'A special person': the new Crow making instant impact

Dual AFL premiership player Callum Ah Chee has slotted seamlessly into Adelaide, with his new teammates feeling "blessed" to have the former Brisbane star.

Ah Chee is in the midst of his first pre-season with the Crows after leaving the Lions following their back-to-back premierships.

"He's a really special person," Crows utility Mitch Hinge told reporters on Wednesday.

"He's got a wise head on him and he just comes with a wealth of experience.

"We know how good he can be on the field - in training especially, he's brought a little bit of that knowledge of what's important to keep helping our teammates when we don't have the ball.

"And I just love his selflessness ... we're so blessed to have him choose to come over here and help, and I think he's going to be a big, big help for where we want to get to this year."

Last year the Crows won the minor premiership but were then bundled out of the finals with consecutive losses.

And the club's pre-season hit one substantial hurdle when young gun Dan Curtin dislocated his left kneecap in a wrestling drill on January 19.

Curtin, who had been rated among the standout pre-season performers, had surgery and will be sidelined until at least round seven of the premiership season.

The injury was a blow for the West Australian-born 20-year-old, who was runner-up to Fremantle's Murphy Reid in last year's Rising Star Award - and also for his Crows teammates.

"He has been dominating on the track and he's had a little bit of a setback obviously," Hinge said.

"It's really disappointing not just from a performance and team point of view, but he's such a well-natured kid ... he's such a lovely person, we love having him around.

"He has been in (the club) the last couple of days and it has been really good to see him because he definitely brings a lot of energy to the boys and brings a smile ... he's an absolute ripper."

Hinge said he expected Curtin to "attack his rehab with a vengeance and come out and just get after it again".

"Knowing him and knowing how he gets to work, you know he'll be back in no time and it will be business as usual," Hinge said.

"You can look at it two ways: you can dwell on it - and there's probably a little bit of a time for that - but it's probably about minimising that as much as possible.

"He's got an opportunity to really spin this - as hard as it is, can he turn this into a positive?"