CrashingTheGoalie

by Ron Spence
I have always been a Wayne Gretzky – but never an Oilers – fan.
I thought that he was the best ambassador and player that the NHL – and the game of hockey – ever had.
But, he wasn’t much of a coach.
Of the 327 gentleman who coached one or more NHL games, the Great [...]

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Phil Kessel has been dominating the news for the past week or so.
I came across an article which should be of interest to ‘nucks fans.
It’s a comparison of Phil Kessel, Jonathan Toews and Jordan Schroeder – when they were rookie college players.
The comparisons were written part way through Jordan’s rookie season – December [...]

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by Ron Spence
I am quite fascinated with how General Managers are building teams in the 2009-10 NHL.
I read everything that I can on the topic. 
A few months back we published some of Ken Holland’s comments in the blog: KEN HOLLAND EXPLAINS THE NEW WORLD ORDER. 
Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Capitals, explains Washington’s philosophy on [...]

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“Parrish looks in exceptional shape and seems to be skating better than ever,” writes Minnesota Star Tribune’s Mike Russo, “after working this summer with powerskating extraordinaire Barry Karn, who runs the local Karn Skating Dynamics and works with the Calgary Flames.
“I’ve never felt better on the ice,” Parrish said. “It’s amazing. I’ve known him for [...]

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Sometimes I find myself critical of a few NHL players and have to remind myself that they’re just kids. 

“The education of those players is going to be very low,” said Jeremy Roenick, “I would say that most of them have high school educations, not college educations, and not to put athletes down, but they are [...]

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by Ron Spence
If I didn’t have an opinion on the Paul Kelly firing, I do now.
The Sports Business Journal printed the shoddiest journalism I’ve ever read. 
The article is about NHL players not trusting Paul Kelly, and quotes only one person – Buzz Hargrove. 
But, there are 11 other quotes or assertions made by unnamed sources.
It’s tragic [...]

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NHL travel via Air Canada – in the U.S. – is now a subject of controversy. 
So, we though that we would reprint the following article on the NHL’s history of air travel.
*****
by Glen R. Goodhand
There is some controversy over which NHL club first introduced air travel as a method of getting to their out-of-town destinations.
In [...]

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by Ron Spence
I was searching for information on a Canucks’ prospect from Quebec and came across the following article on the Roberto Luongo contract extension. 
It was published in cyberpresse.ca and written by highly respected writer Francois Gagonon.
It is a google translation – and therefore not grammatically sound – but the reader will understand a Quebec [...]

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We’d written an article on New Jersey’s Stanley Cups and Scott Stevens’ hit on Eric Lindros was mentioned.
The following is an article on the hit from Stevens’ point of view. 
courtesy of philly.com
From the moment the topic turned to hitting and Eric Lindros’ name was mentioned, it was obvious Scott Stevens was uncomfortable.
His eyes seemed [...]

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AP Sports Writer Larry Lage wrote a great piece – see below – comparing the development of Chicago’s and Detroit’s young stars.
Quite simply, Chicago had to rush their young players into the NHL, while Detroit had the luxury of slowly nourishing theirs in the minors and on the 3rd and 4th lines, while they [...]

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