We are waiting for the ankle to completely heal so that when I return to the ice there is little risk of injuring my ankle again. It feels good in most situations and I have been swimming in the current pool at the rink as a way to get my heart rate up to the level I usually have it while playing hockey. Swimming is a real challenge and I now have a deep respect for people who do it regularly. I have pretty good form but I am finding it hard to get the breathing technique mastered. I am doing 30 second intervals with a minute rest and I am dead after about 10-12 reps. I am focusing on improving so I can start to reach my maximum heart rate and start to see some gains in my conditioning. This will be a big help when I return to the ice because I can just work on getting my footwork and timing back to game ready without having to worry about getting my body up to speed...I think the guys have been getting a kick out of me wearing board shorts and goggles around the room but I would rather get the pads back on soon.

With the trade deadline passing I was sorry to see Ales Kotalik move on. He is a great guy and I had a lot of fun seeing him at the rink everyday. But that is part of hockey... Hopefully he has a lot of success. I am hoping that I can see him in Europe on vacation this summer. I stopped by Prague with Paul Gaustad last summer and Al showed us some of the finer parts of Czech culture. Good times...

We also gained a few teammates... Dominic Moore and Mikael Tellqvist. Both are solid players and as no surprise (since they are hockey players) great guys. I think they will really help our club as we make our stretch run. I am always happy to have another college guy in the locker room (Dominic went to Harvard). The CHL boys get a little cocky sometimes and it is always good to have the college ranks represented... Even out the numbers a little.