Injured rookie Bobby Hughes was a surprise sight at River Rats practice this morning. He has been out with what has been termed a serious neck/back injury since Jan. 5.
Hughes said he will return to his Toronto-area home on Thursday for about two weeks, have another round of checkups, then rejoin the team for the duration of the season and playoffs.
We talked at length about his ordeal and his future, which will be the lead subject of Sunday's weekly AHL notes package, but I wanted to give you a little taste to whet the appetite.
Understandably, Hughes is anxious, perhaps moreso because he is only 21 years old and his pro career consists of one playoff game last spring and 26 regular-season games this year. He's already visited doctors in three states, not so much looking for the answer he wants to hear, but just to hear something -- anything -- definitive.
"It's mostly all different stuff, which makes it more frustrating," Hughes said. "I'm just trying to stay as positive as I can and see what happens."
No one expects Hughes back this season, which is unfortunate, because he was playing his best hockey when he got hurt. But Hughes has to think of his health first, the same way assistant coach Geordie Kinnear did when he was forced to retire with a similar problem in 2001. In Kinnear's case, he had seven pro seasons, an AHL championship and some NHL experience to soften the blow.
In other news:
* - Acting captain Pat Dwyer and his wife, Ashley, are expecting their first child. Already Dwyer is acting like a proud papa, showing off a series of ultrasound pictures that he pulled from the back pocket of his jeans. Coach Tom Rowe, who has two kids, said the impending birth has had a positive effect on Dwyer.
"I remember when Bernice and I found out we were having our first child," he said. "It changes your life. It was like a calming influence had come over him. He's playing unreal; the best hockey he's played since we signed him."
As for why, Rowe quipped: "Maybe he knows he's going to be feeding another mouth, so he needs to be getting another contract for next year."
* - Defenseman Bryan Rodney is ready to return to the lineup but Rowe said he won't play Wednesday night against Portland. Rodney has been out since Feb. 24, and his absence and the loss of Mark Flood for the season have allowed defenseman Steve Ward to flourish under the extra playing time.
* - Speaking of Dwyer, it's his turn to wear the weekly rotating captain's 'C,' taking over from Trevor Gillies, who succeeded Jamie Johnson. Rowe said it hasn't been decided who will wear it next, but Joey Mormina and Jeff Hamilton are logical candidates. Both have been wearing the 'A' as alternate captain lately.
* - As we mentioned here last month, Carolina continues to negotiate with 2007 first-round pick Brandon Sutter, whose junior season the same time as Albany's (April 13). Rowe has said that if he signs he would join Albany for the postseason much the way that Hughes and Chris Stewart did last spring. Sutter is ranked 22nd overall in The Hockey News annual Future Watch of the top 50 NHL prospects.
* - The Rats aren't making it their primary focus, but they are within three points of first place in the East Division are setting their sights on first-place Philadelphia, which is the focus of tomorrow's game advance. An Albany team hasn't won the division since 1998-99, the last of four straight years where it won or shared top honors. Three times in those years, the Rats topped 100 points.
* - Had a chance to talk with Portland head coach Kevin Dineen (a completely class act, as the surname suggests) this afternoon, whose club was already on the road to Albany. The overnighter gives Dineen the chance to visit his father, legendary Adirondack Red Wings coach Bill Dineen, tonight at his home on Glen Lake.
