Kukla's Korner Hockey
Entries with the tag: Winter+Olympics
Your Thoughts On Canada/USA Game
by Paul on 02/21/10 at 09:58 PM ET
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The post belongs to you, the KK members and guests.
Your comments on the game are encouraged.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Team+Canada, Team+USA, Winter+Olympics,
Quick In-Game Question
by Paul on 02/21/10 at 09:07 PM ET
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I think most of us would agree that the action in the Olympic hockey games has been great.
What do you think it has been besides the skill of the players?
Maybe the lack of TV timeouts, or how about no trapazoid?
It also could be the non-fighting factor, you know, fighting just for the sake of fighting.
I’d say it is a combination of all the above, plus I am really liking the no-touch icing. Also the lack of the so-called goon is refreshing.
Whatever it is, the games sure have been entertaining. What do you think?
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Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Open Post- We Continue A Great Day Of Hockey
by Paul on 02/21/10 at 06:50 PM ET
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Team USA takes on Team Canada at 7:45pm ET on MSNBC (an actual pre-game show starts at 7pm) and CTV in Canada.
Does your heart tell you one thing and your mind another or are they both in sync?
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Team+Canada, Team+USA, Winter+Olympics,
The Game Changing Play In Russia/Czech Republic Game
by Paul on 02/21/10 at 06:45 PM ET
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Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Alexander+Ovechkin, Team+Russia, Winter+Olympics,
What Are You Looking Forward To Watching Today?
by Paul on 02/21/10 at 05:19 PM ET
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via ESPN SportsNation poll...
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Team+Canada, Team+USA, Winter+Olympics,
Open Post- As Fans Of Hockey, It Is A Great Day
by Paul on 02/21/10 at 02:46 PM ET
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As hockey fans, we may be only rooting for for one team.
Is it Team Russia or Team Czech Republic which starts just after 3:00pm ET on NBC &TSN?
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Team+Czech+Republic, Team+Russia, Winter+Olympics,
All The Team USA/Team Canada Talk
by Paul on 02/21/10 at 09:58 AM ET
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from Sarah Kwak of Sports Illustrated,
The buzz around town surrounding what’s being dubbed “Super Sunday” is palpable. Team USA defenseman Tim Gleason got a taste of it the other day, when he was riding in a Vancouver taxicab, and his driver—evidently not much of a Carolina Hurricanes fan—struck up a conversation.
“You going to watch that game on Sunday, Canada vs. the U.S.?” the driver asked his fare.
“Should be a good game,” Gleason replied.
“Who are you rooting for?”
There was a slight pause before the 27-year-old Michigan native deflected, “Well, I’m not too much of a hockey fan.”
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Team+Canada, Team+USA, Winter+Olympics,
Stop Complaining
by Paul on 02/21/10 at 07:38 AM ET
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from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,
Hockey is not being disrespected by NBC. Viewers who happened to be home during the day and would have enjoyed watching Lindsey Vonn go for it live in the downhill, they were disrespected. Sports and competition are being disrespected by NBC, but hockey does not measure among the victims.
I have never quite understood why people who love hockey are so consumed with validation from the masses who simply do not appreciate the sport. Of course NBC isn’t devoting three hours of a preliminary-round hockey game between the U.S. and Canada on its prime commercial network.
To expect otherwise is lunacy, and to protest the network’s decision by playing the lack-of-respect card is counter-productive.
Yes, it is unfortunate that the enticing matchup will notbe available in HD while it is televised on MSNBC, presumably from start to finish. Anyone who wants to watch—maybe not DirecTV people, actually, which would be unfortunately commonplace for them, given the ongoing dispute that has kept Versus dark all season—can watch, just as every single game in the tournament has been and will be televised.
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: NBC, Winter+Olympics,
Working The Games- On-Ice Officials
by Paul on 02/20/10 at 10:33 PM ET
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NHL referee Brad Watson sits down with Heidi Androl to discuss the adjustments on-ice officials need to make while working the Olympic Games.
Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Officiating, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Brad+Watson, Winter+Olympics,
Fetisov Surprised By Level Of Play
by Paul on 02/20/10 at 09:10 PM ET
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from RIA Novosti,
Former NHL star Vyacheslav Fetisov said he was impressed with high-level hockey being performed at the Vancouver Olympics and was unable to name a possible champion.
Fetisov, who heads the board of Continental Hockey League (KHL), arrived in Vancouver following an invitation by the International Hockey Federation, which would honor Olympic, world and Stanley Cup champions in the Canadian city on February 22.
The two-time Olympic champion said he followed closely Vancouver hockey matches before arriving in Canada.
“Those six teams which I observed in their first two matches are quite equal. I did not expect many teams here to perform such a [high] level [hockey],” Fetisov said.
continued and what are the chances the networks of NBC will show some highlights of the IIHF event…
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Tags: KHL, Vyacheslav+Fetisov, Winter+Olympics,
Team Canada Has The Advantage
by Paul on 02/20/10 at 08:20 PM ET
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from Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,
Compare rosters, experience and the overwhelming home-ice advantage and there aren’t many areas you can point to heading into Sunday’s Canada-USA game that favor the Americans. But that’s not to suggest the U.S. has no chance. Here are five keys to an American upset—and five reasons why Canada has the upper hand.
Keys to a Team USA win:The boys down the middle
OK, on one hand, the Canadians will roll out centers Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Joe Thornton and either Jonathan Toews, Mike Richards or Patrice Bergeron. The Americans? Well, let’s just say the Americans figured to be thin down the middle, and there’s a ton of pressure on their top two centers, Joe Pavelski and Paul Stastny, to deliver big games Sunday. Pavelski, playing with Ryan Malone and Phil Kessel, has already enjoyed a nice start to this tournament and his line has provided much-needed scoring depth.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Team+Canada, Team+USA, Winter+Olympics,
Evening Line
by Paul on 02/20/10 at 07:28 PM ET
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“We’re the enemy tomorrow. It’s going to be a hostile, crazy crowd for Canada, and that’s the way it ought to be.It’ll be a zoo in here. An important part of being a successful team is for our team to manage that.”
“As tough as that might be on our young players, the pressure’s not on our team tomorrow. The pressure’s on Canada.”
-Team USA General Manager Brian Burke. More on tomorrow’s game with Team Canada from Greg Wyshynski of PuckDaddy.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Team+Canada, Team+USA, Winter+Olympics,
Teammates Face-Off
by Paul on 02/20/10 at 05:49 PM ET
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from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail at CTVOlympics (Sunday edition),
For Wilson and his Canadian counterpart, Mike Babcock, today’s games presents multiple bench coaching opportunities; given how familiar the players on their respective teams are with one another.
It isn’t just Kane against Toews; it is Kane against face the defensive pair of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, fellow Blackhawks’ teammates as well. The San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski could easily be the centre Wilson deploys to check his NHL teammates - Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau - Canada’s most productive line thus far.
And Pittsburgh Penguins’ defenceman Brooks Orpik may draw the unenviable task of playing against Sidney Crosby, Canada’s assistant captain, who he faces every day in practice.
Kane, for one, hoped that he could exploit his insider knowledge of the Blackhawks’ defence pair.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Team+Canada, Team+USA, Winter+Olympics,
Preliminary Round Action Today
by Paul on 02/20/10 at 10:30 AM ET
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If you are into statistics, click here (pdf file) for all the preliminary round stats thru yesterday.
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Tags: Winter+Olympics,
What Happens If…
by Paul on 02/20/10 at 09:40 AM ET
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from sixsevenfiftysix of Japers Rink,
With only one game remaining for each team, the scenarios for what each team needs to have happen for a first round bye are as clear as they’ll be. I thought it’d be fun (in a nerdy way) to break down which teams would get a top four seed depending on how the remaining games go down.
continued and don’t get a headache…
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Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Gretzky Says Gold For Canada
by Paul on 02/20/10 at 08:38 AM ET
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from CBC,
Wayne Gretzky is predicting a showdown between Team Canada and Russia in the men’s hockey gold-medal game at the Vancouver Olympics.
“And I pick Canada to win gold,” he told a roaring crowd Friday night at Molson Canadian Hockey House….
“The best thing that probably could have happened to this team was a close, tight game and it shows this team can win under pressure,” Gretzky said. “Going forward, I think they’ll just get better and stronger every night.”
He predicted Canada, Russia, the U.S. and Sweden will face off in the semifinals, though he didn’t rule out Finland showing its mettle.
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Tags: Wayne+Gretzky, Winter+Olympics,
Covering The Olympic Hockey Games
by Paul on 02/19/10 at 10:53 AM ET
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What is your opinion of the coverage being provided to us by the hockey writers in Vancouver?
My opinion is many of the writers are used to covering one game a night, but now are covering two and sometimes three games in the same night.
Many have deadlines that need to be met and I am sure they are scrambling at times, but I have been impressed by the work they have done.
It may get a bit easier for them once the preliminary round has ended and we should see extensive, in-depth coverage of the remaining teams.
Overall, they have done a great job providing hockey fans with all the Olympic Games notes and news.
Filed in: NHL Media, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Team Russia Lacked Passion In Their Play
by Paul on 02/19/10 at 10:42 AM ET
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from RussianHockeyfans,
Russian coach Vyacheslav Bykov talked about the reasons of the loss to Slovakia, stated that not all players had passion, explained why Ovechkin had three shootout attempts and talked about power play units in an interview to Russia site gazeta.ru.
RussianHockeyfans.com offers you a translation.
What shortcomings of the team did you find out?
Bykov: “The players had no passion. It looked like it was a regular game for them.”
Ovechkin was turned on the whole game, made like five hits. Why weren’t other players pumped up?
Bykov: “Yes, Alexander was one of the players who tried to demonstrate their best during the whole game. Others were in shadow.”
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Tags: Team+Russia, Winter+Olympics,
NBC, Is It MSNBC or NBC?
by Paul on 02/19/10 at 09:55 AM ET
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Matt Lauer on the Today show on NBC just said- Big game this weekend, Canada versus the USA and you can watch the game on NBC.
Has something changed or did Matt make a mistake?
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Olympics,
It Is All About The Ratings For NBC
by Paul on 02/19/10 at 08:54 AM ET
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from Neil Best at the GazetteXtra,
Like it or not, my fellow journalists and avid sports fans, the Olympics are a sports TV creature unlike any other, and NBC doesn’t care how often we rail against that reality.
Deal with it: Even in an era of easy access to real-time information, many of the non-typical sports fans who enjoy the Games—including the ones in my house—like a neatly packaged, conveniently timed show to digest after dinner.
NBC mostly has delivered on its promise to present marquee events such as snowboarding and figure skating live—or close to it—thanks to the favorable time difference with Vancouver. Americans Shani Davis and Shaun White won their golds live Wednesday before and after the Vonn Show.
But consider this: In the West, where everything is on delay, outraging many fans and journalists, the Games are doing even better than in the East.
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Related Stories | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: NBC, Winter+Olympics,
Slovakia Upsets Russia
by Paul on 02/19/10 at 08:22 AM ET
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from John Dellapina at NHL.com,
Perhaps somebody forgot to inform the Slovaks that they had drawn the short straw in this 2010 Olympic hockey tournament. Or maybe they figured, having confounded the skeptics and the schedule-maker four years ago by going undefeated in pool play in Torino, they simply were being perfectly set up to shock the hockey world yet again.
Whatever the case, the little country that supposedly couldn’t somehow found a way Thursday night at Canada Hockey Place. It took a third-period comeback. And it took seven rounds of a shootout—three of which saw Alex Ovechkin shoot against them.
But at the end of a second straight long, withering night, it was the Slovaks who were still standing—2-1 victors over the powerhouse from Russia.
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Tags: Team+Russia, Team+Slovakia, Winter+Olympics,
You’re Next Canada
by Paul on 02/18/10 at 10:20 PM ET
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from Dan Wetzel of Yahoo,
The U.S. is boasting a 9-2 goal differential, yet there is plenty of room for improvement. They know that. For a team that’s been together for just four days, though, it’s been impressive enough.
If you want validation of the Americans’ obvious potential, it’s that Canadian fans bothered cheering against them.
On both sides of the border, Sunday’s was the game that got circled as soon as the schedule was released. Both teams will almost assuredly advance out of pool play, so winning means relatively little.
It’s about pride. It’s about country. It’s about rivalry.
“I’m anticipating one of the best atmospheres I’ve been in,” said coach Ron Wilson. “Here, it’s going to be on every TV in Canada and a good number in America. Anyone who is a hockey fan will be watching.
“It’s going to be a great day for hockey.”
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Tags: Team+Canada, Team+USA, Winter+Olympics,
If You Know It NBC, Why Don’t You Do It?
by Paul on 02/18/10 at 09:17 PM ET
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from Seth Livingstone of USA TODAY,
Hockey fans looking to watch the USA-Canada game Sunday will need to view it like the rest of NBC’s pre-gold medal hockey package —on NBC’s cable partner MSNBC.
With an Olympic audience that skews heavily female, NBC will opt to show figure skating’s original dance programs live, rather than the hockey rivalry which will air at 7 p.m. ET.
Christopher McCloskey, vice president of communications at NBC Sports, says the three-hour time commitment makes for a difficult situation, in part because hockey fans want to see games in their entirety.
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: NBC, Winter+Olympics,
Steps To Sochi
by Paul on 02/18/10 at 07:09 PM ET
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from Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated, Before The Road to Sochi 2014 lurches to a conclusion, the NHL needs to tidy up some issues. In no particular order:
• Licensing. During Salt Lake City 2002, the NHL had the right to have its shield appear with the Olympic rings. That didn’t happen in Turin or Vancouver. To extract more from its Olympic participation, the NHL would like more co-branding.
• Scheduling. Like the Players Association, the NHL is concerned about the abruptness of the switch from league games to Olympic games. (Edmonton played Anaheim on Sunday night. This tournament began Tuesday.) A buffer would be nice, in any case, although travel from North America to Sochi would make it imperative.
• Coverage. The league has its NHL Network, but in the Vancouver pecking order, it runs neck-and-neck with The Score. (The Score, for those not privileged to live in Canada, is a tertiary all-sports network that is a non-rights holder here.) The NHL Network does not envision showing games, naturally, but at least it would like greater access to players.
Filed in: NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: IIHF, IOC, Winter+Olympics,
Open Post- Team Canada vs. Team Switzerland
by Paul on 02/18/10 at 07:00 PM ET
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from Dan Rosen of NHL.com,
Total NHL players on rosters: Switzerland 2; Canada 23.
Puck drop —Babcock was particularly impressed with Sidney Crosby’s play in Canada’s opener. The Kid had three assists and found instant chemistry with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash when the trio was united in the second period.
“I thought Crosby was really good,” Babcock said. “His will tank, his determination…for me, everyone talks about his skill, but that’s what I like. That’s what he has to use on every shift, his will and determination.”
NHL.com predicts: Canada wins going away again to set up key date with Team USA on Sunday.
more on the match-up and the game starts at 7:30pm ET and can be viewed on CNBC, CTV & RDS.
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Tags: Team+Canada, Team+Switzerland, Winter+Olympics,
“Gary, We Need You”
by Paul on 02/18/10 at 03:49 PM ET
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from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,
Fasel stopped short of dropping to his knees and pleading with Bettman to make sure NHL players are in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, but he didn’t stop short by a lot. He suggested the NHL can lose its All-Star break to create more time to send players to Sochi and said continuing to send players would enhance the game’s growth.
“The effort to shut down for two weeks and play here is worth it,” Fasel told reporters at a news conference while Bettman, sitting to his right, grew increasingly red-faced. “For our game, our fans, Gary, we need you.”
Bettman, the red spots in his cheeks fairly blazing by now, smiled. “It’s nice to be needed,” he said, though his tone didn’t match his words.
Filed in: NHL Talk, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Gary+Bettman, IIHF, Rene+Fasel, Winter+Olympics,
Ted Has A Point
by Paul on 02/18/10 at 01:26 PM ET
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from Ted Leonis of Ted’s Take,
The NHL has provided more than $ 2 BILLION of committed contracts in terms of players to the Olympics. The Capitals have provided in our six players more than $ 200 million worth of talent as well, I believe. And in payment back we received two free tickets to each game, per team. Seems like a fair exchange huh?
And we aren’t allowed to do any press work on site or media streaming in any way or use the Olympic logos or see our players or park at the arena and on and on. I bet I am violating some rules in blogging about the Olympics as I am not paying a penny to do so. I didn’t ask for permission or credentials either.
I love the Olympics but we don’t have a fair exchange of value that is for sure.
As far as I can tell the Olympic Committee is more important than governments, leagues, police forces, individual teams, athletes and even religions. They rule! They are in total control. The floggings will continue until morale improves around here!
Filed in: NHL Talk, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Preliminary Round Games Continue Today
by Paul on 02/18/10 at 11:45 AM ET
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Will the USA, Canada and Russia improve their record to 2-0 with victories today?
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Olympics,
The Olympic Hockey Playoff Format
by Paul on 02/17/10 at 04:29 PM ET
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from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail at CTVOlympics,
Every year, the International Ice Hockey Federation tweaks the format of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament and every year, it becomes more complicated - to the point where even the principal players aren’t exactly sure of how the tie-breakers work, or more importantly, whether they’ll need to run up the score on a hapless opponent to ensure a higher seed for the playoff round.
“I have read the rules,” said Brian Burke, Team USA’s general manager. “I went to Harvard law school and I’m not sure I understand them.”
Officially, the 12 competing teams are divided into three groups of four teams for the preliminary round and play a round robin, with three points awarded for a regulation win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss and zero points for a regulation loss.
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Tags: IIHF, Winter+Olympics,
Strike Two NBC
by Paul on 02/17/10 at 01:41 PM ET
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from Greg Wyshynski of PuckDaddy,
You see, tt was important for CNBC to stay with women’s curling because they promoted the heck out of the event during the U.S. men’s ice hockey team game earlier in the day, with an interview featuring ... oh, wait, that was Sidney Crosby(notes) of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, whose Team Canada game was being preempted by preliminary round women’s curling? Our mistake.
So the Canada game started late into the first period over on MSNBC, before it was moved back to CNBC around 8 p.m. EST, so the Peacock’s cable news outlet could fulfill its nightly obligations of progressive indignation and Sarah Palin outrage.
The least the NBC umbrella of channels could have done was run a crawler on the bottom of the screen or announce the channel changes, but they did not.
Filed in: NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: NBC, Winter+Olympics,
Preliminary Round Schedule For Today
by Paul on 02/17/10 at 11:30 AM ET
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Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Winter Olympics Ratings Talk
by Paul on 02/16/10 at 09:32 PM ET
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from Michael Hiestand of USA TODAY,
With NBC’s long, current Olympic TV lock extending only to London’s 2012 Summer Games, new TV deals might come this year that could lead to something not seen since the Clinton presidency: Somebody else carrying the Games.
And potential bidders for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and Rio de Janeiro’s 2016 Summer Games — possibly including NBC, ESPN/ABC, Fox and a joint CBS/TNT bid — will scour NBC’s Olympic ratings looking for clues about this: Are the Games hanging on as a TV hit?...
Compared to NBC’s Salt Lake coverage — which averaged 19.9% of U.S. TV households through its first four nights — NBC’s Vancouver ratings are down 24.1%.
Filed in: Hockey Related Stories | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Hockey Is the Talk In Vancouver
by Paul on 02/16/10 at 07:30 AM ET
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from Mark Purdy of the Mercury News,
Canada invented the game of hockey, as every citizen here is required to tell foreign visitors at least five times a day. And while the Winter Games have taken place once previously in Canada — Calgary 1988 — the players were amateurs and not NHL professionals, who didn’t appear in the Olympics until 1998.
In other words, this will be the first time an Olympic hockey gold medal will be decided by the world’s best hockey players on Canadian soil. And since Canada finished a disgraceful eighth at the last Winter Olympic hockey tournament in Torino four years ago, the home fans are in no mood for finishing second. As one international hockey official has joked, the country is “a nation of 35 million general managers.”
Another indication of hockey’s pecking order here: Every men’s tournament game will be played at the largest and nicest ice arena in town, Canada Hockey Place, home of the Vancouver Canucks NHL team. Usually at the Olympics, the biggest and best arena is reserved for figure skating, the glamour event of the games. This time, the figure skaters have been shunted off to the Pacific Coliseum — the smaller 42-year-old building where the Canucks played in the 1980s and ‘90s.
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Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Finding The Right Chemistry
by Paul on 02/16/10 at 07:17 AM ET
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from Charles McGrath and Jeff Z. Klein of the New York Times,
...But the groupings suggested some surprising thinking on the part of the Russian coaching staff. Sergei Fedorov, Slava Kozlov and Alexander Radulov, who all play in the Kontinental Hockey League, were together, but Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk — the three best players on the team and potentially a devastating line — were not. Instead, Ovechkin was with Datsyuk and Alexander Semin, who is Ovechkin’s teammate on the Washington Capitals….
Talking about how the problem of getting the lines to click on short notice, Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames and Canada said: “The coaching staff talks to us, and they’ve already been thinking about the role they want each of us to play. They’ve put the lines together, and some of the guys have already played together.”
Ron Wilson, the United States coach, likened the process of putting together a team on one day’s notice to a riddle.
“It’s like a Rubik’s cube,” he said, speaking with reporters at Canada Hockey Place. “You just start moving it till you get a side with one color all the same.”
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Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Time To Drop The Puck
by Paul on 02/16/10 at 06:44 AM ET
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from Craig Custance of The Sporting News,
“Coming here today and seeing all this,” said Zach Parise, nodding toward the swarm of media. “The nerves start to creep in.”
There’s only one way to remove those nerves.
“You almost just want to start the game and let the nerves relax a little bit,” he said.
After months of anticipation, they finally get that chance.
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Tags: Winter+Olympics,
NHL & Olympic Talk
by Paul on 02/15/10 at 08:52 AM ET
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from Elliotte Friedman of CBC,
• Really, really curious to watch Ryan Miller. Aside from last year, his late-season numbers aren’t great. Is he starting to burn out from carrying the Sabres on his back, again?
• Thought Marc Crawford made a really interesting point about the team with the most fluid skaters being in best position to win. His theory: as the players get exhausted in the later rounds, those who expend less energy while striding will have an advantage. He pointed out two Canadians in particular: Scott Niedermayer and Patrice Bergeron.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Olympic Athletes Looking Forward To Mingling With NHL Stars
by Paul on 02/14/10 at 12:41 PM ET
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from Donna Spencer of the CP at CTVOlympics,
Sidney Crosby and company are moving into the athletes village, and Canada’s Olympians can’t wait for their new neighbours to arrive.
“I’ll walk up to Crosby and say ‘Hey man, you’re awesome.’ And he’ll be like ‘Who are you?” said Calgary luger Jeff Christie….
“I just would like to know how he deals with certain situations, like the Stanley Cup,” said Toronto figure skater Patrick Chan, a medal contender in his own right. “That’s probably the equivalent of the Olympics. I think he’s really wise and he’s young like I am, so he’s kind of in the same situation.”
Calgary curler Cheryl Bernard said she and her teammates anticipate sitting across the table from them in the dining hall.
“I’m a little concerned that our team is going to get a reputation for being stalkers of the men’s hockey team,” she said.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Olympics,
NHL Has Nothing To Gain By Not Going To Sochi
by Paul on 02/14/10 at 08:40 AM ET
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from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star,
But if the NHL pulls out, the flavour and competitive nature of the tournament will be enormously different in Sochi when it returns – correctly – to the larger international ice surface. With no NHLers, the U.S. will have to go back to using college kids, Canada’s team will look like a Spengler Cup entrant again and the NHL will be handing over the tournament marquee to the KHL, which already will have 60 or more players in the Vancouver tournament.
Which league will look big-league then? How will the NHL gain by retreating into self-imposed Olympic exile while countries like Latvia and Germany suddenly find themselves able to compete with the top North American countries, home to the NHL?
This, to be fair, shapes up to be a brilliant hockey tournament, one without a clear favourite. There’s Canada with home-ice advantage, the Swedes as defending champs and the Russians holding bragging rights from back-to-back world titles. The U.S. will be sentimental favourites due to Brian Burke’s personal ordeal and everybody seems to forget Finland won silver four years ago.
But without the NHL, there might be even more intrigue, more of a sense of the unknown.
Better than anything Bettman’s league can ever serve up in the final two weeks of February, for sure.
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Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Vancouver Opening Ceremony Draws Huge Numbers
by Paul on 02/13/10 at 03:46 PM ET
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from William Houston of Truth & Rumors,
CTV’s telecast of the Vancouver Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Friday rates as the most watched show ever on Canadian television.
An average audience of 13.3 million viewers tuned into the three and half hour telecast, moving it well past the 10.3 million who watched the men’s hockey gold medal game (Canada-United States) at the Salt Lake Games in 2002 on the CBC.
A total of 23 million Canadians, or 69 per cent of the total population, watched some part of the telecast….
In the United States, NBC also drew a huge American audience, the largest for a non-U.S. Games in 16 years.
The network’s telecast was watched by 32.6 million viewers, 10 million above and 47 higher than the 22.2 million for Turin in 2006. The telecast earned a national rating of 17.3 (percentage of potential U.S. households tuned in), for an increase of 35 per cent over Turin (12.8).
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Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Patrick Kane’s Introduction To The World
by Paul on 02/11/10 at 02:26 PM ET
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from Mike Kiley of Blackhawks Confidential,
Are you ready, Chicago? Are you ready, world? Kane appeals to all ages, gossipy old nags that like sniffing the scandal sheets and bright-eyed girls and boys who can relate to a fella that’s part Huckleberry Finn, part Eminem, part Joe Namath, part Denis Savard, and pretty much three-quarters Bobby Hull, except for the hair. All live wire.
Kid Galahad could be the belle of this ball, because he so enjoys scrambling those letters to read KID HAD-A-GAL or simply KID GALA, a rollicking roustabout coming straight to your stage and the wide, wide world of sports (I know, I’m mixing networks) from Al Capone’s rootin’-tootin’ hometown, which is still how much of the world identifies Chicago….
Team USA’s Olympic opener is a 12 p. m. puck drop in Vancouver, so Kane still has time to gather the girl scout troop for a Monday night reprise in the party limo, get John Madden and Kris Versteeg on the laptop webcam, try reverse-role playing and have the gals be the ones that take off their shirts this time round for the paparazzi shoot, roast them a few marshmallows, drown them with Jagermeister shooters for the international spirit, park at Lover’s Leap in Stanley Park for belated Valentine canoodling under the moonlight and hit the hay without the need of a police escort to help him say his evening prayers.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Patrick+Kane, Team+USA, Winter+Olympics,
Is This The Type Of Content We Can Expect From NBC Regarding Olympic Hockey?
by Paul on 02/10/10 at 11:01 PM ET
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via Mike Florio of Rinkside, an NBC Hockey blog for the Olympics,
Before a single puck can drop during the Olympic hockey competition, the games must officially be declared open. And before the games officially can be declared open, the oversized S’mores maker must be properly ignited.
And the guy who is believed to be the leading candidate to light the fire is the same guy who lit the lamp for many years in the NHL.
According to the Toronto Sun, Wayne Gretzky is the most likely candidate to do the honors.
Surprisingly, Gretzky’s wife has bet $100 dollars (Canadian) on Mario Lemieux.
Filed in: Hockey Related Stories | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: NBC, Winter+Olympics,
What Break?
by Paul on 02/09/10 at 01:10 PM ET
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Are you like me and a bit worried about an injury during the Olympics?
Check out my NHL.com blog today and let me know how you feel.
Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Media, Hockey Bloggers, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Olympics,
NBC Has A Touch Of Canada
by Paul on 02/09/10 at 12:17 PM ET
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from William Houston of Truth & Rumors,
Eight Canadian broadcasters will work on NBC’s Vancouver Olympics coverage. Included among the network’s 53 on-air people are Sandra Bezic and Tracy Wilson in figure skating; Tim Ryan and Todd Brooker for alpine skiing; Don Duguid, Colleen Jones and Elfi Schlegel for curling; and Pierre McGuire in hockey.
NBC’s prime time host will continue to be Bob Costas. Al Michaels will be the daytime host and Mary Carillo will work the late night show. Cris Collinsworth will provide special reports, as will Dick Button….
Men’s hockey:
Host: Bill Patrick
Play-by-Play: Mike Emrick and Kenny Albert
Game Analysts: Ed Olczyk and Joe Micheletti
Studio Analysts: Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick
Reporters: Pierre McGuire, Joe Micheletti and Mike Milbury
more on the on-air talent…
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Would Financial Gain Increase The Chances Of The NHL Participating In Future Olympic Games?
by Paul on 02/06/10 at 04:19 PM ET
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from Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic,
Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney looks at the Olympics as great entertainment for hockey fans
but at the same time wonders about the overall benefits of having NHL players participate. That includes the risk of injury as well as the rationale for shutting down the season for two weeks.
“(For) the NHL, at least at this stage, there is no tangible financial benefit,” he said. “We all enjoy the Olympics, love to watch it, but I personally like the amateurs. I like the unexpected.
“It’s all revenue, television revenue. If they had some tangible benefit other than the good will of seeing the best players - we all enjoy that, the fans love it - but I think there’s some really hard discussions going forward to see whether it makes sense for this league to shut down.
continued
Filed in: NHL Teams, Phoenix Coyotes | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Don+Maloney, Winter+Olympics,
Canada - A United Voice
by Paul on 02/05/10 at 10:36 AM ET
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Canadian fans- You can now post your own video to the Nike Training FanPage and earn a chance to have your message included with those of the Nike athletes in the final kick-off video.
The end result: a video that shares the voices of Olympians, athletes and Canadians alike. The goal of this is not just to kick-off the games but unite the voice of the country and provide the ability for kids across the nation to join the movement and have a voice during this epic time.
Start here at the Nike Training Facebook page.
Filed in: Hockey Related Stories, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Team+Canada, Winter+Olympics,
Political Games
by Paul on 02/01/10 at 11:10 AM ET
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from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail at CTVOlympics,
Think Canada has a monopoly on player selection controversies? Or is the only country immersed in discussion about who will play where during the men’s 2010 Winter Olympics hockey tournament?
It’s just as bad - and maybe worse - in Russia, which has the added complication of balancing players from its own domestic league (the Continental Hockey League or KHL) as well as its stars in the NHL.
Politics is the stepchild of modern international hockey, and so for the Vancouver Games, the Russians opted for nine players from the KHL, and the rest from the NHL.
If Washington Capitals goaltender Semyon Varlamov is dropped for injury reasons, the third goalie to play behind Ilya Bryzgalov of the Phoenix Coyotes and Evgeni Nabokov of the San Jose Sharks is expected to come from the KHL.
Even though Russian coach Slava Bykov is considered a progressive leader, he adopted one of the principles from the old Soviet days and will play four five-man units.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Team+Russia, Winter+Olympics,
The Odds For Hockey Gold At The 2010 Winter Olympics
by Paul on 01/29/10 at 03:59 PM ET
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The PR folks for Bodog.com passed these on to me…
Odds to Win the 2010 Olympic Ice Hockey Championship
Canada 1/1
Russia 2/1
Sweden 11/2
USA 7/1
Czech Republic 15/1
Finland 16/1
Slovakia 40/1
Switzerland 125/1
Germany 400/1
Belarus 500/1
Latvia 500/1
Norway 500/1
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Will Team Canada Hockey Players Grab The Canadian Spotlight?
by Paul on 01/15/10 at 04:43 PM ET
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from the CP at CBC,
The accomplishments of some Canadian athletes at the 2010 Winter Games may be overshadowed because of the attention on the men’s hockey team, a multiple Olympic medallist said Friday.
Senator Nancy Greene Raine, who won gold and silver medals at the 1968 Winter Olympics, said hockey is such a huge part of the Canadian culture it sometimes pushes other sports out of the picture.
“I always felt it was good to be a female athlete because you were never compared against the hockey superstars,” Greene Raine told a breakfast meeting sponsored by the Vancouver board of trade.
“There is no doubt in my mind a lot of great Canadian male amateur athletes, Olympic athletes, what they’ve done has not been properly recognized because they are not hockey players. That is something you have to live with as a Canadian.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Nancy+Greene+Raine, Team+Canada, Winter+Olympics,
IIHF Says No Roster Moves Unless It Is For Valid Reasons
by Paul on 01/09/10 at 01:57 PM ET
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from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,
There appears to be a resolution to the Olympic hockey roster dispute.
The International Ice Hockey Federation sent out a memo Friday to all national member federations clarifying that, at this point, roster changes can only be made for “valid reasons,” and not because of player performance, ESPN.com has learned.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Winter+Olympics,
Jagr Looking Forward To Playing On Small Ice
by Paul on 01/06/10 at 01:57 PM ET
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from RussiaToday,
After almost two decades in the NHL and a couple of seasons in Russia, Jaromir Jagr is fast approaching his final appearance for the Czech Republic just over a month from now at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Jagr will be one of the most experienced members of the squad, led by the legendary player and Olympic champion Vladimir Ruzicka.
He was actually Jagr’s teammate when the Czech Republic won their only Olympic gold at the Nagano games in 1998.
While Jagr’s mind is now on the Continental Hockey League, the upcoming Winter Olympics promise to become something special for the Czech.
continue for a video of Jagr talking abou the KHL and the upcoming Olympics…
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jaromir+Jagr, Winter+Olympics,
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