Kukla's Korner Hockey
Category: Non-NHL-Hockey
Are You Watching Or At Least Following The World Championships?
by Paul on 05/07/12 at 08:36 PM ET
Comments (6)
from Roy MacGregor of the Globe and Mail,
Sometimes you just need a little fix.
Not much, really, just a few minutes of puck possession, some unrestrained creativity, even a few familiar names in the air helps.
So thank you, world championship, for offering a welcome alternative every couple of days.
Let us not kid ourselves – Canada vs. France in an empty arena in Helsinki is certainly not Canada heading into overtime against a tough American team, nor is it a Game 7 with everything on the line – but at least it is not dump-and-chase, chip the pucks off the glass (or, just as often, over the glass), block the shots and crash the net endlessly.
It is hockey played differently, and for this reason alone it is refreshing, regardless of the final score.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Burke To The Rescue
by Paul on 05/07/12 at 01:15 PM ET
Comments (1)
from Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun,
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke has come to the defence of Ryan Getzlaf, the new Canadian captain.
Getzlaf was big news in Finland Monday morning as a result of an alleged incident in a Helsinki night club called ‘Circus’.
“I saw Getzy late Saturday night (actually early Sunday morning). I left for the airport between 4:30 and 4:45 a.m. from the hotel where we (Team USA) stayed, the same hotel as Team Canada, the Hotel Sokos Presidentii,” said Burke in an e-mail defending his former Anaheim Duck player.
“Getzy was not intoxicated and was not with a woman. We had a brief and pleasant conversation and then I headed to the airport.
No proof Burke rode off on a white horse to the airport.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Brian+Burke, Ryan+Getzlaf,
Video- A Massive Hit From Sacha Treille Results In A 5 Game Suspension At The World Championships
by Paul on 05/07/12 at 11:59 AM ET
Comments (2)
via the CP at CBC,
French forward Sacha Treille has been suspended five games at the IHHF World Hockey Championship for a vicious head shot on Roman Starchenko of Kazakhstan.
The six-foot-five French forward — who will likely miss the rest of the tournament — caught his smaller opponent with an elbow to the head in the neutral zone midway through a game between the countries on Sunday.
Starchenko was knocked out cold and a stretcher was brought on the ice, although the Kazak was helped off by teammates.
Treille earned a game misconduct and was given a match penalty, which came with an automatic one-game suspension.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Sacha+Treille,
Leo Komarov Wants To Be A Leaf
by Paul on 05/06/12 at 12:14 PM ET
Comments (0)
from Chris Johnston of the CP at the Globe and Mail,
It’s an intriguing scenario for the Leafs. Drafted in the sixth round in 2006 by former GM John Ferguson Jr., Komarov has taken major strides over the last few years and was a key member of the Dynamo Moscow team that recently won the KHL championship.
His Russian contract has one year remaining and reportedly includes an out clause that can be enacted after the world championship wraps up later this month. He won’t be able to sign with Toronto until that happens.
“I’ve got a year in Dynamo left so I don’t know if they will let me go,” said Komarov. “It’s my agent’s work.”
Naturally, the Leafs are taking a wait-and-see approach to the situation.
They own Komarov’s North American rights and will only have to give him an entry-level contract, which allows them to move him freely between the NHL and American Hockey League. Leafs GM Brian Burke believes Komarov can play in the NHL and scouts have the five-foot-10 winger projected as a checking-line player in the mould of Jarkko Ruutu.
Check out a highlight video of Komarov below…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs, Non-NHL Hockey, European Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Leo+Komarov,
NCAA Hockey May Go To Three-Quarter Visors
by Paul on 05/04/12 at 08:49 PM ET
Comments (1)
from Adam Wodon of College Hockey News,
There are few issues that you will get every coach in college hockey to agree upon. Eliminating the mandate for full face shields is one of them.
As far back as 30 years ago, when the requirement was implemented, coaches have been against the NCAA-mandated use of full face shields. But now, for the first time, college hockey is close to eliminating the requirement.
The NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee is planning to formally recommend, at its June meetings in Indianapolis, that college hockey change from full shields to three-quarter visors. The recommendation will go to the NCAA’s Committee of Competitive Safeguards, where college hockey will have a chance to further make its case.
Beyond that, it would need approval from a few more levels of the NCAA hierarchy, but the Competitive Safeguards committee is considered the biggest hurdle.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, College Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Zetterberg Talks World Championships
by Paul on 05/03/12 at 11:28 AM ET
Comments (1)
from Lucas Aykroyd of IIHF.com,
Are you having fun so far? Everyone here seems pretty excited to see you.
Yeah, absolutely. It’s great to be back home and play for Team Sweden. Hopefully we can get a nicer ending here than we did in Detroit.
Throughout the year with Detroit, you get to play for one of the best coaches in the business in Mike Babcock. What are the differences between his approach and that of Pär Mårts?
I think we’re playing a bit more aggressively [with Sweden]. We don’t hold back anything – we can just go. That might be the biggest difference. In Detroit, maybe we’re thinking a little bit more defence than we do here. We’re allowed to do mistakes and still keep on playing.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Team+Sweden,
The Big Red Machine Prepares For The World Championships
by Paul on 05/03/12 at 10:16 AM ET
Comments (1)
Malkin and Datsyuk will be key players for Team Russia.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Team+Russia,
KHL Numbers
by Paul on 05/02/12 at 09:38 AM ET
Comments (5)
from RIA,
This past KHL season has seen a slight rise stadium attendances but a drop in the average number of goals per game, statistics released Wednesday showed.
League officials keen to export the competition to as many European nations as possible will be scrutinizing the numbers to try to gauge whether the nascent Russian-based competition is hitting growth targets in its fourth season.
Figures posted on the KHL website showed 4.32 million people visited the 704 matches of the 2011-12 season, a modest rise of 30,000 from last season. That translates to an average of 6,136 fans per match, up from 5,200 in the KHL’s inaugural 2008-09 season but far less than half the NHL’s averages.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, European Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: KHL,
Video- Ah, Those Hockey Meltdowns
by Paul on 04/25/12 at 10:10 PM ET
Comments (2)
TSN with the Top 10 Hockey Meltdowns.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Non-NHL Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Watching The IIHF Men’s World Championship
by Paul on 04/25/12 at 11:10 AM ET
Comments (0)
NEW YORK (April 25, 2012) — The NBC Sports Network will televise 13 games of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men’s World Championship, May 4-20, in Helsinki, Finland, and Stockholm, Sweden, including all Team USA games, a Semifinal matchup and the Gold Medal game. Team USA opens play on Friday, May 4, with a preliminary-round game against France.
All Team USA games will air live on NBC Sports Network, with the exception of its preliminary-round game on May 5, which will be aired later that night on delay. NBC Sports Network will televise at least one Semifinal game and the Gold Medal game (same-day delay), regardless of whether or not Team USA is playing in the contest.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: NBC-SN,
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