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• Blades' Micflikier named ECHL Player of Week
• McArdle becomes 15th ex-Blade to play in NHL
• Blades head to New York to continue road trip

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One of the most important questions for the upcoming Florida Everblades season was answered — at least partially — on Thursday, when the Carolina Hurricanes released their training camp roster.

On that roster for the Blades’ NHL affiliate was goalie David Leggio, listed as a free-agent/tryout player. The other five goalies are Cam Ward and Michael Leighton — expected to play for the Hurricanes; former Blade Justin Peters and Daniel Manzato — expected to play for the AHL’s Albany River Rats, and 19-year-old Mike Murphy, expected to play another year of junior hockey.

Last week, first-year Blades coach Malcolm Cameron said he and general manager Craig Brush had been working with Carolina to bring a goalie to Estero: a goalie with extensive college credentials.

That goalie is Leggio, though Cameron said on Thursday that he’s doubtful the Hurricanes will actually sign the 24-year-old goalie.

“It all depends on how camp goes,” Cameron said. “(It’s possible that Leggio) could sign a two-way contract with Albany or he could sign with us.”

The Canes have recently had among the best goalie prospects in the NHL, with Peters and Manzato both earning ECHL all-star honors last year, while Leighton was the AHL’s goalie of the year in Albany.

All three players may have earned promotions next season, and former Blade Kevin Nastiuk’s contract expired, leaving a hole for Leggio. If the Blades do sign him, it will be their first signed goalie since the dual affiliation with the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes took effect in the 2005-06 season.

Leggio could carry on the tradition of strong goalies within the Carolina organization, after an impressive four years at 2007-08 Eastern College Athletic Association hockey league champ Clarkson.

The 5-foot-11, 179-pound goalie had a 59-29-12 career record at Clarkson, including eight shutouts, a .922 save percentage and a 2.30 goals-against average. His junior year, he was Clarkson’s first recipient of the ECAC’s Ken Dryden Award, given to the top goaltender in the league, en route to setting single-season school records for saves and save percentage.

Leggio had the best save-percentage (.927) and second-best goals-against average (2.25) among Division I goalies.

Next season wouldn’t be Leggio’s first experience at Germain Arena. His Clarkson team participated in last year’s College Hockey Classic in Estero, beating Cornell, but falling to Maine.

Leggio played one AHL game last year with Binghamton, but Cameron said he expects Leggio to sign with either Albany or the Blades this year, due to attending Carolina’s camp, and loyalty to the organization.

Having a non-affiliated goalie could be nice for the Blades, who lost all-star Peters in February last year, and Panthers prospect David Shantz and then-Carolina prospect Nastiuk (who replaced Peters) struggled down the stretch. Of course, if Leggio signs an ECHL contract, he would be vulnerable to tryout offers/call-ups to AHL teams throughout the league.

The Blades’ other goalie next season is expected to come from the Panthers organization, and it will likely be Shantz or Tyler Plante, both of whom split time between the AHL’s Rochester Americans and the Blades last season, with mixed success. Shantz was an ECHL all-star for the Blades in the ‘06-07 season but was a backup to Craig Kowalski down the stretch.

ROCHESTER SIGNS TWO TWO-WAYS: The AHL’s Rochester Americans, the Panthers and Blades’ AHL affiliate, have signed two players to two-way AHL/ECHL contracts, the team announced on Thursday.

Both players could see substantial time in Estero. The first is Jacob Micflikier, a 24-year-old who split time between the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder and the AHL’s Springfield Falcons last season.

The 5-foot-8, 180-pound forward would be the smallest of the Blades forwards signed this season, but he looks to have a scoring upside. Micflikier had 10 goals plus 27 assists in 29 games for Stockton last season, adding four goals and nine assists in six playoff games.

Before turning pro, Micflikier was a standout at the University of New Hampshire alongside ‘07-08 Blades forward Preston Callander. Micflikier tallied more than a point a game each of his final three years at New Hampshire.

The second player signed to a two-way in Rochester is defenseman Doug O’Brien. The 24-year-old has extensive AHL experience, having spent 2004-’07 in the AHL with the Springfield Falcons and Portland Pirates.

At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, O’Brien would bring size and talent to the Blades blueline — plus a physical edge. He also has five NHL games on his resume, with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2005. O’Brien has played just three ECHL games in his career, with the Johnstown Chiefs during the ‘04-05 season.

He spent last year in Finland’s top hockey league, playing in 39 games and adding 51 penalty minutes. But O’Brien’s most physical years may have come in the Quebec Junior Hockey League, when he had 102 penalty minutes in 71 games in ‘02-03 and 146 penalty minutes in 66 games in ‘03-04. That season the defenseman also added 17 goals and 46 assists.

Blades coach Malcolm Cameron said he has no say in how much time Micflikier and O’Brien might spend with the Blades.

“But I’d love to have both those guys here,” he said, adding that the two-way contracts in Rochester would not impact the number of players the Blades would sign to ECHL deals.