By ANDY KENT
Naples Daily News

ESTERO -- Little by little, the Florida Everblades appear to be getting
healthier.
Forward/defenseman Grant McNeill skated for the first time in three weeks
Wednesday morning as he tries to put the Grade II concussion he suffered Oct. 29
behind him.

The 22-year-old native of Vermillon, Alberta, who became a father for the first
time last week, spent about 30 minutes on the ice after the rest of the team
finished practice getting adjusted to the feel of the game again.

"I feel good, obviously a little winded but I feel great other than that," said
McNeill as he was taking off his skates in the dressing room. "I just wanted to
get out on the ice by myself and get the legs going. I was too tired to skate
there at the end."

Head coach Gerry Fleming was encouraged by McNeill's progress but said his
status is day-to-day. He did confirm that McNeill has been symptom-free for the
last two weeks.

The Everblades (4-3-0) host the Charlotte Checkers (5-1-1) this weekend in
back-to-back games Friday and Saturday nights at Germain Arena before heading
out on their longest road trip of the season. McNeill would like to contribute
on the ice before the team bus leaves for Greenville, S.C., on Sunday night.

"Hopefully I can practice tomorrow and Friday," he said. "I'll find out, and
we'll see what happens for the weekend. Obviously, I'd like to get in a game,
and I feel great."

With forwards Reggie Berg (torn tendons in his right wrist) and Anders Strome
(broken right ankle) both on the 30-day injured reserve, and Florida seeing two
players called up to the American Hockey League's Rochester Americans in the
last five days (rookie center Drew Larman and rookie defenseman Martin Lojek),
the roster has been looking thin.

Forward Paul Cabana, who has been recovering from a shoulder injury suffered on
Nov. 5 against Augusta, is listed as day-to-day but has practiced with the team
the past two days.

Cabana, 27, is hoping to get back to his normal routine so he can help on the
ice.

"I've got the Lance Armstrong jersey, the yellow (non-contact) jersey. I'm
leading after Stage 3 right now, the guys are having fun with that," said
Cabana, who still is second on the team in scoring with five points (3 goals, 2
assists). "(The shoulder's) feeling pretty good. Shooting felt pretty good
today, I didn't really do any contact so I guess that's pretty much going to be
the big test.

"You want to come back and help, and obviously we're shorthanded. An extra body
would definitely help when you've only got nine forwards. I feel a little
pressure to come back but that's not going to decide it. It's up to Gerry and
Todd, they'll make the decision on when I'm 100 percent and pass it on to the
doctor, and they'll make the decision from there, but it's coming along a lot
faster than I thought it would."

Speaking of extra bodies, Fleming and Craig Brush, Florida's team president and
general manager, have been busy working the phones and checking the wires for
available players. Fleming said he should have somebody new hopefully within the
next two days, but there is nothing concrete.

Brush said later Wednesday night that he was getting closer to making something
happen.
"We're working on some things but I probably won't know for sure until
tomorrow," Brush said.

"I guess if you're going to have this occur at some point in the year, it's
better to get it out of the way early to help our young kids develop. We just
have to stay above water until we get some of our players back, and there are
teams that have excess players at the beginning of the year, which has helped us
in getting players for cash."

November 17, 2005


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