How TSN Killed The WJCs

I used to love the World Junior championships. But in recent years my interest has waned significantly

Why? That is a question I have been asking myself a lot this week, and I am no closer to a definitive answer.

Maybe it's that we always win. Or at least we are always in the gold medal game. Is there enough competition to make this tournament truly worthy of all the hype Canadians heap upon it?

The one country that will always compete - and I predict will soon dominate the world juniors - is the United States. The era of the United States dominating hockey is soon upon us. Maybe there's some part of me that does not want to get all caught up in this Canadian celebration because I know all good things come to an end.

Maybe it's that we always host it now. I always enjoyed those ancient locations in the Czech Republic or Switzerland or Russia. Hosting it in Canada or in United States border towns ensures huge dollars, and I get that, but I long for the days of early morning games in Prague or Moscow or Stockholm.

In all honesty, I really think it's the over-the-top nationalism that TSN forces upon us. I love Canada and Canadian hockey more than anybody, but it's just a little too uncomfortable for me. It's a little better now that the excessive Pierre McGuire has departed, but Gord Miller is not a whole lot better.

For me, the descent all started after the 2005 championship. With the NHL lockout in full swing, Canada dominated with a full roster that included Sidney Crosby. You would think in a year with no NHL hockey I would have been ecstatic (you know, like the rest of the country) for such high quality hockey, but somehow I was turned off. I really think it was how overly excited Pierre McGuire was with the whole "Double Dion" thing. I was so turned off that I have never really made the World Juniors a priority in my life ever since. Prior to 2005 that was an unthinkable.

Okay so I can't really blame Pierre McGuire. But for some reason my World Juniors interest has waned and I don't know why. Make no mistake. I will be watching Saturday's much anticipated New Year's Eve showdown with the United States. But will I follow the Canadian kids beyond that? There's no guarantee of that. I missed Jordan Eberle's amazing heroics in 2009. I missed Jonathan Toews' shootout hat trick in 2007. I bought the commemorative DVD featuring those games and other classics, but I haven't watched that either.

Will I see the 2012 gold medal game? Maybe. Or maybe I'll go for a snowshoe instead.

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 31st

1910 - Montreal Canadiens goalie Georges Vezina played the first of 367 consecutive regular season and playoff games, when Montreal lost their NHA season opener, 5-3 to the visiting Ottawa Senators. Vezina played every game for Montreal for 15 seasons.

1975 - Montreal Canadiens battled the Soviet Red Army team to a 3-3 tie New Year's Eve at the Forum. Ken Dryden and Vladislav Tretiak starred in goal for the teams. Tretiak made 38 saves, including 16 in the final period.

1992 - Al Arbour became the losingest coach in NHL history, when the Islanders lost 5-1 to the Blues, in St. Louis. It was Arbour's 522nd career NHL loss, moving him one past Dick Irvin. The loss gave Arbour an all-time record of 721-522-233.

1997 - Dominik Hasek stopped 36 shots for his 27th career shutout, in a 3-0 Sabres' win over the visiting Ottawa Senators. Hasek became the first NHL goaltender since George Hainsworth in 1928-29 to record six shutouts in one month.

Happy Birthday to Charlie Gardiner, Rene Robert, Terry Ruskowski, Paul Gillis, Gary McAdam, Scott Nichol and Corey Crawford.

Mrazek: Memories Of Pauli Jaks

The World Junior Hockey Championships have quickly become one of the favourite non-NHL hockey tournaments on the hockey schedule. In fact some fans will tell you that it is the most exciting hockey you'll see all season long prior to the start of the Stanley Cup finals.

We watch these kids playing their hearts out and we become instant fans of theirs. They don't get paid, they are there for their country and because they are chasing a dream - a dream that many of us have dreamt for as well, but came nowhere close to fulfilling.

As we watch the excitement on television, often staying up (or getting up!) at the wee hours of the morning if the tournament is held in Europe, we develop instant favourites, and we follow them throughout the rest of their career. Many never become much of a professional player once they reach that stage, but some do.

We don't just become fans of our home countries' players either. Often we are drawn to a great player on another team. Though he is the enemy for this short tournament, we become fans of his too.

At the 2012 World Juniors in Alberta that player turns out to be Czech goaltender Petr Mrazek. His 50 save performance upsetting the might United States is one thing. Heck, he even attempted to score a goal! But it his enthusiastic celebrations mid-game that are entertaining, refreshing and stealing the show. How excited must this kid be to be getting a standing ovation from 17,000 Canadian fans.

Of course, being an oldtimer like myself, I tweeted how Mrazek's spectacular play reminded me of another great World Juniors goaltender named Pauli Jaks. It fell flat, as no one knows who that is any more. Which goes to serve as a reminder: You can earn temporary legendary status at the World Juniors, but it is no guarantee of NHL success.

For a trip down memory lane, here's a look back at Pauli Jaks and the 1991 World Junior Hockey Championships.

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 30th

1904 - In the first game of a best-of-three challenge between Winnipeg and Ottawa, a red line was drawn between each set of goalposts to aid the referee in awarding goals. These became the first known goal lines in hockey history.

1912 - Sweden officially joined the International Ice Hockey Federation.

1974 - St. Louis Blues obtained Red Berenson from Detroit in exchange for Phil Roberto and St. Louis' 3rd choice (Blair Davidson) in 1975 Amateur Draft.

1981 - Gretzky scores 5 goals to give him 50 in 39 games. 5th goal came with 3 seconds remaining into an empty net.

1986 - The Swift Current Broncos team bus crashes, killing young players Brent Ruff, Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, and Chris Mantyka. Joe Sakic was also on that bus.

1988 - Vancouver improved its all time record against touring Soviet hockey teams to 3-0, with a 6-1 win over Dynamo Riga during the NHL's "Super Series 88-89". Brian Bradley paced the Canucks with two goals and an assist.

1992 - Peter Forsberg set a World Junior Championship record with 10 points in Sweden's 20-1 win over Japan. Forsberg ended the tournament with a record 31 points in seven games.

2000 - Mario Lemieux scored a goal and added 3 assists to become the 10th NHL player to get 1,500 career points and Jaromir Jagr had two goals and an assist to reach the 1,000 point plateau as the Penguins won 5-3 against the visiting Ottawa Senators.

Happy Birthday to Lester Patrick, Rob Scuderi, Jim Thomson and Kevin Dahl.

Mike Moller: Canadian Crooner

A role player who bounced between the minor leagues and the NHL in the 1980s, Mike Moller is a junior hockey legend in Canada.

Born in Calgary, Moller was chosen 41st overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 1980 after two outstanding seasons in the WHL with the Lethbridge Broncos. A WHL all star, Moller became a hockey legend in Canada when he scored 14 points in seven games to help Canada win its first gold medal at the World Junior Championships. That 1982 team was the first Canadian team in the famed "Program of Excellence."

That 1982 team, which featured both Mike and his brother Randy, will forever be remembered as the Canadian team that sang their own anthem after capturing gold. The hosts in Rochester, Minnesota inexplicably did not have a copy of the Canadian national anthem to play at the gold medal ceremony.

"The bottom line is they should have played it because we had won the gold medal," said Mike Moller.

But the proud Canadians came up with their own solution.

"It wasn't planned, but finally a few guys at the end of the line said, 'Sing it ourselves, boys,'" Moller said. "So we stood there shoulder to shoulder and belted out what was probably the worst rendition of our national anthem."

The song may have been out of key, but it never sounded better. And ever since Canadian teams belt out "O Canada" loud and proud when winning an international hockey tournament.

Read the full Mike Moller biography

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 29th

1955 - In a game between Montreal and Toronto, NHL officials wore new vertically striped black and white sweaters for the first time. Canadiens won the game 5-2.

1957 - Ross "Lefty" Wilson, Detroit's assistant trainer, was pressed into service to replace Boston goalie Don Simmons who suffered a dislocated shoulder. Boston had no other replacement on their bench. Wilson gave up one goal in a 2-2 tie.

1975 - Washington Capitals fired GM/Coach Milt Schmidt, midway thru the team's second season in the NHL. Two days later Max McNab replaced Schmidt as GM, and Tommy McVie took over as coach.

1979 - Toronto Maple Leafs traded Lanny McDonald and Joel Quenneville to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Pat Hickey and Wilf Paiement.

Happy Birthday to Nels Stewart, Filip Kuba, Tom Bladon, Andreas Dackell, Jack Riley and George Parros.

Interview With Perry Berezan

GreatestHockeyLegends.com thanks Frederick Lavallee for the following interview with Perry Berezan:

2011 has been quite the year for this little French writer from Montreal, Quebec. Had the chance to interview four former NHLers, and I, of course, wanted a fifth one. I like to read those old NHL Yearbooks, especially since they started at about the same time I started watching hockey. I will always remember that 1991 Minnesota North Stars run to the Stanley Cup finals, and I told myself : ‘’ Why not try and interview a player from that roster? ‘’

I peeked at the forwards, and noticed that familiar name : Perry Berezan. Yeah, remembered him from the Flames, North Stars and Sharks. Played two times in the Stanley Cup Finals, and for an expansion team, interesting! And so, I e-mailed him. And less than 12 hours later, I had my answer...

‘’ Frederick, thanks for taking interest in an old slug.

I’d be happy to speak to you. Call me Tuesday at... ‘’ – Perry Berezan

I was shocked. I called, and was asked by Berezan if I’d prefer meeting him, because he’d come to Montreal a month after. I said yes without any hesitation. He liked my devotion and passion and was willing to take some time to meet and share some thoughts about his career, and the choices that he made in life. And so, it all happened October 21st right here in my hometown of Montreal.

Perry Berezan was born on December 5th 1964, in Edmonton, Alberta. Like many other Canadian hockey kids, he learned to skate early on an outdoor rink close to his home. His dad put him on the ice with his first pair of skates when he was 4 years old...

‘’ I just ran on the ice. Instead of falling, I just ran. Didn’t skate, didn’t walk, but it was pretty obvious to me that I wanted to play. I started playing hockey with some neighbors when I was five and I remember scoring my first goal on a breakaway by sliding in the net with the puck. One of the moms would give 10 cents per goal to kids and I remember telling myself : ‘’ I can get ten cents! ‘’. I was so excited! ‘’ says a laughing Berezan.

He played his minor hockey (up to the age of 15) in the Northeastern part of Edmonton, where he lived in a lower-middle class neighbourhood. He just loved playing. Practiced a lot of different sports and he just craved for more. But that desire especially showed in the form of...running!

‘’ In grade 7, one of the Phys Ed teachers wanted to start the 500 kilometers club, to see if people would follow. I had to get up early before school to run. I remember wanting to do a thousand! I had such a drive. My Junior High would be running in the morning, just because I had to, and then play with soccer or basketball teams, or track teams, and in the winter, during the evening, it would be hockey! ‘’

Read the full interview with Perry Berezan

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 28th

1929 - New York Rangers beat Ottawa Senators 3-1, in a Rangers' "home game" played in Atlantic City.

1962 - Red Sullivan replaced Muzz Patrick as coach of the New York Rangers, but Patrick continued as General Manager. Sullivan became the 12th coach in Rangers history.

1967 - Jean Beliveau had four assists to move past Maurice Richard into second place on the NHL's all time point scoring list (behind Gordie Howe) with 967 points, as the Canadiens beat the Minnesota North Stars, 6-2.

1975 - New York Rangers became first team in NHL history to face a touring Soviet hockey squad. The Soviet Army beat the Rangers 7-3 at M.S.G. Phil Esposito had a goal and two assists for New York.

1977 - Vancouver's Curt Ridley became the first NHL goalie to shut out a touring Soviet team when the Canucks beat Moscow Spartak 2-0. Rick Blight scored both goals for the Canucks.

1981 - Rookie Tim Hunter became the first Calgary native to play in a game for the Flames. He picked up 7 penalty minutes in his NHL debut, a 7-4 home loss to the Flyers.

1992 - Winnipeg Jets traded Ed Olczyk to the New York Rangers in exchange for Kris King and Tie Domi.

2000 - Detroit Red Wings re-acquired veteran Igor Larionov from the Florida Panthers, in exchange for Yan Golbovsky.

2000 - Florida Panthers fired General Manager Bryan Murray and Head Coach Terry Murray. Duane Sutter was named as the new Head Coach and Panthers' President Bill Torrey took over as the interim G.M.

Happy Birthday to Raymond Bourque, Terry Sawchuk, Rob Niedermayer, Harry Howell, Eddie Wiseman, Dave Hudson, Curtis Glencross, Dave Moss, Jean-Francois Jomphe, Benoit Gratton, Doug Patey, Jamie Storr

Johnny Wilson Passes

Johnny Wilson's 12-year National Hockey League career extended over three decades (1949-62). The left winger broke into the NHL in 1949-50 season with the Detroit Red Wings after playing junior hockey across the Detroit River in Windsor, Ontario with the Windsor Hettche Spitfires in the International Hockey League.

Wilson played from 1947-49 with the Spits where he compiled 43 points (26G-17A) in 29 games played. After 4 games in the 1948-49 season with Windsor, Wilson was sent to the Omaha Knights of the USHL where he played 70 games that year, scoring 41 goals and 39 assists with 46 penalty minutes.

One of the things that Wilson says helped keep him and his teammates focused on making the NHL during their days with the Spitfires was that he and his teammates would receive passes to go to Olympia on Sunday nights and watched the guys at the big club play. In addition, guys like Ted Lindsay and Gordie Howe use to come and watch them play in Windsor. Wilson credits the attention with providing a boost to his professional career.

Fully Johnny Wilson biography

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 27th

1897 - In the only Stanley Cup challenge of the season, the defending champion Montreal Victorias turned back the Ottawa Capitals 15-2 to retain their champion status.

1924 - Montreal Canadiens played the Maroons for the first time at the Forum and tied 1-1 after 20 minutes of overtime.

1942 - Montreal Canadiens defeated Boston 4-2 in Montreal, but lost rookie Maurice Richard, who suffered a broken leg just above the right ankle. His leg broke when he toppled after a check from Bruins' Jack Crawford.

1973 - Buffalo Sabres traded John Gould and Tracy Pratt to Vancouver in exchange for defenseman Jerry Korab.

1982 - Philadelphia's Bobby Clarke scored the 5th (and final) hat trick of his NHL career and added two assists, leading the Flyers past the Red Wings, 8-4 at Detroit.

1990 - Edmonton Oilers recorded their 500th all time NHL victory, 4-1 over the Flames, in Edmonton. The win gave the Oilers a lifetime record of 500-295-120, for a winning percentage of .612, the best of any NHL team.

2000 - Mario Lemieux returned from a 3-1/2 year layoff, and picked up a point on his first shift, finishing the night with with a goal and two assists in the Penguins 5-0 win against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. Garth Snow got the shutout.

Happy Birthday to Bryan Smolinski, Mickey Redmond, Patrick Sharp, Paul Stastny, Jay Pandolfo, Kevin Constantine and Fernando Pisani.

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 26th

1923 - Montreal's legendary Hall of Famer Howie Morenz scored his first NHL goal, in a 3-2 Canadiens' loss to the Ottawa Senators.

1925 - New York Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates set an NHL record with 141 shots in the Americans 3-1 win. New York held the shot edge, 73-68. Roy Worters made 70 saves for Pittsburgh, and Jake Forbes had 67 for NY.

1976 - John Bucyk's 545th career goal moved him past Maurice Richard on the all-time goal list, in the Bruins' 6-3 win over the Cleveland Barons, in Boston Garden. Bucyk's 545 goals put him #4 in NHL history (behind Howe, Hull, and Esposito).

1986 - Hartford Whalers' Doug Jarvis played in his 915th straight game to establish a new NHL record. Jarvis (who started the streak in 1975 with Montreal) broke the mark of 914 set by Garry Unger.

1988 - New York Rangers traded Don Maloney, Brian Lawton, and Norm MacIver to the Hartford Whalers, in exchange for Carey Wilson and a future draft choice. Wilson played that night for New York and had 3 assists.

1988 - Buffalo Sabres obtained Rick Vaive from the Chicago Blackhawks, in exchange for center Adam Creighton.

1989 - Hall of Famer Doug Harvey passed away at the age of 65.

1991 - Washington led the Rangers 6-1 in the first period, but the Rangers came back to beat the Capitals 8-6 in one of their biggest comebacks in team history.

1996 - Detroit's Sergei Fedorov became the first player in NHL history to score all five goals in his team's victory, when he netted the game winner at 2:39 of OT in a 5-4 victory over the visiting Washington Capitals.

Happy Birthday to Norm Ullman, Andy Delmore, Gene Ubriaco and Mark Heaslip.

Merry Christmas From GreatestHockeyLegends.com

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 25th

1930 - Dit Clapper scored three goals, and Tiny Thompson recorded his 17th career shutout in an 8-0 Bruins' win over Philadelphia at Boston Garden.

1939 - Syd Howe scored a hat trick as the Red Wings beat the Canadiens, 3-1 at the Olympia in Detroit.

1955 - Andy Bathgate was the star in the Rangers' 5-1 Christmas night victory over Montreal, with a goal and three assists.

1965 - Henri Richard scored the winning goal and added three assists to lead the Canadiens to a 4-3 win over the Red Wings, in the final Christmas game held at the Forum in Montreal.

1967 - St. Louis goalie Seth Martin recorded a shutout in the Blues' 1-0 win over the North Stars at Minnesota. It was just the second shutout in Blues' history - and the only one for Martin in his NHL career.

1968 - Norm Ullman had four assists to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the Black Hawks at Chicago.

1970 - Toronto's Norm Ullman scored twice to become the 7th player in the NHL to record 400 career goals as the Maple Leafs lost to the North Stars, 6-3 in Minnesota.

1971 - Ken Hodge scored a goal and added three assists to lead Boston to a 5-1 win over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. This was the final Christmas Day game played by the Bruins.

Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas to Noel Picard (how fitting!), Stu Barnes, Dmitri Mironov, Jim Dowd, Larry Cahan, Dave Kryskow, Steve Wojciechowski, Vitali Prokhorov, Joel Savage and Fred Sasakamoose.

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 amongst 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.

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.

Merry Christmas From The Montreal Canadiens

Various NHL Christmas Cards

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 24th

 Nick Mickoski

1921 - Ottawa's Harry "Punch" Broadbent began an NHL-record 16 game goal scoring streak during a 10-0 Senators win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens.

1921 - Future Hall of Famer King Clancy scored his first career NHL goal, in a 10-0 Ottawa Senators' win over Montreal.

1950 - Nick Mickoski scored four goals and added an assist to lead the Rangers to a 6-1 win over Chicago in New York.

1969 - Mike Walton picked up four assists as the Maple Leafs won 8-1 over the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

1972 - Ed Giacomin recorded his 40th career shutout (to tie Dave Kerr's team record) and Pete Stemkowski picked up four assists as the Rangers won 5-0 over the visiting Detroit Red Wings, in the final Chrismas Eve game for both teams.

1987 - Kelly Kisio was named the 24th captain in New York Rangers' history.

Happy Birthday to Herb Cain, Red Sullivan, George Morrison, Wayne Muloin, Shawn Heins and Brett McLean.

A Canucks Jersey For Christmas

All I ever wanted for Christmas was a Vancouver Canucks jersey.

Now many of you kids out there today can relate to that idea. All ye faithful Canucks fans proudly wear the colours these days, but when I was a kid nobody else wanted a Canucks jersey. The Canucks were cellar dwellers in a league dominated by Edmonton and Calgary. And their jerseys were, well, downright ugly. The only thing scarier than the defense pairing of Doug Halward and Neil Belland were those dreadful jerseys.

I’m not even talking about those infamous “V” jerseys. I wanted one of those golden specials with the skate going downhill faster than the team in the old Smythe Division standings.

The kids nowadays have no idea how hard it was to wear the colours of Canucks Nation back then. This is a franchise better known for - sing it with me now - 4 logo changes, 3 lost decades, 2 Stanley Cup riots and a mugging by Todd Bertuzzi.

That and the colours were awful back then: Darth Vader black with ketchup red and way too much mustard yellow. Back then you were far more likely to see eight maids-a-milking than a kid wearing a yellow Trevor Linden #16 jersey.

But that is exactly what I wanted for Christmas. Linden was my hero. The Canucks were my team. I did not care if they only had 59 points the season before. I would wear the jersey with pride!
After years of nagging Santa Claus and just about everybody else I knew, I finally got that jersey. The only thing was it was too small. I was a tall, lanky kid, and this jersey was a little too short and it was tighter than Scrooge during the holidays.

I did not mind that so much. But I never liked the ironed on numbers and name plate. I guess I forgot to specify I wanted the authentic replica, complete with stitched on numbers and letters. Those plasticy, ironed-on numbers were almost as embarrassing as the Canucks play back then. But I wore it to school all the time. I even got a school photo done in it once.

When I got older I bought my own Trevor Linden jersey. Complete replica, with stitched on numbers and letters even. I spent over $300 at General Motors Place for it. I didn’t even like those dark blue orca jerseys, but I wore it with elation. Finally, a truly authentic Trevor Linden Canucks jersey! It was a Christmas present to myself.

Three weeks later the Canucks traded Trevor Linden to New York. Mike Keenan and Mark Messier played the role of Grinch, and I was so upset that I never wore that jersey again for five years. Not until the day the Canucks traded to get Linden back. Christmas came early that year – I could wear my jersey again!

Of course the Canucks soon thereafter changed their color scheme to the current beauties. So I took my out-of-date Linden jersey out of circulation.

When Trevor Linden retired soon thereafter, I adopted the Sedin twins as my new favourite Canucks, with Henrik getting an edge in my books because he played centre. Yet I still did not have his jersey, or any new Canucks jersey at all. My girlfriend did not understand it, but I had been haunted too often by the ghosts of Canucks jerseys past.

So imagine my surprise two Christmases ago when I opened my gift from my girlfriend – a Henrik Sedin authentic Canucks jersey! Thanks to a Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy and Olympic gold medal in his trophy case, and a no-trade clause in his contract I can finally wear my Vancouver Canucks jersey with great pride. Talk about joy to the world!

Here’s hoping all Canucks fans have a blue – and green with white trim – Christmas. May you wear your jerseys with pride this holiday and in the playoffs – the most wonderful time of the year.

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 23rd

1978 - Bryan Trottier set an NHL record with six points in the second period, and finished the night with five goals and three assists in a 9-4 Islanders' win over the Rangers; the Islanders extended their home undefeated streak to 16 games (12-0-4).

1988 - Los Angeles' Wayne Gretzky scored two empty net goals, including the 611th of his NHL career, to pass Bobby Hull into fourth place on all time goals list, as the Kings won 5-2 at Vancouver.

1996 - Buffalo's Dominik Hasek recorded his 20th career shutout and Devil's Martin Brodeur got his 15th career shutout in the Sabres' 0-0 tie at New Jersey. It was the 1st scoreless tie in Devils' history.

2000 - Nashville's David Legwand scored the first overtime penalty shot goal in NHL history as the Predators won 3-2 against the Rangers at New York.

Happy Birthday to Scott Gomez, Petr Klima, Woody Dumart, Cy Denneny, Mikael Samuelsson, Ales Kotalik, Johan Franzen, Brett Clark, T.J. Oshie, Zbynek Michalek and Shaone Morrisonn.

The Stanley Cup Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas Canucks Fans

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

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 22nd

1917 - Ottawa Senators signed Frank Nighbor.

1920 - Hamilton became the 1st (and only) NHL team to post a shutout in it's debut, when the Tigers (relocated from Quebec City) beat the visiting Montreal Canadiens 5-0. Babe Dye scored twice and Howie Lockhart recorded the only shutout of his career.

1954 - Milt Schmidt retired as a player and was named the new coach of the Boston Bruins.

1964 - NY Rangers traded Dick Duff to Montreal in exchange for Bill Hicke.

1971 - Chicago's Bobby Hull scored his 28th (and final) career hat trick to lead the Black Hawks to a 4-1 win against the Seals, at Oakland. Hull became the first player in NHL history to score 28 hat tricks.

1993 - Dean Evason scored a shorthanded goal at 3:20 of overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 win at Anaheim. It was the first shorthanded overtime goal since the NHL adopted the five-minute overtime period in 1983.

1996 - Mark Messier scored two goals and had two assists to become the 5th player in NHL history to register 1,500 career points in the Rangers' 7-3 win against the Florida Panthers, at MSG.

1997 - Detroit's Scotty Bowman became the first coach in NHL history to win 200 games with three different teams, when the Red Wings beat the Bruins, 4-2 at Boston. Bowman had previously won 200+ games with Montreal and Buffalo.

Happy Birthday to Ron Greschner, Ian Turnbull, Stefan Persson, Kirk Maltby, Paul Fenton, Norm Gratton, Stan Neckar and Steve Kariya.

Merry Christmas Calgary Flames Fans

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 21st

1929 - NHL implemented the new "offside" rule for the first time in league play. Forward passing would now be permitted inside all three zones, but not across the blue lines.

1937 - Chicago's Paul Thompson became the first player in NHL history to score a goal against his brother, when he scored on Bruins' goalie Cecil "Tiny" Thompson, at 19:51 of the third period, in a 2-1 Black Hawks' loss at Boston Garden.

1938 - Detroit Red Wings took the first charter flight in team history, when they flew from New York to Chicago for a game.

1972 - Boston's Bobby Orr had an assist to set a new NHL record for career points (541) by a defenseman. It came in Orr's 423rd career NHL game, an 8-1 win over Detroit. Doug Harvey held the previous record, with 540 points in 1,113 games.

1979 - Garry Unger's NHL record for consecutive games played streak ended at 914, when Atlanta coach Al MacNeil benched him during a 5-1 Flames loss to the visiting St. Louis Blues. (The record was later upped to 964 games by Doug Jarvis.)

Happy Birthday to Joe Kocur, Peter Marsh and Steve Montador.

PM Stephen Harper's Hockey History Book Out In 2012

From PostMedia News:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper — the hockey nut that he is — has spent nearly a decade writing a book about Canada's national winter sport. Now, comes word that he is intent on finishing the tome next year.

Harper has a publisher for the book, which isn't expected to merely be a dry history of the game, but rather, a close look at the professionalization of the sport in the early 1990s.

Don't be surprised if the book lands on store shelves in 2012.

Here's the full story.

Merry Christmas Toronto Maple Leafs Fans

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






 

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 20th

1964 - Bobby Hull scored to give him 28 goals in 28 games as the Black Hawks won 3-2 over the Bruins. Hull went on to score 32 goals in the first 35 games of the 1964-65 season, but injuries lowered his final totals to 39 goals in 61 games.

1981 - Winnipeg's Doug Smail set an NHL record (later tied by Bryan Trottier and Alex Mogilny) for fastest goal from the start of a game, with a goal just five seconds into the Jets' 5-4 win over St. Louis.

1983 - Montreal's Guy Lafleur became the third player in franchise history to score 500 goals as a member of the Canadiens.

1987 - Dale Hawerchuk of the Jets became the 25th player in NHL history to play in 400 straight games. Since his rookie season of 1981-82, he missed only one game, that due to an ankle injury. Winnipeg won 4-1 over the visiting New Jersey Devils.

Happy Birthday to Cory Stillman, Travis Green, Charlie Conacher, Andrei Markov, Bill Clement, Mike Christie, Jan Caloun, Derek Dorsett, and Chris Tanev.

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 19th

1917 - The first two games in NHL history were played. Montreal Canadiens beat Ottawa 7-4, and Montreal Wanderers beat Toronto 10-9. Montreal Wanderers' defenseman Dave Ritchie scored the first goal in NHL history one minute into the NHL's first game. Montreal Canadiens Joe Malone scored five goals, including the team's first NHL goal and added an assist as the Canadiens defeated Ottawa 7-4, in their first ever NHL game.

1950 - Montreal Canadiens obtained Bert Olmstead from Detroit, in exchange for Leo Gravelle. Olmstead had been traded to Detroit just one week earlier, from Chicago. Olmstead went on to spend the next seven seasons with Montreal.

1967 - Brian Smith scored twice (against his brother Gary, in goal for Oakland) and Bob Wall scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Kings to a 3-1 win over the Oakland Seals, at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles.

1984 - While playing in his 424th career game, Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky had two goals and four assists to become the fastest player to reach 1,000 career points (breaking Guy Lafleur's record of 720 games). Oilers won 7-3 against the visiting Kings.

1984 - Buffalo's Scotty Bowman became the winningest coach in NHL history with career victory #691 in a 6-3 Sabres' win at Chicago.

1985 - Montreal Canadiens defenseman Larry Robinson scored the only hat trick of his 20 year NHL career, in a 5-4 Canadiens' loss to the Quebec Nordiques.

1995 - Calgary Flames traded Joe Nieuwendyk to the Dallas Stars, in exchange for Corey Millen and the rights to 1995 first round draft pick Jarome Iginla.

1996 - St. Louis Blues fired G.M./Coach Mike Keenan. Ron Caron was named the new General Manager, and Jimmy Roberts took over as interim head coach.

Happy Birthday to Doug Harvey, Robert Lang, Ron Schock, Eric Weinrich, Behn Wilson, Matt Stajan and Scott Pearson.

Shoebox Memories: Rod Seiling

This Rod Seiling hockey card is O-Pee-Chee card #71 from 1968. It is not his rookie card (that came out in the 1964-65 season) but I am a big fan of this 1968 set with the fake, colorless background and the contrasting highlighted featured player.

Now coming out of junior, Seiling was a heck of a player. Coach Emile Francis, a contagiously enthusiastic speaker, once said "the prize of all our defensemen is Rod Seiling and he's only 20. He can be great. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he becomes another Doug Harvey."

Wow - now that is high praise. Many people still consider Harvey to be the 2nd greatest defenseman to ever play the game, behind Bobby Orr. And more than a few lingering old timers would give Harvey the edge over Orr in that debate.

Seiling never did quite enter that echelon of hockey stardom. But he was a quality blue liner for 11 seasons in Manhattan.

Seiling was a finesse defenseman at heart, which was not always a good thing in New York. The Rangers fans notoriously favored rough and tumble hockey players, especially on the back end. They hounded Hockey Hall of Famers Allan Stanley and Harry Howell with choruses of boos because they were rambunctious enough back there.

Seiling made the most of us his first impressions with the Rangers faithful. He was of good size, though he never had the inclination to be a true bruiser. But he would hit to make a play, like he famously did on his first shift in his first game. He slammed Chicago great Pierre Pilote with a thunderous and clean hit, earning many cheers from those in attendance at Madison Square Gardens that night. Such hits may have been rare by Seiling, but the boos never did come for #16.

Best known for his defensive game rather than his offense, similar to a contemporary player like Teppo Numminen. Seiling scored 50 goals and 248 points in 644 games with the Rangers. He later moved on to play Washington, Toronto, St. Louis and Atlanta, upping his NHL career totals to 979 games played with 62 goals and 331 points.

Seiling was never an All Star or a threat for the Norris Trophy, but he was invited to Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series. It was thought Seiling would be a valuable asset against the Soviets, as he was one of the few NHL players to have previously played them. Seiling previously played in the Olympics as an amateur in 1964. However Seiling was ineffective against the Soviets of '72, and dressed for only three contests.

Glenn Hall: Mr. Goalie

Hockey players, especially goaltenders, have pre-game rituals. Some are more unusual than others. But no one had a stranger ritual than former NHL goaltending great Glenn Hall who, because of nerves, would literally become physically ill while waiting the start of a game.

More often than not, before the first face-off, during the rest periods or after the game was concluded, Glenn quietly and unobtrusively would throw up .

"I always felt I played better if I was physically sick before the game. If I wasn't sick, I felt I hadn't done everything I could to try to win," Hall once said.

It obviously worked for Hall, as the man nicknamed "Mr. Goalie" has to be considered a prime candidate as the greatest goalie ever played.

Full Glenn Hall Biography

This Day In Hockey History: Dec 18th

1952 - Rookie Jean Beliveau scored his first career NHL hat trick, and Bernie Geoffrion added three goals (for his second career hat trick) in the Canadiens' 6-2 win against the NY Rangers, in Montreal.

1954 - Montreal's Maurice Richard became the first player in NHL history to score 400 career goals, when the Canadiens defeated the Black Hawks 4-2 at Chicago.

1983 - Wayne Gretzky scored two goals and two assists, for his 100th point of the season as the Oilers beat the Winnipeg Jets 7-5. Gretzky's 100th point came in the Oilers 34th game of the season, the fastest 100 points by a player in NHL history.

1986 - Philadelphia Flyers traded Bob Froese to the N.Y. Rangers in exchange for Kjell Samuelsson and second round draft pick in 1989 (Patrik Juhlin).

2002 - Colorado Avalanche fired head coach Bob Hartley and named assistant Tony Granato as his replacement.

Happy Birthday to Jean Pronovost, Dan Cleary, Bob Corkum, Bob Brooke, Brian Boyle, Jeff Finger, Victor Hedman, and Joe Dziedzic.