Happy New Years!

Happy New Year's everybody! (WJC update below)

This is how Johnny Bower celebrated New Year's 1970. Just after Christmas 1969 he broke his leg, an injury that would ultimately lead to the end of his career.

This image comes from Bower's autobiography, The China Wall: The Timeless Legend of Johnny Bower. It is an awesome collection of stories from one of the most popular hockey players ever.

Canada - USA

We've spent quite a bit of time remiscing about New Year's Eves past already (and really, isn't that what we do best around here?), but there is a potential classic hockey game going to be played tonight, too.

Canada plays the USA to decide first place in their pool at the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships.

I haven't really talked much about the World Juniors yet so far. Here's a few random thoughts:

• Lots of empty seats for Canada's games against Latvia and Switzerland. I know those are weak opponents, but when was the last time there were empty seats in Canada for a Canada game?
• Eh! Oh oh. Pepsi spent a lot of money trying to establish the Hockey Canada cheer. The crowds have been quiet so far. Pepsi was hoping to infiltrate the Olympics with their cheer, but it ain't looking good.
• Taylor Hall is an incredible individual talent, but I'm still trying to warm up to him. Ryan Ellis has a brilliant hockey mind, and is my favorite player so far. Good job by Canadian coach Willie Desjardins - he benches anyone - even his team captain - for undisciplined or lazy play.
• I have not seen too much of the opposition yet, but Sweden's Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson and Slovakia's Peter Hrasko have really impressed me.
• As much as I cheer on Canada at every championship, Canada winning every year can not be good for hockey, not even Canadian hockey in the long run.
  
• Also, we need to move this tournament around Europe again. I understand Canadian venues are incredibly lucrative, but let's build this tournament by returning to major European markets. Alternate every second year with Canada, with markets like Stockholm, Moscow, Prague, Helsinki and maybe Berlin hosting great hockey action center stage.

UPDATE - What a game! Somehow Canada and the United States did the impossible! They one-upped last year's New Year's Eve classic with an even better game. Folks, we waited until December 31st to see the best game of the year!

New Year's Eve Memories

New Year's Eve brings one common memory from the annals of hockey history - the epic showdown between CSKA Moscow and the Montreal Canadiens on December 31st, 1975. It is simply known as "The New Year's Eve Game," and everyone of a certain vintage knows exactly what it is referring to.

The game was part of a game exhibition series between Soviet clubs CSKA Moscow (aka Red Army) and Moscow Dynamo and eight NHL teams dubbed Super Series '76. You can read a full history of that tournament here.

Of the eight games two standout in memory - Red Army vs. Philadelphia for it's infamy, and Red Army vs. Montreal for it's class and drama. It was a beautiful display of shinny, hockey as it should be.

The game, a 3-3 tie, has been considered by many as the greatest game ever played. Although it was just an exhibition game, everyone knew it was much more than that. This game was for the unofficial world championship, to determine the best hockey team in the world.

You can read more about the famous New Year's Eve game courtesy Red Fisher, Kevin Shea, Dennis Kane, Lucas Aykroyd, Arthur Chidlovski and YouTube.

IllegalCurve.com Shutting Down

I visited one of my must read websites this morning and was shocked to learn it is shutting down.

IllegalCurve.com has been a great source of hockey news from both traditional and new media sources. They were very good friends of GreatestHockeyLegends.com, probably too generous with their linking to my features.

I will miss IllegalCurve.com, especially the Morning Newspapers which I turned to even before I turned to Kukla's Korner.

IllegalCurve.com was a team of writers, and I wish them all the best. Be sure to watch out for the name Richard Pollock. He has a bright future ahead of him. I think he will be (if he isn't already there) the next James Mirtle or Greg Wyshynski or Spector.

Best of the Decade, Best of the Year

Since it is the end of the decade (it seems just like last week I was hiding in my bunker with a generator and 1000 cans of Chef Boyardee awaiting Y2K), a lot of websites have taken to "Best of the Decade" posts.

I did name my top ten players of the decade, but otherwise I have left this route to the likes of Puck Daddy and Risto Pakarinen. I point these two out because they are regular reads for me, and because both are highly entertaining.

Here's a look at a few of my favorite posts of 2009:

A History Of Hockey In British Columbia - It's actually a 9 part series plus over 40 biographies!

Hitting The Post - A history of hockey on postage stamps.

Terrace is Hockeyville - My hometown won the nationwide contest to determine Canada's best hockey town, which led to lots of coverage from me.

Chemistry 101: How To Build A Gold Medal Hockey Team - I really wonder how much attention to these details hockey teams place in their order of importance.

Triple Play

While watching Canadian junior standout Taylor Hall dominate Slovakia on Tuesday, the TSN announcers joked about the possibility that Hall being named to Canada's Olympic team in 2010.

They were not serious, but it got me thinking: Has any junior player ever played in the Olympics the same year?

My old friend Lucas Aykroyd tells us that on six occasions players have represented their country at the World Juniors, World Championships and Olympics all in the same season: Kenny Jonsson, Darius Kasparaitis, Saku Koivu, Alexei Kovalev, Evgeni Malkin and Alexei Zhitnik.

Aykroyd tells us that there appears to be two players currently playing in the World Juniors who have the potential to join this rare club - Swiss players Lucas Sbisa and Roman Josi. Both were named to the Swiss Olympic team on Wednesday.

Slovakia's Tomas Tatar would be a popular addition to the Slovakian Olympic team, but he was not named to the provisional roster. He will need to be named as an injury replacement if he is to play there.

Team Canada 2010

Hockey Canada named their 2010 men's Olympic team today. You already know that.

Due to work commitments I'm a little late here on my first thought analysis. So here's just a few notes:

• The actual team only differed from my projected team by three players. I had Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards and Jay Bouwmeester. The actual team instead includes Patrice Bergeron, Eric Staal and Drew Doughty.
• I am mostly comfortable with this Team Canada. No doubt there will be a lot of second guessing going forward, especially concerning Mike Green, but Canada has done a good job attempting to bring some instant chemistry to the lineup.
  
• Some people are concerned about the experience level. They are young, and the pressure in Vancouver will be immense. But as Hockey Canada points out - "All 23 players have international experience, including 53 gold medals, eight Olympians and, as a group, the players have played in 702 international games, 13,136 NHL regular season games and 1,219 NHL playoff games."
• I commented already on Green, and strangely I'm comfortable with the exclusion of the highest scoring NHL defenseman in the past couple of years. If Canada's power play sputters like it did in Torino, heads will roll though.
• Green's spot was taken by Dan Boyle more so than Seabrook, Weber or Doughty. They are essentially the same player, but Boyle has instant chemistry with San Jose's PP kings Thornton, Marleau and Heatley. That's big. As a PP quarterback, you really got to know your players, advantage Boyle. Weber can eat up PP minutes too, as his big shot will allow Canada to keep the PP simple - put it to the point and crash the net for rebounds.
  

Bottom line - I think Canada put a lot of thought into picking complimentary players who will gel together quicker than past Team Canadas. That is Canada's biggest obstacle, other than Russia, of course.

Czechs, Finns, Swiss, Germans Name Teams, Too

The Czech Republic, Finland, Switzerland and Germany also named their Olympic rosters today. Click on the links for the rosters. Here's a few thoughts:

• Czech Republic - I don't think the Czechs will medal in 2010. They are in the midst of a generation gap of talent for a few reasons. There's not a lot of great youngsters coming up in the system.
• Finland - Finland was the surprise of 2006, and they have the goaltending to do it again. They will play an airtight game and might pull off an upset, but are not likely to medal.
• Switzerland and Germany - Similar stories here - a sprinkling of NHL talent on each roster. They'll be in tough, but will put forth honourable efforts.

Team USA will be the final nation to announce their roster. They will do that during the NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park on New Year's Day.

Who Wants To Be The Next Legend Of Team Canada?

It all started on a September's day in 1972.

"Henderson has scored for Canada."

Foster Hewitt's timeless words immortalized Paul Henderson's place in hockey history. He instantly became a legend. A legend of Team Canada.

Canada has gone on to capture numerous international titles since the 1972 Summit Series: Canada Cups, world championships, world junior championships and men's and women's Olympic gold medals. With each victory came new heroes. Some of those heroes became legends.

Back in 2005 I wrote a book called Legends of Team Canada so we would always remember the heroics of Paul Henderson and leadership of Phil Esposito in the 1972 Summit Series. So we recapture the magic between Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux in the 1987 Canada Cup, and pay homage to other Canada Cup legends like Bobby Orr, Darryl Sittler, Paul Coffey, John Tonelli and Mark Messier. We honoured World Champions like Ryan Smyth and Bill Ranford. We cherish Olympic glories supplied by the likes of Joe Sakic, Hayley Wickenheiser and Jayna Hefford.

Now that the 2010 Vancouver Olympics are upon us, the nation is looking for a new hero, a new legend. The pressure has never been higher, the stakes never more dramatic. Now is a time where every man and woman on our hockey teams must want to be that hero. Because if you win Olympic gold on home ice and you might just go down as the greatest Canadian hockey legend of all time.

So I ask the question that I truly hope coaches Mike Babcock and Melody Davidson pose to their players right from day one: Who wants to be the next Legend of Team Canada?

Tweeting The World Juniors

Join me on Twitter @HockeyLegends for the Canada - Slovakia WJC game live now! May talk Olympic roster speculation as well.

Slovakia, Latvia and Norway Announce Olympic Rosters

As noted earlier today, Slovakia, Latvia and Norway have announced their provisional Olympic rosters. Let's take a better look:

Slovakia

Of the 23 Slovakian players, only 12 come from the NHL. They are headline by goaltender Jaroslav Halak, defenseman Zdeno Chara and snipers Marian Gaborik and Marian Hossa. Marek Svatos was a notable omission.

There were some interesting inclusions. Pavol Dimetra has yet to play a game this year due to injury. Miro Satan, pictured, has yet to play a game because he can't find a team to play with. He remains an unrestricted free agent and is obviously mulling his future. Ziggy Palffy's comeback is complete. His goal was to play at the 2010 Olympics.

The other 11 players come from mainly the KHL. European leagues take longer breaks around Christmas time than does the NHL, so Slovakia has been proactive in getting their non-NHLers together to practice and play exhibition games. Finding early chemistry will not be a problem for the Slovakians.

This could make the Slovakians dangerous. They are not expected to challenge for gold, but they have the high end talent to pull off a couple of upsets and make things really interesting.

Latvia

As a Canadian I know I'm dreading the badly needed quick chemistry, something medaling teams will need in any Olympics. I'm still really not hearing a whole lot from Canada about how to develop that necessary cohesion, and it concerns me.

Latvia has obviously considered this factor, and have taken an interesting approach for these Olympics - 15 of 23 players play together all season long with Dynamo Riga of the KHL. They will parachute in NHLers Karlis Skrastins, pictured, and Oskars Bartulis.

By running with a team that is very familiar with one another, they are hoping to bridge the obvious talent gap between Latvia and the top countries. If they can get a goaltending performance of a lifetime on the right day, they may pull off an upset.

Interestingly, one of the few Dynamo Riga players not included on the Olympic team was former NHL standout Sandis Ozolinsh. He's really struggled with substance abuse problems in recent years, but has made a comeback to hockey in his homeland.

Norway

Good luck, Norway.

Norway finds itself in the same pool as Canada, USA and Slovakia, and will be the whipping boys for sure.

Ole-Kristian Tollefsson of the Philadelphia Flyers is the only NHL player on the roster, with former NHLer Peter Thoresen also included. Interestingly, former NHLer Anders Myrvold did not make the team.

Interestingly, Tommy Jakobsen (pictured below, #7) returns to the Olympics after a 16 year absence. He is the only player from the last Norwegian Olympic team from 1994.

Half of the Norwegian players do play in the Swedish Elite League, so there is some talent here. Hopefully they can put together a good showing.

Slovakia, Latvia, Norway Name Olympic Rosters

Slovakia, Latvia and Norway have all announced their Olympic provisional rosters, with some interesting stories which I will touch on later in the day. Here are the details courtesy of IIHF.com

New International Biographies Added

With the Olympics coming ever so soon, I've been busy beefing up my international biography section, both on the men's and women's side. Here's my newest profiles:

Kathryn Waldo - She became a legend at Northeastern University despite a life long battle with cystic fibrosis.

Vicky Sunohara - one of women's hockey's all time greats. She should be one of the first 5 female players inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Chanda Gunn - overcame incredible odds by battling epilepsy while backstopping the American national team.

Shelley Looney - She scored the game winning goal in the 1998 Olympic gold medal game.

Jim Sedin - No, he's not related to Daniel and Henrik, but like the Swedish twin sensations he too has an Olympic gold medal - with Team USA.

Teiji Honma - In 1936 this Japanese goalie became the first goalie to wear a mask in Olympic competition - 23 years before Jacques Plante first wore his mask.

Monte Afzelius - Monte was the first Swede to play hockey in North America, although he may have embellished just how far he made it.

Hockey Deaths In 2009

On Monday I learned Tony Bukovich passed away earlier this month. He played only a handful of NHL games with Detroit. At age 94 he was the oldest living Red Wing alumni.

Here's a list of deaths from the hockey community in 2009. Let me know if you can think of anymore:

Gabor Ocskay (Hungarian player), 33, heart attack
Igor Stelnov (Soviet hockey player), 46, undisclosed illness
Walt Poddubny, 49, heart attack
Jaroslav Pitner (Czech hockey coach), 83
Larry Regan, 78, Parkinson's Disease
Alf Pike, 91,
Kiril Vajarov (Bulgarian player), 21, stabbing
Kent Douglas, 73, cancer
Hank Bassen, 76, heart attack
Peter Zezel, 44, hemolytic anemia
Robert Muller (German player), 28, brain cancer
Snuffy Smith, 95
Lude Check, 91
Eddie Dorohoy, 80
Nathan Marsters (minor league player), 29, car accident
Reggie Fleming, 73
Ron Kennedy (coach), 56, brain cancer
Pete Horeck, 86, prostate cancer
Erkki Laine (Finnish player), 51, drowned
Teeder Kennedy, 83, heart failure
Al Purvis (Canadian Olympian 1952), 80
Igor Vyazmikin, 43
Fred Cusick (broadcaster), 90
Bill Chadwick (referee), 94
Del St. John (Austrian player), 78
Kathryn Waldo (Northeastern University), 33, Cystic Fibrosis
Hakan Wickberg (Swedish player), 66
Tony Bukovich, 94

Picking Team Canada 2010

On Wednesday Team Canada will unveil their 2010 provisional Olympic roster. Before then every journalist, blogger, heck, everyone in the whole country will be coming up with their own list.

Here's who I would take for Team Canada 2010:

I really bought into the idea of bringing pre-established chemistry to the Olympics, an unforgiving tournament that does not allow time to develop cohesion. Niedermayer-Pronger and Keith Seabrook on defense and Thornton-Marleau-Heatley, Getzlaf-Perry and St. Louis-Richards provide instant familiarity.

A few notes:

Mike Green - How can you leave out the NHL's leading scorer amongst defensemen? I consider him to be quite similar to fellow right handed dman Dan Boyle, who brings not only Stanley Cup experience but familiarity with forwards Thornton, Marleau, Heatley, B. Richards and St. Louis. I also took Shea Weber over Green because he's more physical and a shooter. Let's face it, in such a short tournament, keeping it simple is best. That means the PP strategy should be put the puck back to the point and fire it on net and look for rebounds. Weber's simpler game attracted me.

Mike Richards - He may very well have played himself off this team, but I'm a big believer that he is a big game player and will be fine at the Olympics. I really wanted an Olympic grind line if you will, with Richards and Morrow teaming up with whoever on RW. He's good on both specialty team units, especially the penalty kill.

Stamkos/Lecavalier - He's played well this year, and especially with Martin St. Louis. But he's levelled off a bit, so I'd rather go with a more experienced player. By the way, I really considered slotting Vincent Lecavalier into this roster, which really surprised me. He's coming on in the past few games, and also plays well with St. Louis. He's got the talent to be a top-five player on the whole planet, a real difference maker for Canada. The Olympics could be Lecavalier's springboard back to stardom.

Tell me what you think . . .

Forsberg Named To Team Sweden

Team Sweden 2010 includes 13 returning players from the 2006 Torino Olympics gold medal championship team, including Peter Forsberg.

The team is headlined by goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom, Tobias Enstrom and Mattias Ohlund, and forwards Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel and Henrik Sedin and Nicklas Backstrom.

Despite very limited play in recent years, Forsberg was included on Sweden's 23 man provisional roster. Now that does not necessarily mean he will play in Vancouver. Unlike previously Olympics, the rosters are not set in stone until the day before the first puck drop. Should Team Sweden decide Forsberg just is not healthy enough to play, they could parachute someone else in.

Two other Swedish Elite League players were named to the team - goaltender Stefan Liv and defenseman Magnus Johansson.

Here is the full roster. Curiously, Alex Edler was not named to the team.

Quick Analysis - Sweden should challenge for a podium spot. With Lundqvist in net, anything can happen.

Meet Russia's Olympic KHLers

Aleksey Morozov

Russia's Olympic team included nine non-NHL players, all from the domestic KHL of course.

North Americans are well aware of the likes of Sergei Fedorov, Viktor Kozlov, Alexander Radulov, and to a lesser extent Dmitri Kalinin, so I wanted to focus on the curious players we don't know too much about.

To learn more about these players I turned to Sergey Averiyanov. He's an Olympic credentialed journalist from Russia, already in Vancouver preparing for the 2010 Winter Games. He is an amazing wealth of knowledge of Russian hockey, including the KHL.

I asked Averiyanov if he could provide a bit of insight on the KHL players, starting with the dangerous forward unit of Sergei Zinoviev, Danis Zaripov and former Pittsburgh Penguin Aleksey Morozov.

"When Zinoviev, Morozov and Zaripov used to be linemates in Ak Bars they were considered the best Russian troyka after KLM (the great 1980s Russian line of Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov)," says Averiyanov. "But after some personal issues they split up and Zinoviev left the Kazan powerhouse."

"Three apiece they were Russian Super League (the KHL's predecessor league) kings in PP so Bykov would have an option to reunite them if the hard times strike.

"Morozov and Zaripov have been playing together since the end of lockout season. Zaripov is technically skilled at the same level but is more speedy and always ready to crash the net. Sometimes he resembles Datsyuk a little bit but Pavel still is head and shoulders above Zaripov.

"Zinоviev is a beautiful center, nice to watch. Smooth skater, great passer, very good at reading the game, mentally tough but at the same time very hard person to deal with. He would earn #1 or #2 center spot in most NHL teams with only Pittsburgh to be the obvious exception. Now he is in KHL Top-3 in points (shares 2-3 with Radulov with Sushinsky at #1 place) and shares #1 (with Sushinsky) in assists.

All three are definitely NHL caliber players."

Averiyanov also informed me of the two KHL defensemen that are not on most North American radars, Ilya Nikulin and Konstantin Korneev.

"Nikulin seems to be a "classic" Russian defenceman: is always ready to go to attack but not prone to some positional mistakes. He has size to play physically, at least the European way. He is big buddies with Ovechkin since their Dynamo Moscow days.

"Korneev is quite stable all-around defender with no evident pros and cons. He was lucky enough to play in CSKA and seems to be a Bykov's favorite."

All five of these KHLers were key parts of coach Bykov's master plan that has captured the last two gold medals at the World Championships.

Make no mistake, these "unknown" KHLers are no weak spot for Team Russia. In fact, they may just prove to be a surprise strength.

What About Max?

Although I am far removed from the KHL, the one KHL player I was surprised not to see on the Olympic roster was Maxim Sushinsky, a long time Russian league scoring sensation.

Here's what Averiyanov had to say about Sushinsky's omission:

"I really like Max - he is one of the most skilled Russian players and scorers of his generation, his work ethics raises no concerns.

"He is a typical self-made man who was tempered while a little boy: his father ran away from his family. That's why he took his mother's maiden surname to play under. Since his first steps in hockey was considered to be too small-sized but survived and turned himself into real pro and one of the most respected players in the league. And as long as stats go he's really hot right now.

But in the past he always had a problem to show his best hockey being played physically against. Besides we have so many good wingers to choose from."

Trevor Linden - Beyond Hockey

There was an excellent article about Trevor Linden's life after hockey by Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun on Christmas Eve.

You get the feeling that Linden, once the stereotypical tough, prairie boy who made it big in the National Hockey League, is a very interesting and curios person, although he is still discovering that himself.

Here's what he had to say about a recent trip to Bethlehem:

"It was a fascinating experience," he said. "Really interesting. It was amazing -- remarkable on many levels. From a historical level, to biblical sites, the modern political situation, the geography. Actually seeing the Gaza Strip and going into the West Bank and seeing the challenges ...

"We all read about it and have heard about it for years. But it's hard to understand, right? You think: How hard can it be to make peace? But after seeing it, and reading more and seeing the settlement issue first-hand, it's very complex. I don't know what's going to happen."

He seems to be fully comfortable with life away from the ice. He's fully immersing himself into bicycling and now cross country skiing. He has a number of business interests, but he seems most interested in taking full advantage of life opportunities his hockey earnings have afforded him, such as traveling and expanding his education on multiple matters.

Trevor Linden was my favorite player for his attributes on the ice, but I've always said he is a far more interesting person off of the ice than we ever knew. It sounds like Linden is discovering that too.

It will be interesting to see what avenues he pursues in the future. He has not ruled out a return to the hockey world, though he seems unlikely to leave his beloved Vancouver anytime soon. Somehow I think there is something even bigger than hockey in Linden's future.

Merry Christmas Hockey Fans!

Russian Olympic Roster Announced

Merry Christmas from Russia, where they have unveiled their scary-good Olympic provisional roster.

Goalies - Ilya Bryzgalov, Evgeni Nabokov, Semyon Varlamov

Defense - Sergei Gonchar, Denis Grebeshkov, Dmitri Kalinin, Konstantin Korneev, Andrei Markov, Ilya Nikulin, Fedor Tyutin, Anton Volchenkov

Forwards - Maxim Afinogenov, Pavel Datsyuk, Sergei Fedorov, Ilya Kovalchuk, Viktor Kozlov, Evgeni Malkin, Aleksey Morozov, Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Radulov, Alexander Semin, Danis Zaripov, Sergei Zinoviev

Fourteen of the twenty-three players are from the NHL, including all three goaltenders, five of eight defensemen and six of twelve forwards.

And there you go ladies and gentlemen, your Olympic gold medal co-favorites.

The Magic of Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was always better than Christmas Day.

December 24th was the day I looked forward to the most. I still do. There is just something magical about Christmas Eve. As a kid that day could not go by fast enough, yet secretly I never wanted it to end.

I would pass the time watching television Christmas specials and listening to music. There was no hockey on Christmas Eve of course. Sometimes I would go down to the basement and play hockey either with my brother or just all by myself.

But this one of the few days on the calendar when hockey was not foremost on my mind.

Which is kind of funny, given that growing up in northern British Columbia usually guaranteed a white Christmas. There is nothing better than a good snowfall on Christmas Eve. It's great to play shinny on the frozen pond or in the street in the midst of whiteout.

Christmas Eve always meant a special dinner in our house - Pizza Hut. Back then that was a pretty rare treat for us, so I looked forward to it all week. And we would all get in the car to pick up our own pizza. No delivery for us, no way. That would interfere with our annual drive around town to look at all the amazing decorated houses and yards. My favorite was, of course, the hockey themed house.

The whole drive my dad would taunt us with talk about going to midnight mass, just like he would do when he was a kid. I didn't mind too much. It was the only time of year I would go to church, but they usually put on a little play recreating the birth of Christ. One year one of the kids acting as shepherd was using a hockey stick as his staff.

After dinner I loved staring at the tree, with the lights dancing in the tinsel and the Santa Claus ornaments flirting with the angels. And of course there was the presents under the tree. I loved wondering what was inside all of the colorfully wrapped parcels. As much as I could not wait to open them, in a weird way I was sad to do so.

I would hang my stocking by the stereo with care, since we did not have a fireplace. I had hoped Santa would bring me dozens and dozens of packages of hockey cards. I usually got a couple. I enjoyed the gum as much as the usual doubles of cards I already had had.

Late in the evening I would always listen to the local radio station, which aired a special nationally syndicated show every year. It was the only time of year I would listen to radio, except of course the majority of Canucks games. Back then there was no satellite TV and listening to Jim Robson call the Canucks games made it seem like Christmas each and every time.

I liked this particular Christmas broadcast because it was a chance to hear different Christmas music, learn worldly customs and hear amazing Christmas stories. The best part of the broadcast was always when they would supposedly interrupt programming to alert listeners that an unidentified air craft was violating Canadian air space, and that Canadian fighter jets were being sent out to greet it.

The first time I had heard this I was genuinely concerned. Remember this was in the early 1980s when the Russian-American Cold War was still very much alive, and even us kids were aware of it. Mind you, us Canadians had a certain respect for the Russians, thanks to hockey. Anyways, imagine my surprise when the news returned and said that the intruder had been identified as Santa Claus, and that the Canadian Air Force would now escort him on his way.

With that odd sense of relief I was able to catch some sleep that night. Of course I would have to sneak out and take a look at tree and the stockings at least once in the middle of the night. That would usually end my rest, for I would hurry back to my room and dream of what Santa had brought. Was it my hockey rink cribbage board? Or that table top hockey game? Or would it finally be that Canucks jersey?

You know, now that I think about it, maybe hockey was first and foremost on my Christmas Eve mind after all.

Good Tidings From Jean Beliveau

Image courtesy Dennis Kane

Olympic Legend Not Coming To Vancouver

This is Vladimir Kopat. His name might not immediately ring a bell, but he is an Olympic hockey legend.

He's the guy back in 2002 whose shot from center ice bounced off of Sweden's Tommy Salo's shoulder and into the net, giving Belarus one of the biggest upset victories in the history of the Olympics.

Yeah, that guy's name was Vladimir Kopat.

Belarus named their 2010 Olympic team today, and the defenseman was not included. I'm assuming he's still playing. Last season he was with HK Gomel in Belarus.

There are four NHL Belorussians on the team: Ruslan Salei, Mikhail Grabovski and the Kostitsyn brothers, Andrei and Sergei.

There are four holdovers from that miraculous 2002 team - Salei, forwards Oleg Antonenko and Konstantin Koltsov and goaltender Andrei Mezin.

Here's the full roster.

Merry Christmas From The Vancouver Canucks

Here's some more team issued Christmas cards courtesy of Erle Schneidman of CanadiensMemorabilia.com

Merry Christmas From Russia

Here's a Russian postcard circa 1974 featuring Santa Claus trying to be just like Vladislav Tretiak.

Speaking of Russian hockey legends and Christmas, the daughters of Igor Larionov have recently recorded a Christmas song, with proceeds going to Hockey Fights Cancer. You will see lots of hockey cameos in the video below.

С Рождеством Христовым Россия! And Merry Christmas to all my European readers!

Shoebox Memories: Check List

Making your list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty and nice...

30 Years Later: The Shoe Brawl

It is hard to believe that this ever happened, but 30 years ago the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers brawl extended into the stands, where Mad Mike Milbury infamously beat up a fan with his own shoe!



Dave Seminara of the New York Times looks back at the incident, catching up with all the key characters in the fight, minus the deceased fan. It is today's must read article of the day.

Merry Christmas From Ken Dryden

Goaltending legend Ken Dryden is a Canadian politician nowadays. If you go to his website, you can receive Christmas greetings from him courtesy of YouTube.

Or you could go to Erle Schneidman's CanadiensMemoribilia.com and find a far more interesting collection of Dryden's family Christmas cards throughout the years.

Here's one with his sister Judy and big brother Dave:


Be sure to visit the amazing CanadiensMemoribilia.com (free registration required) for some more amazing finds.

104!

Who knew that this kid pictured below would one day go on to become the NHL's shutout king?


Martin Brodeur shutout the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 on Monday, the 104th blanking of his career. In doing so Brodeur surpassed Terry Sawchuk's record of 103 shutouts, once considered one of hockey's few unbreakable records.

Picture from SI.com

Canadian Women's Team Named

Canada has named their women's 2010 Olympic hockey team.

Competing for Olympic gold for their fourth time are team captain Hayley Wickenheiser, Jennifer Botterill, Becky Kellar and Jayna Hefford.

But the team also features lots of new blood, as no fewer than seven first time Olympians were named to the squad.

Veteran Gillian Ferrari was Canada's final cut. She was a defensive defenseman, but Canada clearly is looking for more mobility and offense from the back line, as suggested by the inclusion of newcomers Tessa Bonhomme and Meaghan Mikkelson.

Jennifer Wakefield, who has been out with a broken wrist, will serve as the team's alternate in case of injury.

For more information on each of the Canadian female players, please visit CTVOlympics.ca.

Merry Christmas From The Leafs

Here's an interesting collection of Toronto Maple Leafs Christmas cards over the years:

Christmas Gift Idea

You know what would make for a great Christmas gift? How about a nice trip to Whistler.

Since I don't know how, maybe Eric Nesterenko could teach me how to ski.

After a day on the slopes, I could take in a couple of hours at Vincent Damphousse's new Scandinavian spa. Massage, facial scrub, pedicure...

Maybe later on I would enjoy a nice glass of Igor Larionov's Triple Overtime Wine.

It is impossible not to fall in love with Whistler. Maybe I'll buy some property there. I better call up realtor Chris Oddleifson. Then I'll get a new hot tub installed by Corey Foster.

On second thought, the Whistler real estate prices are ridiculous. I better first make an appointment with financial adviser John Druce.

How times change, eh?

It's Christmas Time

It's Christmas week. Schools are mostly out. Many people are taking the week off from work to be with their families. Website traffic tends to slow up pretty good this week, so I wanted to make sure I thanked all of my loyal readers once again for an amazing 2009, and wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

For those of you who do come back to visit regularly this week, I will have a number of hockey/Christmas themed features for you to enjoy. In fact, I have so many I don't know how to all give them their proper due!

Let's start with the classic: Johnny Bower's Honky The Christmas Goose:

This is Johnny Bower's Honky The Christmas Goose CD. It came out in 1965, on vinyl of course, and had some measure of success.

Not everyone knows it, but Johnny Bower fancied himself as quite the singer. In his most famous recording, Johnny teamed up with his own son John and some other children, known as the Rinky Dinks, to release Honky The Christmas Goose (click on link to listen to the entire song). They also sang "Banjo the mule," but to no great success.

Tune in this week for more hockey related Christmas stories!

Classic Snap Shot: Valeri Kharlamov

The great Russian hockey player Valeri Kharlamov offers a sign of peace for the holiday season

92 Years Ago Today

Happy 92nd birthday goes out to the National Hockey League.

On this date the NHL's very first game happened in front of 700 spectators in Toronto as the hometown Arenas dropped a 10-9 game to the Montreal Wanderers. Montreal's Dave Ritchie scored the first goal in NHL history, while Harry Hyland notched the first hat trick, registering 4 goals in the game. It would be the Wanderers only victory in NHL competition.

Later that same evening the Montreal's other team, les Canadiens, defeated the Ottawa Senators by a score of 7-4. The Habs would go on to win the NHL championship trophy - no, not the Stanley Cup, but the O'Brien Cup, held over from the NHA days. The Stanley Cup remained league neutral until 1926. As such, the O'Brien Cup champions had to face a champion from the west. In this case it was the victorious Seattle Metropolitans of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, becoming the first American based team to win the Stanley Cup.

So much has changed in the NHL and in hockey at large since this date 92 years ago. From 700 spectators to a annual revenue stream of nearly $2.5 billion dollars, the NHL has come a long way in many ways.

But I still think Stafford Smythe's quote sums up the biggest similarity between today's game and the game of 92 years ago and even older than that:

"Hockey must be a great sport to have survived the people who run it."

1960 Olympic Puck Found

50 years after America's original Miracle on Ice, the last game used puck from Team USA's upset victory over the Soviets has been found.

The puck will hopefully be on display in January at the Olympic Heritage display and then find a permanent home at the future Squaw Valley Olympic Musuem.

More information can be found at squawvalley1960celebration.com

IIHF HHOF Inducts 5, No Canadians, Again

The International Ice Hockey Federation has announced the 2010 Hall of Fame inductees.

Dieter Hegen of Germany, Arturs Irbe of Latvia, Vladimir Krutov of Russia, female player Riikka Nieminen of Finland and builder Rickard Fagerlund of Sweden will be honoured in 2010. American Lou Vairo was named as recipient of the Paul Loicq Award for outstanding contributions to international hockey.

Congratulations goes out to all the worthy honourees, especially Krutov. Krutov should be remembered as one of the top 5 players in the world during the 1980s, not as the overweight, overwhelmed, shadow of his former self during a failed crossover attempt to the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks.

I am disappointed the discrimination against Canadians at the IIHF Hall of Fame continues to exist. This particular Hall of Fame is specifically to honour players for their play in IIHF events, such as World Championships and Olympics. The IIHF has expanded the definition for players and builders who contributed to the growth of hockey in European countries, especially the lesser powers.

Canadians are not so nearly well recognized. Why? The IIHF has had a long history of bias against Canada. Perhaps they are retaliating against the actual Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto which has been incredibly slow in inducting international greats.

The IIHF has rightly inducted 14 Canadians as players. It is absolutely awesome that they have honoured the likes of Roger Bourbonnais and Terry O'Malley and Seth Martin. But they refuse to honour modern stars, likely because so many of the obvious candidates competed internationally in IIHF events, but rather NHL international events such as the Canada Cups and World Cups.

Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux are the only two exceptions. For the most part their greatest international moments came in the Canada Cups. The IIHF inducted them to cash in on their names, but refuse to induct other great Team Canada legends like Paul Coffey, Mark Messier, or maybe even the man whose famous goal ignited an unsatiable passion for international hockey in Canada, Paul Henderson?

If they want to continue to snub the Canada Cup tournaments, then they could look at Canadians who embraced IIHF events like Eric Lindros, Sean Burke, Randy Gregg, Glenn Anderson, Theo Fleury, Joe Sakic, James Patrick, Cassie Campbell and I would even suggest Brad Schlegel. How about Jacques Plante, who embraced Switzlerland as his home late in life, as a builder?

I love that IIHF honours the top players from Europe. It's time they start honouring more Canadians.

Slap Shots: If I were a member of the IIHF Hall of Fame selection committee, I would be arguing for the inclusion of Dr. Blake Watson as either a player or a builder. Watson was a Canadian (a member of the 1931 World Championship team, too) who really introduced the game to Austria. He went to Vienna to study medicine. The game was in its infancy in Austria, but Watson's on ice artistry soon became legendary. Now Austria has yet to become much of a power in the hockey world, although six Austrians have played in the NHL in the past few seasons. But Watson's legacy remains to this day. He's a pretty interesting story, including eventually become a Hollywood famous doctor. You can read all about it here.

Bruins Legends Hit Fenway Ice

91 year old Milt Schmidt and the ageless Bobby Orr headlined today's Legends Skate at Fenway Park in Boston.

Bruins greats from the past christened the temporary ice surface, which will host the NHL's Winter Classic on New Year's Day. Other legends in attendance included Cam Neely, Terry O’Reilly, Lyndon Byers, Cleon Daskalakis, Gary Doak, Ken Hodge, Ken Linseman, Johnny McKenzie, Rick Middleton, Jay Miller, Brad Park Don Sweeney and Bob Sweeney.

15 lucky youth hockey players were invited to skate with the greats, too.

USA Names 2010 Women's Olympic Team

USA Hockey has announced the women's hockey team that will be challenging for an Olympic gold medal come February in Vancouver.

Jenny Potter and Angela Ruggeiro headline the team, as this will be their 4th Olympic games. Two time Olympians Julie Chu and Natalie Darwitz are also back. In total six players have Olympic experience, and 19 have World Championships experience.

Coach Mark Johnson was sure to bring some young blood, too. Twenty year old Hilary Knight is the youngest player on the team, just nine days younger than the Lamoureux twins, Jocelyne and Monique.

Researchers Find Out What Was On Reggie Fleming's Mind

Concussion researchers have been examining the damaged brain of the late Reggie Fleming, finding disturbing results.

Fleming, a very rugged and helmetless player from 1959 to 1971 and unofficially had 20 concussions, was found to have "chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease known to cause cognitive decline, behavioral abnormalities and ultimately dementia." The symptoms are said to mirror Alzheimer's Disease. It's a fascinating read, and I highly encourage you to do so.

Similar tests have been done on deceased boxers and football players with similar alarming results are alarming. Make no mistake, repeated head trauma from contact sporting have long term, scary impacts. Many of these impacts are not easily diagnosable until after death, and are misinterpreted as other ailments, resulting in mistreatment.

The results of this study were perhaps released a day too late. Because the NHL should have to answer to this study's findings when justifying not suspending David Koci and Jarkko Ruutu for their recent head shot incidents.

Olympic Slap Shots: Return of Ziggy?

This is Ziggy Palffy's rookie card. His big league career started way back in 1991 at the Canada Cup tournament. He went on to an all star career in the NHL before returning home to Slovakia to play.

The Slovaks are celebrating 80 years of hockey history this month. The hockey-mad nation is eagerly anticipating the 2010 Olympics, a team which may include the veteran Palffy.

The 37 year old removed himself from national team consideration 4 years ago, feeling his best days were done. But he wants to end his career at the highest level, and has made it be known that he wants to be at Vancouver 2010.

The Slovaks are expected to draw as many 14 players from their domestic league for their Olympic team. To help make their roster decisions and to foster good team chemistry, the Slovaks have assembled a domestic league all star team that is playing three games against teams from Czech Republic, Switzerland and Belarus.

Palffy played the first game on a line with former NHLers Juraj Kolnik and Marcel Hossa. Other names familiar to NHL fans on this "international break roster" include Jozef Stumpel, Ladislav Nagy, Richard Zednik, Branko Radivojevic, Martin Cibak, Lubos Bartecko and goaltenders Rostislav Stana and Jan Lasak.

Slovakia announces their Olympic roster on December 29th.

Net Minding

Wayne Scanlan has an excellent article on the life and career of Terry Sawchuk. Here's an excerpt:

Today, Sawchuk might have benefited from intervention and rehabilitation. The talk- show circuit and tabloids would have welcomed his personal story. During the 1950s and '60s, tough hockey players were expected to suck it up and move on, and Sawchuk lived that mantra, playing without a mask, in equipment most kids today would be embarrassed to use for road hockey.

Sawchuk once estimated he suffered 400 stitches to his face before he started using a mask during the '60s. He was a worrier, and one of his great worries was someone taking his place. Not that there were backups on the bench during the '50s and early '60s, but good young goalies were in the system, salivating to grab one of only six NHL goaltending jobs. The pressures were enormous, the games low-scoring, tight.

Wayne Scanlan has today's must read article. Here's some more interesting articles from around the 'Net.

• Dave Stubbs has a great piece on Martin Brodeur including how as a 14 year Brodeur was at the Stanley Cup parade in 1986 cheering on his idol, Patrick Roy.
• Jim Kelley has an excellent suggestion as to who should be the final Olympic torch bearer in Vancouver 2010. All the best to Mr. Kelley, who I just learned is curtailing his career to battle pancreatic cancer.
  
• Stu Hackel at the New York Times takes a look at the new documentary about the 1960 US Olympic hockey team that won gold in Squaw Valley. It is called The Forgotten Miracle.
  
• It's tough to be a young referee. I see the verbal abuse referees take at a local youth and senior levels, and it's amazing that anyone aspires to be an on ice official
• Brett Hull and Brendan Shanahan recently reminisced about Mike Keenan, with Hull now saying he hated him as a coach, but he is a good guy. I'm glad Hull moved on, but I think there's a lot of fans in quite a few NHL cities who still hate Mike Keenan, and not for his bench tactics.
  

Win Team Canada Cheer Gear

The World Junior Championships in Saskatchewan are days away. Team Canada will be chasing an unheard of sixth consecutive gold medal. And were about two months away from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, where Canada's men's, women's and sledge hockey teams all chase gold on home ice.

Pepsi wants us all to Join The Cheer as we support Team Canada's golden pursuits. You can win the Cheer Gear grab bag pictured above. All you have to do is email me what the cheer is. Of the correct entries, I will draw three prizes!

Bingo Kampman's Parlor Tricks

I get the feeling Brian Burke would have loved Bingo Kampman.

Kampman was an ambidextrous defenseman in the 1940s, able to play either side with great effectiveness. He was as hard hitting as they come, pretty much defining Burke's beloved word truculence.

How strong was he? He would take bar room bets from teammates and onlookers over whether or not he could lift tables with nothing more than his teeth!

Read all about Bingo Kampman here.

Ask The Hockey History Blogger

"Where does the word Christmas originate from?"

I better let GHL friend Marina answer that one:



If you dig that, watch Marina explain the word floccinaucinihilipilification.

Frank Hughes

Frank Hughes was one of those guys who never could find a spot in the NHL but became a star in the World Hockey Association. With the Houston Aeros he played on one of the most successful lines in WHA history - the "Go-Go Line."

Hughes played his junior hockey for the Edmonton Oil Kings and was drafted by Toronto in 1969 (43rd overall). Frank then played two seasons in the WHL for Phoenix Roadrunners. He attended a couple of training camps with Toronto but was always cut.

He was eventually claimed by California Golden Seals in the Intra-League draft on June 8,1971. Frank's only NHL action was a five game cup of coffee with California in 1971-72.

He knew that his chances to play in the NHL were very limited so he jumped at the opportunity to play in the WHA. It was a decision he would not regret.

Frank played for Houston Aeros where one of his teammates was Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe. He scored 22 goals in his first season and then exploded for 42 goals and 84 points in 1973-74. A big reason for that success was that he developed a special kind of chemistry with his linemates Larry Lund and Andre Hinse. They were soon known as the "Go-Go Line."

Frank put up even better numbers the following season, finding the net 48 times. 15 of the goals came on the power play, a club record at that time.

His coach in Houston, Bill Dineen, gave his view on the line - "Hinse digs the puck out of the corners. Lund makes the plays and Hughes is the trigger man."

Frank was happy in Houston, too.

"I knew neither Toronto or California would give me a shot so I welcomed the WHA," Frank said. "Playing in Houston is super, the management has been great to me and I am very happy. Some people down rated the old WHL, but it was just a short step behind the NHL. And most of the WHA teams could play in the NHL and do alright."

Frank endorsed the WHA back then and thought more players should jump over from the NHL.

"We have never had to worry about paydays or anything like that and we are treated first class," he said of the Aeros. Not all WHA teams were quite as lucky.

Frank was only making $25,000 when he first went to the WHA. It increased considerably after his fine seasons. He played in Houston until December 1976 when he got traded to WHA rival Phoenix Roadrunners.

He lasted only half a season in Phoenix until the franchise folded. Houston wanted Frank back and eagerly signed him as a free agent.

Frank only played 11 more games for Houston before once again moving back to Phoenix. But this time he went on to play for the PHL (Pacific Hockey League) Phoenix Roadrunners. There he tore up the lower league. He had a league leading 33 goals, 41 assists and 74 points in 40 games. Frank was named to PHL's first All-Star Team and won the MVP award.

The following season (1978-79) he finished his career playing for Tuscon Rustlers (PHL). He scored 84 points in 58 games and was named to PHL's second All-Star Team.

Frank, who married motorcycle stunt woman Debbie Lawler, was one of a number of players who benefited from the existence of the WHA. It gave him a second chance and he took it, scoring 353 points in 391 career WHA games.

Hughes became a realtor back in his hometown of Fernie, BC. He was also an excellent golfer, earning his certification as a PGA golf pro.