Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2000 By Lucas Aykroyd You might associate the “Changing of the Guard” with Buckingham Palace or Red Square, but a recent changing of the “Keepers of the Goal” with the San Jose Sharks has given a 25-year-old netminder from Kazakhstan his big shot in a different arena. Evgeni (John) Nabokov […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd “Great” is a term that’s bandied about far too easily these days. You can rightfully complain when it’s applied to some lame pop band or over-hyped first novel. But when it comes to the Great Gretzky, the Great Houdini, or the Great Wall of China, you […]

Originally published on EuroReport in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd Alexander the Great is back—to conquer the Chicago Blackhawks, anyway. A two-goal performance by Alexander Mogilny of the Vancouver Canucks sparked his team to a wild 5-4 win over the Blackhawks at GM Place on 6 October. Throughout the game, the gifted 195-pound right winger displayed […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2000 By Lucas Aykroyd You know that song by the Who, “Boris The Spider?” Well, Boris Mironov may not have eight legs, but some nights the mobile 28-year-old Muscovite plays as much as four seventh defensemen put together. And early in his second full season with the Chicago Blackhawks, Mironov […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd “It’s better to have more than less, because if you have less, you run into problems, and that’s not good for the team,” Manny Fernandez philosophically told Eishockey News after a 3-2 overtime win over the Vancouver Canucks on March 13. The 32-year-old Minnesota Wild […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd The North Shore Mountains provide an imposing backdrop for Mattias Ohlund’s adopted home of Vancouver, Canada. They could also serve as a symbol for the strength and consistency that the veteran Swedish defenseman has brought to the Canucks since his NHL rookie campaign of 1997-98. Whether […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd Which is more likely, that Chicago will make the NHL playoffs or that the Berlin Wall will be rebuilt this year? According to some, the chances are about equal. Last season, the Blackhawks pinned their hopes of making the playoffs for the first time since […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd Once again, there’s a diminutive yet talented Norwegian forward with an unruly mop of blond hair making headlines in the NHL. But for a change, it isn’t Espen Knutsen. Knutsen retired due to injury after the 2004-05 season and is currently coaching Valerenga IF, his […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd Although NHL fans have embraced the excitement of using shootouts to decide regular season games after overtime, it’s highly unlikely that penalty shots will ever replace the traditional unlimited sudden-death format of the playoffs. There are just too many once-in-a-lifetime plays, pulse-pounding marathons, and memories of […]

Originally published in the Prague Post in 2003 By Lucas Aykroyd Physically speaking, Marek Malik is tough to ignore when he walks into a room. But after years of toiling with low-profile teams like the Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes, the 6-5, 220-pound defenseman from Ostrava has often been overlooked by National Hockey League observers. […]