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 in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd Personal achievements are nice, but when you’re the captain of an NHL team, they don’t mean much. Olli Jokinen has learned that lesson, year after year. In 2005-06, Jokinen’s 89 points signaled his arrival as one of the NHL’s elite power forwards. But his Florida […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd EuroReport is proud to present an advance review of Pavel Bure: The Riddle of the Russian Rocket, the new unauthorized biography by Vancouver writer Kerry Banks. Banks is an award-winning journalist and sports columnist with Vancouver’s Georgia Straight. He has published five sports trivia books and […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd Tall expectations led the San Jose Sharks to draft Viktor Kozlov 6th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Coming off a strong rookie season with Moscow Dynamo of the Russian League, the 6-5, 232-pound center was expected to energize the Sharks’ woeful attack. But he […]