Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2000 By Lucas Aykroyd If you know your hockey history, you’ll recall the negative fan reaction Denis Potvin got whenever he played at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Well, Alexei Yashin of the Ottawa Senators looks poised to live out a Potvinesque nightmare this winter in rinks around the NHL, […]

Originally published in Attractions Magazine in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd In the NHL, longevity and Stanley Cup glory don’t always go hand in hand. Even though Vancouver Canucks forward Trevor Linden has played over 1,300 regular season games, plus 112 more in the playoffs, the beloved veteran, who celebrates his 37th birthday on April 11, […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2005 By Lucas Aykroyd The invention of the airplane. The fall of the Berlin Wall. The emergence of the Internet. Some events irrevocably change the way we experience the world. Over the last 40 years of hockey history, we’ve seen a comparably huge change in the NHL’s attitude toward European-trained […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd It seems like Tommy Albelin has spent his entire NHL career in the hockey backwaters, whichever way you look at it. After graduating from Djurgarden of the Swedish Elite League, he broke in with the now-defunct Quebec Nordiques in 1987-88 during one of the franchise’s worst […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2000 By Lucas Aykroyd Although Tomas Holmstrom of the Detroit Red Wings takes his share of abuse screening NHL goaltenders, you don’t normally see the 26-year-old left wing from Pieta hobbling around. But that’s what he did in the Detroit dressing room after the Wings rallied to tie the Vancouver […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2004 By Lucas Aykroyd It’s often called “the most exciting play in hockey,” but a penalty shot is also one of the most nerve-wracking for shooters and goalies. In the normal course of a game, there are dozens of possibilities developing on the ice, and there’s a give-and-take to the […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2001 By Lucas Aykroyd Alexei Tezikov isn’t in line for the Norris Trophy, but he might well take the prize for being the NHL’s friendliest Russian defenseman. And hey, it doesn’t hurt to score some points with the media when you’re playing your first NHL game since a 23-game stint […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2000 By Lucas Aykroyd Paul Kariya may wear the C for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, but it’s clear this team has two leaders. Teemu Selanne’s solid start to his ninth NHL season has been a key to whatever success the Ducks have enjoyed so far. The Finnish Flash has […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd In recent NHL history, only a handful of teams have won the Stanley Cup thanks more to their scoring ability than their defensive play. The mid-1980’s Edmonton Oilers and, arguably, the early 1990’s Pittsburgh Penguins come to mind. If the Tampa Bay Lightning are to […]

Originally published in The Prague Post in 2002 By Lucas Aykroyd “I’m going to Disneyland” is what pro athletes in North America often crow after they capture a championship. Yet for National Hockey League players, Anaheim has historically resembled a graveyard more than a Magic Kingdom. Winger Petr Sykora is hoping to reverse that trend […]