Kukla's Korner Hockey

Category: International-Hockey

Time To Honor The Hockey Hall Of Fame Inductees

by Paul on 11/12/12 at 11:18 AM ET
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The induction ceremonies can be watched tonight beginning at 7:30pm ET on NHL Net US and TSN in Canada.

from Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

Not to put too fine a point on it, but it’s too bad NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman weren’t at the fan forum leading up to Monday’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony, especially given the pessimism that currently surrounds the labor talks. It’s too bad the two leaders couldn’t have seen firsthand the kind of special bond that exists between fans and players -- in this case, Hall of Fame inductees Joe Sakic, Adam Oates, Pavel Bure and Mats Sundin -- the kind of relationship the lockout puts at risk. 

Several fans told Bure that he was the reason they became hockey followers. Another fan spoke with reverence at a memory of Sakic stopping during a Stanley Cup celebration to get his young son a drink of water. 

Many of the 250 or so fans crammed into the Great Hall at the Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto were sporting jerseys with the inductees’ names on the back. 

Funny that during an hourlong question-and-answer session Sunday, an annual event since 1999, when Wayne Gretzky was inducted, not one question was asked about the lockout. It was certainly a measure of the respect that the fans have for the four inductees and maybe, just maybe, a reflection of the anger and apathy that threatens the game during the second lockout in the past eight years. 

continued

 

Filed in: NHL Teams, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: adam+oates, joe+sakic, mats+sundin, pavel+bure

The Latest USA Hockey Hall Of Fame Class

by Paul on 10/16/12 at 03:55 AM ET
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from USA Hockey,

Lou Lamoriello, Mike Modano, and Eddie Olczyk were formally enshrined in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame this evening during a sold-out ceremony held on top of the ice surface at the Plaza of the Americas.

Additionally, Canadian national Murray Costello was given USA Hockey’s Wayne Gretzky International Award and the National Hockey League’s Lester Patrick Trophy was presented to both Dick Patrick and Bob Chase/Wallenstein.

continued

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: team+usa

Video- 1987 WJC Battle, Canada vs. Russia

by Paul on 10/12/12 at 07:51 PM ET
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From time to time I like to search YouTube for some classic hockey action.

So I present to you tonight almost 8 minutes of action from the famouse Canada/Russia 1987 WJC.

And below, you can also watch Don Cherry and Michael Farber discuss which side was at fault.

 

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Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: team+canada, team+russia

Video- We Interrupt The CBA Talks For These Hasek Moments

by Paul on 10/10/12 at 02:16 PM ET
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TSN played this yesteday, we play it today courtesy of HockeyWebCaster.

 

Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: dominik+hasek

Video- We May As Well Watch Some Hockey

by Paul on 10/05/12 at 05:34 PM ET
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TSN recently did a feature on Canada's 2005 World Junior team.

An impressive list of names and now you can watch some of the plays those players have made in their career.

 

Thanks to the Hockey Webcaster for the link.

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

The Hockey Wall Comes Down

by Paul on 09/28/12 at 10:39 AM ET
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from Stu Hackel of the Red Light,

Friday, Sept. 28 marks the 40th Anniversary of Game 8, the final contest of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet National team, the culmination of a monumental event of historic proportions not just for one sport, or all sports, but the world.

In the midst of the Cold War,  it was hockey, among the team sports, that first broke down the barriers between the world’s two dominant socioeconomic systems and allowed the very best professional athletes on either side to compete against each other. The Summit Series was seen by many people as something much larger than a test of supremacy between two contrasting styles of play — the Russians’ fluid skating and intricate, weaving, puck possession vs. Canada’s basic, hard-charging up-and-down-the ice approach. The tournament was expected to help reveal which way of life was better. In retrospect, this may seem like a screwy perspective, but that’s how almost everyone thought 40 years ago. Many certainly felt that way eight years later when a bunch of American college students defeated an even stronger Soviet team at the Lake Placid Olympics.

continued

added 12:16pm,

Paul Henderson was on CBC this morning to talk about the goal, watch below...

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Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Should Brian Burke Lead Team USA Again?

by Paul on 09/26/12 at 01:25 PM ET
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from Scott Burnside of ESPN, 

While Burke's Leafs continue to struggle to find traction in rejoining the NHL's elite clubs -- they are the only NHL team to have missed the playoffs in every season since the last lockout -- there is no disputing the masterful job Burke and his management team did in assembling of the U.S. coaching staff and playing roster in Vancouver, and then stickhandling them through the landmines that such a tournament presents en route to the emotionally charged gold medal game.

But here's where it gets interesting for head of USA Hockey David Ogrean and top officials like Jim Johannson, who is the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. What's the goal for USA Hockey when it comes to best-on-best tournaments like the Olympics?

Is it about sharing the experience? Is it about making sure people like Paul Holmgren, Ray Shero, Dean Lombardi, Stan Bowman, George McPhee, Dale Tallon or David Poile all get a turn?

Or is it about balancing that kind of "everyone on the bus" philosophy with consistency and hoping that consistency yields success in those competitions, which ultimately benefits everyone in a national body like USA Hockey?

more

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: brian+burke, team+usa

Early September Hockey Talk

by Paul on 09/09/12 at 12:31 AM ET
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from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- Think of the two largest international victories in North American hockey history and both involve Russian opponents: The Henderson scores for Canada win and the Miracle on Ice from Lake Placid and the U.S. Olympic team in 1980.

Herb Brooks is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Henderson is not. The precedent has been set: Momentary brilliance can be Hall worthy.

Henderson was a fine NHL player, certainly no star. Brooks was a rather ordinary NHL coach: In seven seasons with four different teams, he never got past the second round of the playoffs. He coached a gold medal team in 1980 and a silver medal team in 2002 at the Olympics. But his body of work would not necessarily qualify him for the Hall. The great Miracle put him over the top...

- Overheard in the Orioles clubhouse: “How come NHL players get all the hot wives?” The player in question was referring to the recent engagement of Dion Phaneuf to the actress, Elisha Cuthbert. “What do hockey players have that the rest of us don’t?”

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Media, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: herb+brooks, paul+henderson

Phil Esposito Gets The Rock Star Treatment In Russia

by Paul on 09/04/12 at 06:23 PM ET
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from Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun,

When Phil Esposito is spotted in Russia, the reaction from a throng of people is a sight to behold.

"One time, my wife (Bridget) looked at me and said, 'I didn't know I was travelling with Brad Pitt,' " Esposito said with a laugh.

"Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed by the admiration, the adoration, whatever word it is. It's overwhelming. I'm 70 years old and, man, it's wonderful to still be recognized and known.

"I think I'm more famous over here (in Russia) than I am there (in Canada and the United States). Does that make any sense?"

continued with video too...

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: phil+esposito

Purely Canadian

by Paul on 09/02/12 at 11:35 AM ET
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from Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun,

"Henderson ... has scored for Canada!" chirped Foster Hewitt.

"When you ask Canadians of a certain age to gauge themselves against Americans, that goal will always come up," said John Shannon, Sportsnet commentator and former Hockey Night In Canada executive. "Americans know where they were when John F. Kennedy was shot. Canadians can tell you what they were doing the moment Henderson scored against the Russians.

"I think that goal is still the measuring stick for a hockey broadcast. You can compare Mario Lemieux's (Canada Cup) goal in 1987 to Sidney's in the Vancouver Olympics, but everything comes back to Henderson. Our business hasn't really changed, but the ability to tell a story through pictures, words and emotions was conveyed better in that game than anything today. Foster probably couldn't get a job if he were around now, but the simplicity of that call will always be remembered."

Henderson just didn't beat the Russians with his Game 8 goal, one of three consecutive winners he potted in Moscow, it was seen as victory for a way of life.

more

Below, watch the Henderson goal one more time and if you want more 1972 Summit Series video, check out YouTube.

Continue Reading »

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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