Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd Let’s face it: you won’t find the “Flying Frenchmen” with the Montreal Canadiens anymore. Last year’s dynamic duo of Quebec-born snipers was Vincent Lecavalier (108 points) and Martin St. Louis (102 points) of the Tampa Bay Lightning. This year, Daniel Briere and Simon Gagne have […]

The Good: Canada Golden Again at World Juniors Congratulations to Team Canada for winning its fourth consecutive gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic. A couple of days ago, I questioned whether Canada’s mental focus was where it needed to be heading into a potential final with the Russians. Of […]

Two remarkable facts distinguished Jesse Boulerice’s vicious cross-check to Ryan Kesler’s face last week. First, the blow didn’t injure the Vancouver forward nearly as badly as it could have if Boulerice’s stick hadn’t broken on impact. Second, as of October 15, the Vancouver Police Department has not announced a criminal investigation into the incident, nor […]

This year, Daniel Briere and Simon Gagne of the Philadelphia Flyers just might give Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis a run for their money as the NHL’s most dangerous Quebec-born scoring duo. Unlike the two Tampa Bay Lightning forwards, neither Briere nor Gagne has ever topped the 100-point plateau in the NHL. But if […]

Philadelphia prospect Steve Downie laid a disgracefully vicious, concussion-inducing hit on Ottawa’s Dean McAmmond in exhibition play on Tuesday night. Was Downie sending a message that the NHL club known more than any other for enshrining violence as a tactic is back in business as the “Broad Street Bullies”? In recent years, the Flyers haven’t […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd Once an offensive threat with the New Jersey Devils of the early 1990’s, Valeri Zelepukin of the Philadelphia Flyers has seen his scoring fall off in recent years. This season, the 31-year-old Russian winger from Voskresensk has just 16 points in 36 games. Zelepukin, who idolized […]

By Lucas Aykroyd As a hockey goaltender, Bernd Bruckler excels at one of the most difficult positions in all of sport. Yet the University of Wisconsin Badgers star grew up in a country where hockey is an afterthought. When you consider all the other obstacles he’s conquered to become a highly touted prospect of the […]