0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 12/20/2012
Nail Yakupov, Russia The World Juniors are almost upon us, or what Canadians refer to as the best time of the year. Even in a year with games being played every night, Canadians wait for the next generation of stars to don the maple leaf and represent the nation over the holidays. But this year […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 10/28/2012
The last time the league had a labor situation, I was toiling away in high school. Living in Oil Country, I had just seen the Flames make a run to the Cup before they engaged in a year long effort to get a salary cap put into place. I followed sports, and hockey of course, […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 6/29/2012
LeBron James was arguably the greatest free agent to ever test the open market in professional sports. A player nearing the apex of a generational career available to all suitors. But a poorly executed public relations event that will go down in infamy as The Decision tarnished his stellar reputation. It was not the fact […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 5/23/2012
In case you hadn’t already noticed, the Kings are in fact the real deal. Sure it is easy to say this now that they have quaified for the Stanley Cup Finals and proven so many doubters wrong, but had you looked at the team on paper at the outset of the postseason, you could have […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 5/21/2012
No one has ever questioned Drew Doughty skill level. Only Steve Stamkos was drafted higher in 2008, and even questioned that move. But the one knock against him since his days in junior has been his compete and conditioning level. The nickname “Doughnuts” is not exactly flattering to a player with out of this world talent. […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 4/3/2012
The relationship between Russia and North America has been strained to say the least over the course of the past fifty years. From nuclear standoff to endless political posturing, the areas that are brought together by the telescopic eyesight of Sarah Palin have rarely seen eye to eye. This is in the case in hockey […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 3/22/2012
Leaf Nation is nothing short of a roller coaster. Every season starts out with such great hope. This year was no different. It was going to be the year of Optimus Reim and a return to the postseason. All of the pieces were finally coming together for Burke and Wilson in the centre of […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 3/12/2012
The NHL General Managers are in Boca Raton, Florida for another round of meetings. I am positive that they randomly selected the destination over the likes of Winnipeg and Muncie, Indiana. Why are they meeting again? Because they just can never stop tinkering with the game. They are talking about the red line, hybrid icing […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 3/6/2012
It didn’t come as a surprise when Hockey Canada announced today that Steve Yzerman would head up the management team for the next few years leading up to Sochi 2014 for Team Canada. But the one thing that did make people’s ears perk up a bit was the stipulation, if you can call it […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 2/23/2012
It was supposed to be a quiet trade deadline. Tuomo Ruutu was said to be the biggest name on the block just a little over a week ago. Then everything hit the fan. Word began to leak out that Mr. Columbus, the one and only Rick Nash, wanted out of Ohio. The guy who we […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 2/20/2012
We have seen this act before. After a slow start to the season last year, the Anaheim Ducks caught fire in the second half and made an improbable run to the postseason. While they fell in the first round to the Predators, the league took notice of Randy Carlyle and the Ducks high-powered attack. […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 2/13/2012
First there was Tebowmania, now we have Linsanity. The sports world has been swept up by these cults of personality in the span of just a few months. But is such a captivating success story possible in the NHL? First of all, we must differentiate between Tebow and Lin. Both have had enormous success for […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 2/5/2012
There was a day and age when the NHL had 9 rounds in their annual draft, rather than just the 7 that we have now. But this came to an end after the 2004 draft, and the league has never looked back. It makes sense in many regards, as the players drafted so late rarely […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 2/2/2012
It is February, which means one thing. Trade month. The trade deadline is less than a month away, and the most exciting part of the season is nearing. There have been relatively few in-season moves made this year, and aside from the Cammaleri move, few have made headlines. Few teams in the league, aside from […]
0 comments by Lawrence Dushenski on 1/24/2012
Maybe Dale Tallon isn’t so crazy after all. It was quite the odd scene in the summer when the Florida Panthers General Manager scooped up every seemingly marginal free agent, gave them long-term deals, and called it a team. It garnered a fair share criticism, but in retrospect, they have actually been shrewd moves. The […]
