happens. If I play well and it looks like I can play, maybe something will happen. If not, it%u2019s not going to happen.%u201D

O%u2019Neill, still the Hurricanes all-time goal scoring leader with 176 and second only to Glen Wesley in games played with 536, didn%u2019t play pro hockey at all last season following a two-year stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Once he decided he was interested in coming back to the NHL, he had his agent contact Carolina General Manager Jim Rutherford, who agreed to the tryout.

%u201CI%u2019ve had some success here in the past and obviously a lot of names are different here in the locker room, but I%u2019m very familiar with the area and just comfortable here in general, so it%u2019s an easy fit for me,%u201D he said.

O%u2019Neill%u2019s best offensive season in the NHL came with the Hurricanes in 2000-01, when he scored a career-high 41 goals %u2013 two more than he scored during his stay with the Maple Leafs. He was also named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team in 2002-03.

For what it%u2019s worth, which may not be much considering the relatively relaxed nature of the drills and scrimmages he%u2019s participated in thus far, O%u2019Neill, wearing a Hurricanes jersey complete with his old number 92 on his helmet, doesn%u2019t look out of place among the current Carolina players.

%u201DSmart players can come back because they don%u2019t lose that,%u201D said former teammate Rod Brind%u2019Amour, who has been running the informal practices. %u201CHe%u2019ll get his conditioning, but he%u2019s always had the intelligence to play this game, so he%u2019s a step ahead of most players already.


+ Click for larger photo%u201DWhether or not he wants to dig in there and give it another shot, that%u2019s what%u2019s going to remain to be seen,%u201D added Brind%u2019Amour. %u201DI think sometimes when you%u2019ve sat away from it from awhile that makes you hungrier to come back, and I think that%u2019s where he%u2019ll be at.%u201D

O%u2019Neill, who says the year off has given him a %u201Cgenerally fresh state of mind,%u201D hopes that will be the case, but isn%u2019t counting on any special treatment from the Hurricanes%u2019 management despite his undeniable place in the team%u2019s history.

%u201DJim Rutherford and Ronnie Francis, I consider them friends of mine and I think they%u2019re going to be straight-up honest with me,%u201D said O%u2019Neill. %u201CIf it doesn%u2019t look like it%u2019s going to happen, they%u2019re just going to tell me it%u2019s not going to happen. It%u2019s as simple as that.%u201D

Regardless of what happens come training camp and beyond, O%u2019Neill seems content just to give it his best shot and enjoy it while it lasts.

%u201DIt%u2019s just nice to be back in this locker room, and even if things don%u2019t work out I got to put the jersey on again,%u201D he said
30 aug 2008, 12:23 , Reageer
Linda

Linda

Droevig nieuws uit de USA: Julia Rowe, de inspriatie bron voor de "relentless" campagne uit 2006 (en daarmee tevens inspiratiebron voor het winnen van de stanley Cup) heeft helaas toch het gevecht tegen leukemie verloren

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1195738.html
27 aug 2008, 14:05 , Reageer