Originally published on IIHF.com in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd Before each Olympic tournament, there’s lots of talk about how Canada’s depth could hypothetically enable it to ice two separate teams. But how would other countries fare if given the same mandate? Let’s investigate, using the Czech Republic and Russia as examples. Obviously, when creating rosters […]

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2002 By Lucas Aykroyd The USA-Russia semi-final provided twenty of the greatest minutes in Olympic hockey history. The key to the amazing third period was the emotional high both teams maintained down to the final buzzer that confirmed the USA’s 3-2 victory and berth in the gold medal game against […]

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2002 By Lucas Aykroyd Sean Burke, Tommy Salo and Mike Richter are great examples of goalies that have parlayed an Olympic experience into a successful NHL career. But not all are so fortunate. Some goalies are better suited for the concentrated brilliance that the Olympics require than for the long […]

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2002 By Lucas Aykroyd There will be no “Miracle on Ice” at the Salt Lake City Olympics. That’s not because the USA doesn’t have a good shot at winning the gold medal, but because there is no opponent with the sheer overwhelming presence of the old Soviet national team. From […]

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2002 By Lucas Aykroyd In the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” at Lake Placid, it was not hard to pick out two men on opposing benches, one there willingly, the other filled with frustration. The happy man was Team USA coach Herb Brooks, who saw his squad of college players defeat […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd Igor Ulanov will never equal the offensive numbers of retired all-star Russian defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov. But up close, his craggy physique bears a striking resemblance to Fetisov’s battle-tested mug. If Ulanov is ever going to resemble Fetisov on the ice, however, there’s no time like the […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd Sitting high above the ice and taking in an NHL game is many people’s idea of a good time. But when you’re an 18-year-old phenom from Moscow, Russia who’s being paid over $1 million U.S. per year to score goals for the Calgary Flames, the view […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd Igor Larionov is used to playing on teams with red-and-white uniforms that win all the time. This season, those wins haven’t come so easily for his Detroit Red Wings. But don’t blame Larionov. The former star of Moscow’s Central Red Army and the Soviet national team […]

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd Alexei Kovalev earned his pilot’s licence in 1998, but the Togliatti native has also experienced the pain of having his Olympic gold medal hopes shot down twice since that year. A knee injury forced the 6-2, 210-pound right winger to opt out of Nagano 1998, and […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd As much as I enjoy watching Evgeni Malkin team up with Sidney Crosby on the Pittsburgh Penguins power play, there’s a part of me that wishes Malkin had stayed in the Russian Superleague. Not under compulsion, not due to any contractual or political impasse. Frankly, the […]