I’ve been fortunate enough to work with the International Ice Hockey Federation at every World Championship and Olympics since 2000, writing and editing for the official web site. IIHF.com has just undergone a complete facelift as part of the organization’s 100th-year anniversary celebrations, and I’m happy to announce that I’ll be a contributing columnist for […]

Future Greats and Heartbreaks: A Year Undercover in the Secret World of NHL Scouts
By Gare Joyce
Published by Doubleday Canada
Hardcover, 336 pages
Release Date: November 20, 2007
Gare Joyce is gradually becoming Canada’s answer to George Plimpton. No, the prolific Toronto-based hockey scribe hasn’t strapped on equipment and competed against pro athletes to garner first-hand material for his […]

On top of the Hockey Hall of Fame inductions, this past weekend in Toronto also featured the official launch of World of Hockey: Celebrating a Century of the IIHF.
The International Ice Hockey Federation is gearing up for the 2008 IIHF World Championship in Halifax and Quebec City (May 1-18), which will mark the organization’s 100th […]

Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup
By Ed Willes
Published by McLelland & Stewart
Hardcover, 256 pages
Release Date: October 6, 2007
Considering how many books have commemorated the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union, it’s almost unbelievable that until this year, no one had given the same full-length treatment to the 1987 […]

The Top 60 Since 1967: The Best Players of the Post-Expansion Era
By Adam Proteau and Ken Campbell
Published by Transcontinental Books
Hardcover, 240 pages
Release Date: September 10, 2007
Coming up with a list of “the best players of the post-expansion era” in the NHL is no easy task. It’s like being asked to shadow Wayne Gretzky in his […]

King of Russia: A Year in the Russian Super League
By Dave King with Eric Duhatschek
Published by McClelland & Stewart
Hardcover, 256 pages
Release Date: October 2, 2007
Has Dave King ever met J.K. Rowling? I doubt it. In fact, I also doubt that his co-author Eric Duhatschek is on a first-name basis with the billionaire creator of the […]

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2006
By Lucas Aykroyd
Women’s hockey is full of great personalities, many of whom aren’t afraid to speak their minds more candidly than their male counterparts.
However, for the general public, it’s often tough to catch more than a glimpse of those personalities beyond the quadrennial Olympics and the semi-annual IIHF Women’s […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2007
By Lucas Aykroyd
If you’re a Swedish hockey fan, you surely remember where you were when Nicklas Lidstrom scored the Olympic-winning goal versus Finland last year. If you’re a Slovak hockey fan, you must recall what you were doing when Peter Bondra’s late goal lifted Slovakia over Russia in the 2002 […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2006
By Lucas Aykroyd
When it comes to literary household names from leading countries at the IIHF World Championships, Russia has Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. The Czechs can counter with Franz Kafka and the Swedes boast Astrid Lindgren. Hemingway and Faulkner represent the USA proudly. But while contemporary literature from Canada features the […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2005
By Lucas Aykroyd
Let’s be honest. What you hear from coaches during a typical media interview is not always enlightening or stimulating. Usually, generic talk about “good habits,” “consistency,” “sustained pressure,” and “staying positive” dominates. The focus is on getting two points in the next game. Big-picture issues and personal anecdotes […]