Kukla's Korner Hockey

Category: International-Hockey

Evening Line

by Paul on 07/13/12 at 11:24 PM ET
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“If you were walking by, you would’ve thought it was a high school party.  I’m talking booze, people randomly making out, everybody else cheering them on. And that was the PG stuff. Then everything went inside.”

-Bobby Ryan explaining the atmosphere in the Vancouver Olympic Village after the Canada/USA gold medal game.  Much more on what really goes on (not hockey related) in these villages during the Olympics by Sam Alipour of ESPN The Magazine.

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: bobby+ryan

Do You Want An Annual Break In February?

by Paul on 06/14/12 at 12:42 PM ET
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from Andrew Podnieks and Martin Merks of IIHF.com,

What he proposes is an annual break every February. His proposal of a four-year cycle is not unlike what Donald Fehr discussed casually of his own opinion with differences when it comes to NHL participation.

Kurbatov believes February should always be the break for Olympic Winter Games and also for World Championships that should only be held in non-Olympic years. But to make this successful from the sporting view it would need an NHL break every year.

“We know the National Hockey League has been willing to take a break in February for the Olympics in the past,” he said, “and we hope that they would be ready take the next step and take a break every year for all these events. It’s possible to discuss with the NHL to have an annual break in February in future.”

more

I don’t see too much support from this on the NHL side.  Sending players to the World Championships in February will never fly.

Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: iihf

Kovalchuk Talks World Championships And Olympics

by Paul on 05/23/12 at 11:45 AM ET
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via RT,

The two-time world champion said he couldn’t miss the final game in Helsinki, where his teammates thrashed Slovakia, 6-2.

“I admired the guys, who didn’t give a single chance to their opponents,” Kovalchuk told Sport-Express paper.

“Everyone played well, especially Aleksandr Semin and Sashka (Alex) Ovechkin, who looked solid side-by-side with Pasha (Pavel) Datsyuk. As for Malkin, without many words, he is currently the best on the planet.”

Kovalchuk admits though that the Russians were lucky to see Canada and Sweden knocked out early.

“The Canadians had a good team in Finland, made up of strong NHL players. Same can be said about the co-hosts, Sweden. When those teams were eliminated, the Russians saw a green light in front and capitalized on that in style,” he noted.

The 29-year-old specially mentioned the team’s defense and power-play teams. “It’s very important now not to rest on our laurels. In two years’ time in Sochi it will be way more difficult,” he added.

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: ilya+kovalchuk

Has Alfredsson Played His Last Game?

by Paul on 05/18/12 at 12:20 AM ET
Comments (1)

from Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun,

Once again, Daniel Alfredsson performed with incredible passion, like a man who may never do so again.

Afterward, he even admitted it could have been his swan song.

Moments following Thursday’s 4-3 loss to the Czechs in Stockholm that knocked he and his Swedish teammates out of the world championship, the Senators captain was described as being “distraught” as he told local media that “this might have been my last hockey game.”

Alfredsson will now return to Ottawa and make the much-anticipated decision of whether to retire or play a 17th NHL season. Despite his comment in the aftermath of an emotional game, it’s unlikely he has made a final determination.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: daniel+alfredsson, team+sweden

Video- Recap Of World Championships Today With Both Canada And USA Losing

by Paul on 05/17/12 at 06:42 PM ET
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Add Sweden to the losing list today, they just lost to the Czech Republic on a goal from Milan Michalek with 29 seconds left in regulation.

The video does include highlights…

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Finland Defeats Team USA Very Late In The Contest

by Paul on 05/17/12 at 04:29 PM ET
Comments (5)

The game appeared to have OT written all over it until…

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Canada Done At World Championships

by Paul on 05/17/12 at 10:14 AM ET
Comments (6)

via TSN,

Michal Handzus’s power play goal with less than three minutes left in the third period gave Slovakia a 4-3 win over Canada in their quarterfinal at the World Hockey Championship.

More to follow.

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

Now The Fun Starts At The World Championships

by Paul on 05/15/12 at 10:09 PM ET
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from Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun,

HELSINKI - The way it had been going, with an upset a day in the Helsinki pool at the world championship, it looked like it could be Canada-France in the quarterfinal.

And then, for a while, Canada-Finland.

But when the final day of the round-robin ended, it wound up being a Canada-Slovakia matchup in the quarters Thursday, with the U.S. facing Finland in the other playoff round game here. Russia-Norway and Sweden-Czech Republic will be the quarterfinal games in Stockholm.

With a win over Slovakia, Canada would play the winner of the Czech-Sweden game in the semifinals.

continued

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Video- Kaspars Saulietis “Krownwalled” At The World Championships

by Paul on 05/15/12 at 08:09 PM ET
Comments (34)

Keep your head up Kaspars.if Niklas Kronwall is on the ice.

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: kaspars+saulietis, niklas+kronwall

Do You Want Tortorella As Team USA Coach In 2014?

by Paul on 05/13/12 at 11:52 AM ET
Comments (4)

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

John Tortorella’s image has taken a beating in the Stanley Cup playoffs and if he had any ambition to coach the U.S. Olympic team in 2014, well, he can probably forget about it now.

Tortorella’s very short, snarky, combative press conferences have made for fine television moments — if that kind of thing makes you laugh — but it hardly sets him up to represent his country as a leader in an event where major media responsibilities are just part of the daily interaction of the job.

Tortorella, in fact, might have been the favourite for the job after being an assistant to Ron Wilson in 2010 and considering what he’s done with the New York Rangers — but that certainly has taken a step backwards in the playoffs.

Even though Pittsburgh’s Dan Bylsma and Philadelphia’s Peter Laviolette were eliminated with Tortorella still alive with the Rangers, they now loom as favourites for the position. The betting here is that Bylsma gets the job because the United States Olympic Committee and USA Hockey would want no part of Tortorella’s act.

continue for more hockey notes…

Filed in: NHL Teams, New York Rangers, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: john+tortorella

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