What is Lou Lamoriello thinking? When the New Jersey Devils general manager acquired sniper Ilya Kovalchuk from the Atlanta Thrashers on February 4, he made the following statement during a conference call about the blockbuster deal: “He [Kovalchuk] can do things that a lot of people can’t do, and put him into our lineup, he […]

Originally published in Prospects Hockey in 2008 After winning gold in 1979, 1989, and 1999, Russia hopes to end this decade with another World Junior title By Lucas Aykroyd There are no sure things in international hockey anymore. Even Canada, currently riding a streak of four straight World Junior gold medals, can’t succumb to overconfidence. […]

If there’s one lesson we can take out of the just-completed NHL All-Star Weekend, it’s this: Alexander Ovechkin is Russian hockey’s answer to David Lee Roth, the ultra-outgoing lead singer of Van Halen. And we even have video evidence to support the following claims about the reigning Hart Trophy winner from the Washington Capitals and […]

Brad Marchand should have listened to Zach Boychuk. When Canada lost 4-3 to Sweden in round-robin action at the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship, it ended a 20-game winning streak at the tournament. Boychuk, whose 91 points for Lethbridge last year earned him third place in the WHL scoring derby, told reporters: “In the last […]

Sergei Fedorov is alive and well and living in Columbus. In his 17th NHL season, the 37-year-old center is averaging just over 17 minutes a night, taking key faceoffs, serving as an assistant captain, and sitting one point away from 100 in a Blue Jackets uniform. Although he lacks the explosive acceleration of his glory […]

Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup By Ed Willes Published by McLelland & Stewart Hardcover, 256 pages Release Date: October 6, 2007 Considering how many books have commemorated the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union, it’s almost unbelievable that until this year, no one had given the same […]

Today marks the 35th anniversary of Game Eight of the 1972 Summit Series, where Paul Henderson scored with 34 seconds left to give Canada a 6-5 victory and the final edge over the USSR in this most seminal of international hockey series. Joe Pelletier, the mastermind behind 1972SummitSeries.com, has assembled some special coverage to mark […]

King of Russia: A Year in the Russian Super League By Dave King with Eric Duhatschek Published by McClelland & Stewart Hardcover, 256 pages Release Date: October 2, 2007 Has Dave King ever met J.K. Rowling? I doubt it. In fact, I also doubt that his co-author Eric Duhatschek is on a first-name basis with […]

Why did I choose September 15, 2007 as the official launch date for my new hockey site, HockeyAdventure.com? International hockey fans will quickly realize that today marks the 20th anniversary of Game Three of the 1987 Canada Cup final. That thrilling conclusion to Canada’s high-tempo clash with the Soviets culminated in a third consecutive 6-5 […]

I had the pleasure of covering Game Eight of the Canada/Russia Super Series for HockeyCanada.ca last night at GM Place. It pretty much encapsulated the entire course of the series (6-1 compared to seven wins and one tie). A colleague of mine who attended the games in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and Red Deer told me that […]