Kukla's Korner Hockey

Category: Non-NHL-Hockey

Burke The Perfect Choice For USA Hockey

by Paul on 02/04/08 at 07:52 PM ET
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from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

USA Hockey executive director David Ogrean recently told ESPN.com that the GM for 2010 will be selected before the start of the 2008-09 NHL season. That decision will set the tone for the rest of the team and have a significant impact on the Americans’ ability to ice a roster that can compete for a gold medal.

That person will almost certainly be Burke. At least, it should be.

With all due respect to other members of the committee and fellow American GMs Jay Feaster and Dean Lombardi, Burke has the personality best suited to put this team together and gives the United States its best shot at a medal.

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  Tags: brian+burke

Yzerman Will Lead Team Canada, What About The Wings?

by Paul on 02/04/08 at 11:19 AM ET
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from Ken Campbell of the Hockey News,

Sources have indicated to thehockeynews.com that former Red Wings star and current Wings vice-president Steve Yzerman will return for a second stint as the GM for Canada’s entry in the World Championship this spring when he is named to the post in a news conference Monday morning….

That Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson is prepared to hand Yzerman the keys again this season indicates the enormous amount of confidence he has in Yzerman and also proves how Yzerman has matured as a savvy hockey executive. It also creates an interesting dynamic within the hierarchy of the Red Wings and could force several dominos to fall over sooner than expected.

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Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: steve+yzerman

Fun Was Had By All

by Alanah McGinley on 01/31/08 at 05:35 PM ET
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Nice little feature from yesterday’s NBC Today Show, covering the pond hockey tournament recently in Minnesota.

*more at USA Pond Hockey

Filed in: Hockey Related Stories, Non-NHL Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: usa+pond+hockey

Jeff O’Neill Back on the Ice

by Alanah McGinley on 01/31/08 at 04:01 PM ET
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From Jim Barber at Simcoe.com,

The 31-year-old native of King City was without an NHL contract to start the season, and has spent much of the past few months trying to stay in shape on his own in anticipation of a potential offer from an NHL club.

But he missed being around a team atmosphere and so got in contact with the Colts.

“I am friends with (assistant coach) Drake (Berehowsky), and a friend of mine’s good friends with (head coach) Marty (Williamson). I just got in touch with them. I was looking to get back on the ice,” O’Neill told Simcoe.com after practice on Wednesday.

more…

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, Minor League, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: barrie+colts, jeff+o'neill, toronto+maple+leafs

State of the AHL

by Alanah McGinley on 01/29/08 at 08:17 PM ET
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American Hockey League President Dave Andrews gave his annual address yesterday on the state of the AHL. He covered numerous topics, including:

• The league’s interest in doing an annual outdoor game to showcase the sport, given the success of the NHL’s game in Buffalo
• The possibility of shortening the AHL season schedule to 72 games, and soliciting “cost share” help from the NHL in order to make up lost revenues
• The fact that the AHL is “closer than ever before to having 30 teams, each one paired with an NHL affiliate. The league currently has 29 teams, and a new team in Austin, Texas, is a very real possibility.”

More details here, primarily on the potential of the outdoor game.

 

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, Minor League, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: ahl

A Good Ride

by Paul on 01/28/08 at 08:38 PM ET
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from the Vail Daily,

Greg Pankewicz has ridden more dilapidated buses than he cares to remember.

He’s skated on ice rutted with potholes thanks to incompetent Zamboni drivers, played on teams rumored to be relocating, earned meager pay and taken so many punches and high sticks to the face that he’s running out of places for scars.

Yet Pankewicz wouldn’t change a shift in his 17 years of playing minor league hockey.

“The life of a minor leaguer isn’t all that glamorous,” said Pankewicz, now with the Colorado Eagles of the Central Hockey League. “But I’ve had a good ride.”

continued

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, Minor League, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: greg+pankewicz

2008 AHL All-Star Classic

by Paul on 01/28/08 at 01:26 PM ET
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No NHL games tonight, so why not sit back and catch the AHL ASG?

Check out the TV, web and radio broadcast schedule.  Broadcast begins at 7:00pm ET tonight.

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, Minor League, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

No Deal With Fabian

by Paul on 01/28/08 at 11:53 AM ET
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via the Detroit News,

Wings general manager Ken Holland , who is in Binghamton, N.Y., for tonight’s American Hockey League All-Star Game, said Sunday the team has not reached any agreement with Swedish prospect Fabian Brunnstrom.

“We’ve made our pitch,” Holland said. “My understanding is he’s going through his options and trying to make a decision on where he wants to play. The teams have made their offers, so it’s now really in his hands.”

This Brunnstrom is reminding me more and more of Sidd Finch...

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Non-NHL Hockey, European Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: fabian+brunnstrom

Mac On The Road Back

by Paul on 01/27/08 at 02:39 PM ET
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from Jo-Ann Barnas of the Detroit Free Press,

Smoking marijuana, McCarty said, had become “my escape.”

“It was sort of like I didn’t have to deal with anything,” he said. “And I was functional. You wouldn’t be able to tell if I was high or if I wasn’t. I was depressed, big-time. I just wanted to sleep. I just wanted to be by myself—or not around people that care about me.”

After speaking with his ex-wife, McCarty left the hydroplane races that July day and did what he needed to do. He entered rehab for three months. (McCarty said he wants to keep the name and location of the program private.)

“I finally faced things that I needed to face,” McCarty said. “I firmly believe that God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. But for me, I needed to pretty much lose almost everything to realize what was important. I’m one of those people.

more

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, Minor League, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: darren+mccarty

IIHF Agreement In Doubt

by Paul on 01/26/08 at 08:27 PM ET
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from Ken Campbell of the Hockey News,

The NHL and the European federations – minus the Russians – came to a one-year deal earlier this month that would have seen more players going back to their European teams instead of going to the minors. But after some surprising opposition from GMs around the league and the Swedish decision to pull out, the agreement now would appear to be in serious jeopardy.

The major issue, Loob said, is a provision in the new collective bargaining agreement that forces teams to sign European players within two years of drafting them, which brings them in line with major junior players. Prior to that, teams held the rights or European players in perpetuity after drafting them.

read on

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

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