Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2001 By Lucas Aykroyd 2001 won’t mark the first time the IIHF World Championships have come to Germany. The tournament has a long and illustrious history in this part of the world. But there is a chance for a different kind of breakthrough. While both Canada and Russia are considered […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2001 By Lucas Aykroyd 2001 marks the fortieth anniversary of Canada’s last victory at the IIHF World Championships with an exclusively amateur roster. It was a small town from British Columbia in Western Canada that achieved this feat, and player-coach Bobby Kromm led the way for the Trail Smoke Eaters. […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2000 By Lucas Aykroyd They call him “Archie.” Maybe that’s an appropriate nickname for Alexei Zhamnov. The red-haired Russian sometimes achieves hockey feats of the larger-than-life dimensions of a cartoon character. But other times, his play is a mere caricature of what it could be. Russian Head Coach Alexander Yakushev […]

Originally published in Attractions Magazine in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd There’s no better time of the year than April and May if you’re an avid hockey fan. Not only are the NHL playoffs in full swing, but there’s also a ton of international hockey excitement taking place at the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) World […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2001 By Lucas Aykroyd The late Stanley Kubrick won’t be filming the 2001 IIHF World Hockey Championships in Germany, but you can expect the action to be of epic proportions on and off the ice. With a fun-loving extraterrestrial named “Spacy” as the tournament mascot, at least 250,000 spectators are […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2004 By Lucas Aykroyd It’s often called “the most exciting play in hockey,” but a penalty shot is also one of the most nerve-wracking for shooters and goalies. In the normal course of a game, there are dozens of possibilities developing on the ice, and there’s a give-and-take to the […]

Originally published in the IIHF News Release in 2002 By Lucas Aykroyd In many ways, Steve Tambellini represents the best of Canadian hockey. So it was hardly surprising when Canadian Hockey introduced him on September 26 as the general manager of the Maple Leaf squad for the 2003 IIHF World Championships in Finland. The 44-year-old […]

Originally published in The Hockey News in 2005 By Lucas Aykroyd I haven’t seen the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs since 1999. I missed such dramatic events as Keith Primeau’s quintuple overtime winner over Pittsburgh in 2000 and Minnesota’s 2003 rally from a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate Vancouver. But that’s OK, because […]

Originally published in summer 2004 By Lucas Aykroyd It seems like Steve Tambellini is connected to everything happening in the world of Canadian hockey lately. As the GM of Canada’s 2003 World Championship gold medal team, Tambellini carried on a great family tradition: his father Addie played for the 1961 Trail Smoke Eaters, the last […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2003 By Lucas Aykroyd There’s no doubt about it. Serving as the President of the International Ice Hockey Federation can be a complex juggling act. After all, René Fasel doesn’t just oversee the development of hockey in 63 member nations. The 53-year-old Swiss native also bears the chief responsibility for […]