NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for Wednesday the 17th of September:

• Harry Neale has some kind words about Bob Cole, his long-time broadcast partner on Hockey Night in Canada who has recently seen his workload deceased significantly.
• Avalanche prospect Chris Stewart is hoping for a far better training camp than he had last season, writes Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.
• Wayne Gretzky was happy with the effort of his rookie squad during its game against the rookie Kings.
• Marc Herrmann of Newsday believes Chris Drury and Scott Gomez should share the Rangers captaincy.  Even though he is a veteran, Markus Naslund still gets butterflies like all the young prospects.  There will be some battles on for fourth line spots at Rangers camp, writes Larry Brooks.
• The Oilers have been impressed with how big the smaller Bryan Lerg has played in rookie camp, writes Derek Van Diest.  Another Oilers prospect Tyler Spurgeon won’t ever take the game for granted after his concussion experience last season.  First round pick Jordan Eberle is adjusting to life with the Oilers fairly well.
• Miroslav Satan is excited about the new opportunities for him in Pittsburgh, writes Shelly Anderson.  On the injury front, Ryan Whitney is not yet sure exactly when he will return from injury.  Forget Ryan Malone, Jordan Staal is ready to take the next step, writes Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
• Wild defenseman Tomas Mojzis explains why there was confusion between the KHL and NHL over his contract.  Brent Burns is back skating for the Wild, writes Michael Russo.
• The Senators line up coming into training camp is not already decided like it has been the past few years, writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen.  New coach Craig Hartsburg is stressing the word identity.  Meanwhile, the Senators may have some interest in acquiring Mathieu Schneider but it would have to be under the right circumstances and that does not seem too probable right now.  In television news, apparently the Senators are scrapping the pay-per-view packages for their games this season.
• Mark Bell will be wearing Tie Domi’s number 28 this season in Toronto as one of the ways for him to have a fresh start after a troubling 2007/08.  On the ice, Jamal Mayers’ speed has surprised the Leafs’ coaching staff.
• Cody Hodgson and Cory Schneider stole the show for the Canucks rookies as they easily defeated the Oilers rookies on Tuesday.  The Canucks need another forward, writes Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province.
• Having Patrice Bergeron back in the fold should allow Marc Savard to line up against other teams’ second or third lines.  Last season without Bergeron many young players stepped up into important roles and those same young players will be relied on again this season, writes Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald.
• Brent Sutter tells New Jersey reporters that he is not anti-European.
• Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News wonders if this is the deepest Detroit squad ever assembled?
• Chip Alexander of the News & Observer has the details on Rod Brind’Amour’s minor knee surgery.  In contract news, the Hurricanes have fixed the Eric Staal contract.
• The Blue Jackets veterans are ready to get camp underway already, writes Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch.
• Youngster Ray Sawada has impressed the Stars with his play in rookie camp.
• While Mike Comrie’s hip injury was worse than some may have thought, he believes he will definitely be ready for the start of the regular season.
• John Paddock is comfortable as Philadelphia Phantoms head coach.
• The Sharks are ready to start their pursuit of the Stanley Cup, writes Mark Purdy.
• Coming into this season, Manny Legace is as comfortable as he as ever been as an NHL netminder, explains Jeremy Rutherford.
• According to Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts, age makes a player wiser.  With so many new faces around town, the Lightning have to hope they get some team chemistry fairly quickly otherwise it could be a tough start to the season.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.