International Archive

Series Finale

The final game of the Canada / Russia Series was tonight and Team QMJHL beat Russia for the second time in three nights. Notable players that had good games this week include several that I will see this weekend in Quebec City. Maxime Comtois of the Victoriaville Tigres opened and closed the scoring with 2 goals

Tournament Time for the NHL?

With the 2016 World Cup of Hockey complete we can look back on a successful tournament for the NHL and the players. There is much to talk about with the actual event itself, but I have one idea that I have been talking about for years that this event perfectly illustrates. The topic is putting

Thanks Shawn, plus splitting hairs

Thanks to Shawn Roarke of NHL.com @sroarke_nhl for challenging my initial Tweet on Christian Dvorak. I did initially say “college numbers” in reference to Dvorak’s career, when of course he played junior. It was a case of green jersey transference. My mind saw a player winning a spring championship in a green jersey on a

Grab the money or the ring?

With the World Cup of Hockey on the horizon I have heard the term ‘money grab’ thrown around a lot. While there are some aspects of the tournament that warrant criticism, I don’t understand the vitriol from many. By locating the event only in Toronto and charging high ticket prices I get that there will

Is 18 the new 19?

Traditionally the NHL entry draft has even the top players coming from their junior, college, or European backgrounds with only token World Junior Championship experience at best. However, this year 6 of the top 9 prospects not only played at the WJC, but played major roles for their respective countries. With the state of the

Do you feel lucky?

So the Draft Lottery is done and the 2016 draft will see Toronto #1, Winnipeg #2, and Columbus #3 – while Buffalo stays at #8. The Oilers and Canucks fell 2 spots and the Flames fell 1. Getting into the top 3 in this draft is huge, so Winnipeg is obviously happy. For me, I

WJC Player Assessments – 4th to 9th Place Finishers

This post will focus on viewings of players that were not on medal winning teams. I look mostly to players with NHL potential. Stay tuned for assessments of players from the top 3 teams! Sweden The Swedes lost out to the Americans in the Bronze Medal game. Their chances were dealt a blow in game 1

WJC Player Assessments – Medalists

This post will focus on NHL caliber talent on display with the top 3 teams at the 2016 World Junior Championship. Finland, Russia, and the USA took gold, silver, and bronze respectively in a highly enjoyable tournament held in Helsinki, Finland – that I had the good fortune to attend.   Finland – Gold Medalists The

Heading for Home

Thursday was a travel day. We checked out, had a nice lunch, then boarded our bus for the airport. Our 5+ hour flight had a little turbulence at the southern tip of Greenland, but was otherwise uneventful.  Some new movies were added to their system since our flight 2 weeks ago so I was able

Finland Day 14 – On to Iceland

Wednesday morning we packed up from our two week stay in Finland and headed off to Iceland. We scheduled a one night stopover to take in some of the island nation. Recently Finland completed an extension of the rail lines to the airport, so we took a very convenient train from Helsinki to Vantaa where