On the Road with the Canes': DAY 1

Well, we arrived in Kelowna this morning around 7am BC time after an all night bus ride from Lethbridge. We loaded things up at the Enmax Centre and took off around 10:30. It was a quiet, relaxing trip with everyone settling in for a nap. We stopped in Vernon for some breakfast, unloaded the equipment at the rink here in Kelowna shortly after, got to the hotel and settled in for a bit of a rest. The Hurricanes will practice at Prospera Place here in Kelowna this afternoon. A chance for them to get a feel of the ice here and get ready for tomorrow's tilt in Chilliwack. Kelowna will be the pivot location for us this week. We'll travel from here to Chilliwack Wednesday and back and then a short bus ride to and from Kamloops on Friday.
The players all seem upbeat and ready for a few weeks on the road and why shouldn't they. This is their first real road trip of the year. I know the players and coaches were looking forward to this and hey, it's always fun to get away from home for a while.
Last night on our hockey talk show, GM Roy Stasiuk told Dick and I Dan Iwanski is about two weeks away from returning and could be back November 8th when the the Canes' play in Calgary. Forward Garrett Taylor is still 3 or so weeks away with a broken arm. Besides that, this team is pretty much healthy. (You can hear the entire show with GM Stasiuk by clicking the Lounge FM link on the right, find the podcast section and listen to "Hurricanes This Week"). We're also still waiting to see and hear more about Luca Sbisa. Will he return or stay in Philadelphia? Tonight, Sbisa plays his 9th game with Philly. If the Flyers play him in one more game after tonight, Luca's entitled to the NHL's entry level salary, which would go against Philadelphia's salary cap. This does not mean he won't be back in Lethbridge. Philly can still send him back to junior after the 10th game, but would have to pay him his salary. The next few days will be interesting to say the least, but this story might get a bit clearer after tonight. As I've said before, I still feel another year in Lethbridge would be best for Sbisa, given the fact he's only 18 and has played just one year of junior. That would be a benefit to both Lethbridge and Philly. I guess the Flyers hold all the cards here. I still hope he'll be coming back to the Canes'.

I pulled this off the TSN website earlier today:
Reports out of Philadelphia indicate the Flyers are intent on keeping Luca Sbisa for the remainder of the season. Sbisa was selected 19th overall but has been a pleasant surprise in the City of Brotherly Love.
"He's here and he's helping our team and unless something happens that drastically changes that in the next 24 hours, it's going to stay that way for the foreseeable future," Flyers' general manager Paul Holmgren told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday.

We'll be all waiting I think to see how this plays out!
P.S. All the games on this road swing are 8pm starts Alberta time and don't forget Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday!. Put your clocks back one hour before hitting the sack Saturday night!