Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2004 By Lucas Aykroyd Not every Czech NHL star will be suiting up for the national team at the 2004 IIHF World Championships, but you can be sure that all of them will be keeping tabs on their nation’s prospects of winning it all on home ice for the first […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2004 By Lucas Aykroyd In the science-fiction novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a computer announces that “the answer to the great question of life, the universe and everything” is 42. In Ryan Smyth’s hockey life, that statement has some truth to it. The 6-1, 190-pound Edmonton Oilers winger […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2003 By Lucas Aykroyd Some guys experience an early mid-life crisis when they hit 30. Zigmund Palffy doesn’t appear to be one of them. The 30-year-old Los Angeles Kings winger racked up the points at his usual rate this season, going 37-48-85 in 76 games to win the team scoring […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2003 By Lucas Aykroyd The Finnish Lions are coming home to roar. In the weeks leading up to the 2003 World Championships, IHWC.NET’s Lucas Aykroyd spoke with Finnish players and asked them what it means for the tournament to return to their homeland. Hannes Hyvonen (Forward, Farjestads BK): Of course […]

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 on IHWC.NET in 2002 By Lucas Aykroyd Jaroslav Spacek has excelled on the international stage before, but life in the NHL hasn’t always been as kind to him. Chicago and Columbus are both cities in the American Midwest, but as Spacek is finding out, they’re worlds apart in the hockey universe. The skillful […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2001 By Lucas Aykroyd Not many NHL lines reflect the expanding international diversity of hockey better than the Dallas Stars combo of Jere Lehtinen, Mike Modano and Brett Hull. You’ve got two amazing Americans and a fine Finn. Three NHL goal-scoring titles for Hull, two Selke Trophies for Lehtinen and […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2001 By Lucas Aykroyd Ruslan Salei gained some notoriety in 1999 when he cross-checked Dallas star Mike Modano from behind and earned a 10-game suspension. But now the Anaheim Mighty Ducks defenseman is making a better name for himself with tough but clean play. Team Belarus will miss him at […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2000 By Lucas Aykroyd Few NHL teams were more generous in sending players to the 2000 IIHF World Championships than the Vancouver Canucks. Team Canada was a prime beneficiary. Defensemen Ed Jovanovski and Adrian Aucoin (now with the Tampa Bay Lightning) plus forwards Todd Bertuzzi, Peter Schaefer and Brendan Morrison […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2001 By Lucas Aykroyd When Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988, it proved no one is untouchable. Jeff Friesen, long considered the heart and soul of the San Jose Sharks, learned that lesson the hard way when he was shipped off to Anaheim in a […]