Originally published in Rinkside in 2003 By Lucas Aykroyd In the third century AD, the Roman Empire dominated Europe from the shores of Britain to the eastern fringes of the Mediterranean Sea. Twenty-first-century Italian hockey, unfortunately, isn’t quite in the same league. Internationally, Italy must battle to regain its honor after a 4-0 loss to […]

Originally published in Prospects Hockey in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd Wayne Gretzky never got 100 goals in one major junior season. Neither did Mike Bossy, Joe Sakic, or Sidney Crosby. But Ray Ferraro, though less celebrated than those other forwards, potted 108 in 1983-84 with the Brandon Wheat Kings as a 19-year-old. Considering no one […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd As legendary coach Scotty Bowman recently noted, no NHL team has ever had three Hall of Fame defensemen like Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe, and Serge Savard since his Montreal Canadiens of the late 1970’s. But the Anaheim Ducks come pretty close to that level with […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd This season, the Phoenix Coyotes are celebrating their tenth year in Arizona under the slogan of “Decade in the Desert.” But cynics might suggest that this franchise is like the Biblical Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and the Promised Land is […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd Esa Tikkanen and Brett Hull are examples of NHLers who played hard on the ice but exhibited a light-hearted attitude when they took off their skates. However, Dion Phaneuf definitely doesn’t fit that mold. In his second NHL season, the 21-year-old defenseman conducts himself more […]

Originally published in Prospects Hockey in 2005 By Lucas Aykroyd Patrick Roy, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Bernie Parent, and Bobby Orr provided some of their greatest hockey in pressure-packed playoff situations. They’re members of a very exclusive fraternity as the only players who have won multiple Conn Smythe Trophies as NHL post-season MVPs. But the […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd July 22, 2005 was a historic day for the future of international hockey. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and NHLPA was ratified then, and it included a clause stipulating that the League would make its players available to participate in both the 2006 […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd Although Roberto Luongo resided in Miami, Florida for five years, it hasn’t taken him long to get comfortable with living in Vancouver, Canada this season. “It’s beautiful here,” the 27-year-old Montreal-born goalie told Eishockey News. “You’ve got a bit of everything with the mountains and […]

Originally published in Attractions Magazine in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd In 2005-06, Kevin Bieksa was hardly the most noticeable member of the Vancouver Canucks defense corps. Sure, he played 39 NHL games and added six assists, plus a decent defensive presence. But if Ed Jovanovski and Sami Salo hadn’t suffered long-term injuries, Bieksa would probably […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd The Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks must feel like they’re playing each other all the time this season. That’s close to the truth, considering they’d already met five times by early January. But that sort of thing doesn’t concern Jarome Iginla. The 29-year-old Calgary captain […]