Covering the Olympics for IIHF.com is going to keep me very busy for the rest of February. In fact, it already is, and we haven’t dropped the first puck yet. Check out some of my latest pieces on the joy of jerseys, the historical home ice advantage for Canada’s women, and all the things to […]

Originally published in the official 2009 World Junior Program Canada’s 1988 World Junior team reunites to celebrate its amazing run to gold By Lucas Aykroyd Many things have changed since 1988. Back then, Brian Mulroney was Canada’s Prime Minister, and pop artists like George Michael and Def Leppard ruled the charts. However, memories of Canada’s […]

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 […]

Here are seven hockey stories from both mainstream sites and blogs that made an impression on me this month. 1. The Globe and Mail: “Speed kills”: Has the NHL gotten too fast for its own good? Eric Duhatschek investigates. Interesting to see Al MacInnis admit that sometimes he’s preferred watching international women’s hockey due to […]

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 […]

For many NHL fans, Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings put Slovenia on the hockey map with his dazzling 61-point rookie season last year. But this former Yugoslav republic of 2 million had already made its mark in the elite division of the IIHF World Championships as early as the 2002 tournament in Sweden. […]

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 […]

Good news lies ahead for those who object to the garish advertising that often covers European hockey jerseys. When the International Ice Hockey Federation kicks off its Champions Hockey League in 2008-09, 24 clubs from across Europe (including the champions of the top six European leagues) will compete for some 16 million Swiss francs in […]

OK, rivalling Sidney Crosby is probably a longshot. But playing versus men at age 15 in a national league is an achievement, even if it’s in New Zealand. Not to mention being a native-trained top prospect for national teams in multiple age groups. So nice work, Jordan Challis (who’s also a former member of the […]

In recent years, René Fasel has often spent more time in Vancouver, Canada than anywhere besides the Zurich headquarters of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in his native Switzerland. The IIHF President chairs the IOC Coordination Commission for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and he visits Canada’s leading West Coast city regularly to make sure […]