Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd Going purely by the numbers, the best-ever performance by an Asian country at an IIHF World Championship was Japan’s sixth-place finish (in a four-way tie) in 1930. More recently, Japan could do no better than 14th place at the 1998 tournament. So there’s a long way […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2003 By Lucas Aykroyd Each major hockey nation celebrates the sport according to its own culture. Never renowned for its classical composers, Canada would be unlikely to stage an opera based on its 2002 Olympic gold medal performance, as the Czech Republic will do next year in commemoration of its […]

Originally published in Attractions Magazine in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd There’s no better time of the year than April and May if you’re an avid hockey fan. Not only are the NHL playoffs in full swing, but there’s also a ton of international hockey excitement taking place at the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) World […]

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd Sometimes it’s all about quality instead of quantity. The number of European NHLers has declined from 300 (29.5%) in 2003-04 to 262 (27.2%) in 2005-06, but elite talent from the Old World still made a big splash at the 2006 NHL Awards in Vancouver, Canada. At […]

Originally published in Prospects Hockey in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd Operating an expansion team is often like being the new kid in school: nobody really knows you, and you get pushed around in the beginning. But the Chilliwack Bruins hope to minimize those growing pains as they enter 2006-07 as the WHL’s 21st and newest […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd Germany outperforms the US in soccer, but the opposite held true at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, Canada. A record-setting 10 American-born players were taken in the first round, including the #1 overall pick by the St. Louis Blues, defenseman Erik Johnson. Eleven […]