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 […]

Here are seven hockey stories from both mainstream sites and blogs that made an impression on me this month. 1. The Globe and Mail: “Speed kills”: Has the NHL gotten too fast for its own good? Eric Duhatschek investigates. Interesting to see Al MacInnis admit that sometimes he’s preferred watching international women’s hockey due to […]

When Joe Pelletier of GreatestHockeyLegends.com challenged me and other bloggers to pay tribute to a favorite retired hockey player to mark the upcoming Hockey Hall of Fame inductions, I thought it was a great idea. I also thought: “Wow, who am I going to pick?” Growing up in British Columbia in the 1980’s and 90’s, […]

In addition to writing about hockey, I frequently review hard rock and metal CDs for the Georgia Straight newspaper in Vancouver, and whenever possible, I like to insert a blatant yet appropriate hockey reference. It’s no coincidence, in my view, that rousing, guitar-driven 80’s music continues to rock NHL arenas even decades after going out […]

When the Russians flopped with a tenth-place finish at the 2004 IIHF World Championship in the Czech Republic, head coach Viktor Tikhonov blamed it on “the mistakes of the players” and “the lack of time” to prepare for the tournament. Tikhonov, predictably, refused to acknowledge that his 1984-style methods just hadn’t worked, and that his […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2003 By Lucas Aykroyd Peter Bondra has scored many spectacular goals during his 13-year NHL career with the Washington Capitals. But few could rival the laser bullet he put past Russian goaltender Maxim Sokolov to give Slovakia its first hockey gold medal ever at the 2002 IIHF World Championships in […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd Since Ed Belfour has apparently been relegated to backup status this season in Florida, that would make Olaf Kolzig the only remaining starting NHL goalie to have played his first NHL game in the 1980’s (a 4-1 loss to Hartford on October 11, 1989). However, […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd Memory check: who captained Team Sweden at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano? If you guessed Mats Sundin or Peter Forsberg, no one would raise an eyebrow. But as it turns out, the man with the C was a quietly effective veteran defender—no, not Niklas […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2001 By Lucas Aykroyd When you can shoot the puck 100 miles per hour and lap the rink in 14 seconds, your chances of robbing NHL goalies blind increase incrementally. That’s what Washington’s Peter Bondra has done this year. The 33-year-old Slovak right wing has twice as many goals as […]