Originally published in Rinkside in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd If NHL hockey players were trees, the Kariya brothers would be bonsai. The parallels between Anaheim Mighty Ducks superstar Paul Kariya, his emerging sibling Steve Kariya of the Vancouver Canucks and the meticulously cultivated Japanese miniature trees are more than whimsical. All of them resemble their […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd Imagine you’re the top defenseman in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, but you’re also the last one cut from Canada’s 1997 World Junior Championship roster. Imagine you start your NHL career with the legendary Montreal Canadiens in your home province, but end up being […]

Originally published in the 2004 NHL Playoff Magazine By Lucas Aykroyd We’ve all heard stories about crazy places where the Stanley Cup has ended up during victory celebrations: nightclubs, swimming pools, horse stables, and so on. But in many cases, the winners of this powerful symbol of NHL supremacy have done things with it that […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2002 By Lucas Aykroyd Bullfighting, bolero, castles and cathedrals are not the only glories of Spain. This nation of 40 million citizens grabbed the sports world spotlight ten years ago when Barcelona hosted the Summer Olympics. There, roller hockey featured as a demonstration sport, and Spain has competed successfully against […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2000 By Lucas Aykroyd For such a nice guy, Teemu Selanne has courted controversy frequently over the last year. On 2 July 1999, he was involved in a car crash that injured the president of the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation. Early in the 1999-2000 season, he seemed disenchanted with the […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd Last year, two young forwards from Ornskoldsvik, Sweden proved it’s possible to be Number Two and Number One at the same time. Brothers Henrik and Daniel Sedin chipped in 75 and 71 points respectively for the Vancouver Canucks, forming two-thirds of arguably the NHL’s best second […]

Originally published on ElSitio.com in 2000 By Lucas Aykroyd Scott Gomez of the New Jersey Devils has a knack for coming first. The 20-year-old rookie center is the first Hispanic hockey player ever to appear in the National Hockey League. He has ranked first in New Jersey team scoring most of the season. And he […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd When you think of the all-time classic Edmonton Oilers, you think of names like Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, and Glenn Anderson. But even though Ryan Smyth lacks the Stanley Cup rings of the aforementioned legends, his tenacity and longevity are moving […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd When Ruslan Salei signed a four-year, $12-million free agent deal with the Florida Panthers on July 2, it marked the end of his nine-season run with the Anaheim Ducks. But in the media, this move by the Belarusian defenseman was largely overshadowed by the clamor about […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd Martin Rucinsky knows what an unforgiving city Montreal can be. Canadiens fans and media clamor for the Stanley Cup every year even when a championship is clearly out of reach. It’s a tough scenario for a slick but non-physical forward like Rucinsky whose scoring has declined […]