Page d'accueil/Sports/The Hockey News/December 26, 2006
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
Lecture sur n'importe quel appareil
Passer du mode PDF au mode texte
Ajouter aux favoris et rechercher du contenu
Lecture hors ligne
Recevoir les notifications de nouveaux numéros
Annulation à tout moment
dans ce numéro
IN THIS ISSUEA prayer for strengthWHEN I HEARD THE DEVASTATING NEWS that Bob Gainey’s daughter, Laura, had been lost at sea, the first feelings to emerge were sadness, empathy, compassion and incredulity on behalf of a man who has already had to deal with overwhelming tragedy.The thoughts then turned inward, to my life and the curiosity of how I would cope if one of my worst nightmares – a horror involving a loved one – came true. For now, I can only imagine.I have, however, had the privilege of being exposed to and interviewed some inspirational people in hockey, men who have had their worlds irrevocably changed by deep and unexpected sorrow. The common thread that ran through their stories of perseverance was the understanding they retained the power to choose how to lead the…2 min
IN THIS ISSUETo the pointA PREVENTABLE KITCHEN FIREIt was predictable, but that doesn’t make it any more palatable. The St. Louis Blues gave nice guy Mike Kitchen a bucket of water, then asked him to extinguish a towering inferno. Talk about a set-up. The Blues roster features some decent young talent, but the game plan to surround the not-quite-ready-for-prime-time players with past-their-prime, not-quite-up-to-speed NHLers such as Doug Weight and Bill Guerin was ill-conceived. St. Louis, trying to bridge the gap until their youth matures – while at the same time attempting to create a buzz with the older Americans – failed to do either. Larry Pleau and John Davidson would have been better off following Washington’s lead – taking their lumps with a young core who could grow together instead of setting pipe-dream expectations.…1 min
DEPARTMENTSGot something to say?SOUNDING OFFLove the low scoringThe Hockey News recently discussed the fact scoring is down this year in the NHL when compared to last season and mentioned that the league is considering larger nets as a solution.Who cares if scoring is down this year? Why is the league and the media obsessed with producing 7-6 hockey games? Are these games more exciting than 2-1 games? Not to me. Right now, every goal is exciting. If eight or nine goals were being scored every game, they wouldn’t be as special or as important.In soccer, the most popular sport in the world, they are lucky to get two goals in a game, yet they have no problem selling 60,000 tickets for a match. The game of hockey has so much more to offer.BEN…4 min
DEPARTMENTSMoneyball meets hockeyMIKE SMITH IS NOT the Billy Beane of hockey. Beane’s Oakland Athletics baseball teams have been wildly successful and he is still employed as GM. Smith’s teams, well, not so much, and that’s why he’s on the outside looking in.But Smith, who was last seen in the NHL as the GM of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2003-04, is applying a Beane-like Moneyball system to hockey.Call it Moneypuck.“It’s clearly not geared toward the ‘traditional-slash-old school’ type of thinking,” says Smith, who has also served as GM of the Winnipeg Jets and was an executive with the Toronto Maple Leafs. “We’ve created a new way to look at data to evaluate players at different times during a game. We’ve created stats nobody has ever had before.”Smith and his San Francisco-based partner have…3 min
DEPARTMENTSFAN SHOOTOUT WITH Nicklas LidstromD5Joseph Reid from Owen Sound, Ont., asks Who is the toughest forward to defend against in the corners?Jaromir Jagr. He’s strong on his feet, has great balance and a good, long reach.Dewey Longuski from Mason, Mich., asks Has your role in the dressing room changed much since getting the captaincy?On the ice, not so much. Off the ice, it’s a little more communication with the coaches. You’re the link between the players and coaches.Mike Slessor from Barrie, Ont., asks If you hadn’t become a hockey player, what sort of career would you have gone into?Well, my education back in Sweden was telecommunications engineer, so I probably would have done that.Brad Craven from Moorefield, Ont., asks What was it like playing for coaching legend Scotty Bowman?I enjoyed it. He seemed to…1 min
DEPARTMENTSName game importantROBBIE SCHREMP IS DEAD. Long live Rob Schremp.Despite blazing through junior under the moniker ‘Robbie,’ the Edmonton Oilers prospect insists he never approved the name.“I’ve always preferred Rob,” Schremp said. “But for some reason on TV and in articles they always called me Robbie. After a while it was like, whatever.”Getting that ‘pro’ name down is more important than it appears. Programs, hockey cards and other merchandise will all feature a player’s full name and it’s important to establish who you are as soon as you get to the bigs.“It’s one of the first things I ask a guy when he comes up (to the NHL),” said Chicago Blackhawks director of communications, Jim De Maria. “You want them to feel comfortable.”Two of the Hawks’ promising youngsters are center Dave Bolland…2 min
numéros récents
VOIR TOUT
- The Hockey News - Goalie Issue 2024Goalie Issue 2024
- The Hockey News - Meet The New Guys 2024Meet The New Guys 2024
- The Hockey News - Yearbook 2024-25Yearbook 2024-25
- The Hockey News - Champions Issue 2024Champions Issue 2024
- The Hockey News - Draft Preview 2024Draft Preview 2024
- The Hockey News - Top 90 of the ’90sTop 90 of the ’90s
- The Hockey News - Playoff Special 2024Playoff Special 2024
- The Hockey News - Future Watch 2024Future Watch 2024
- The Hockey News - Rookie Issue 2024Rookie Issue 2024
