Pro Hockey Resume

By Thandiwe Vela, Edmonton Journal

Red-and-white fireworks lit up the sky above Commonwealth Stadium as thousands gathered to celebrate Canada’s national sport and military heroes Monday evening.

Four months after winning Olympic gold on home soil, Canada’s men’s and women’s hockey teams received their rings as they paraded before throngs of fans of all ages, waving Canadian flags and sporting Team Canada jerseys.

The nationally televised event — For the Love of Country and For the Love of Hockey — was also a celebration of the men and women of the Canadian Forces.

“Our men’s and women’s teams were heroes on the 25th and 28th of February, but our military are heroes every day,” president of Hockey Canada Bob Nicholson said.

“The theme was heroes of Canada, and we have heroes on the ice and heroes who protect us overseas,” added event chairman Doug Goss, who estimated about 10,000 people attended the event.

In a reversal of roles, Team Canada captains Scott Niedermayer and Hayley Wickenheiser rolled into the stadium in light armoured military vehicles while Edmonton-based Master Cpl. Colin Johnston looked on, wearing a Team Canada jersey.

“Hockey is Canada’s game, so these people are heroes because they bring up the morale of the whole country,” Johnston said.

“All the individuals being recognized deserve our deepest thanks for contributing so much to the betterment of Canada’s quality of life — both by strengthening our spirit and by standing up for what we value as Canadians,” said Lindsay Blackett, Minister of Culture and Community Spirit. “In February 2010, we stood together as a nation and cheered our athletes on to victory. Today is yet another fantastic opportunity to build our nationalistic pride and continue to celebrate.”

Hundreds of Canadian flags, big and small waved across the stadium, but the biggest of all was David Ash’s — the very six-by-12-foot flag taken by Team Canada’s Corey Perry to wave around the rink after Team Canada’s men’s hockey win.

“You never get tired of that,” Ash said, watching a replay of Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal on the big screen. Families gathered around Ash posing for pictures with the giant flag and “He shoots he scores,” “She shoots she scores” signs.

Jennifer Wolf, 31 walked away from the event with a Team Canada photograph autographed by 13 members of the men’s and women’s teams.

“It’s incredible — I never thought I would get so many signatures,” Wolf said. “They make us all proud.”

Arjun, 5, wore a Canadian flag as a cape, beaming after catching a glimpse of Crosby on the field. He was just excited as he waited in line, with his uncle Rohit Sharma, to crawl into a military tank and pose for pictures with soldiers.

“What they do is worth more than hockey rings,” Sharma said. “They give us the freedom to win gold.”

(CP)LAS VEGAS — It’s a good thing Henrik Sedin doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight.

The Vancouver Canucks forward capped a breakthrough season by winning the Hart Trophy at the NHL’s awards show Wednesday night, but had to watch as Alex Ovechkin accepted the Ted Lindsay Award.

They’ll go down as co-MVPs — the Hart is voted on by the media, while the Lindsay is selected by the players.

“I don’t mind at all,” said Sedin. “When they called my name for the Hart, it was surreal.”

The humble Swede has spoken repeatedly about how he never fashioned himself as one of the elite players, but there he was accepting the final award of the evening after a season where he led the league in scoring with 112 points. He edged Ovechkin and Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby for the Hart.

It was the second straight year the league staged its award show in Las Vegas and this one came off much better than the first. Host Jay Mohr had the audience in stitches during his opening monologue — taking shots at the Phoenix Coyotes and Boston Bruins, among others — and Anaheim Ducks teammates Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan were shown in a hilarious taped skit making light of the fact they faced one another in the Olympic final.

Meanwhile, a couple of Buffalo Sabres teammates went home happy.

Ryan Miller won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender while defenceman Tyler Myers took the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. They were also both humbled.

The party continued for Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith, who added even more hardware to his collection — winning the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue-liner. His season also included an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup.

Among the other award winners: Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes won the Jack Adams Award as top coach; Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings won his third consecutive Selke Trophy as top defensive forward; and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis won the Lady Byng Trophy as the league’s most gentlemanly player.

Canwest News Service

A day after the St. Louis Blues acquired their new No. 1 goaltender, they hired a new goaltending mentor.

The National Hockey League club announced Friday former National Hockey League stopper and Canadian Olympian Corey Hirsch has been hired as the team’s goalie coach.

A Memorial Cup winner with the Kamloops Blazers in 1992, Hirsch played for 14 professional seasons with the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals and Dallas Stars, along with several seasons in the American Hockey League and International Hockey League.

He’ll work with all the Blues’ goaltenders — including Jaroslav Halak, who was acquired Thursday from Montreal — along with players with the Blues’ AHL affiliate in Peoria, Ill., and the team’s top prospects.

“Corey has tremendous knowledge and experience of the goaltending position,” said Blues president John Davidson.

“He has a lot to bring to the organization and all of our goaltenders will benefit having Corey on board.”

Hirsch has been with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization for the past two seasons, including this past year in scouting and player development.

He was the Leafs’ goaltending consultant in 2008-09.

Hockey association turns back attempt to join Russian league

By: The Prague Post

HC Lev Hradec Králové’s revolutionary challenge to become a part of the expanding Russian Continental Hockey League (KHL) ended in vain after the Czech Ice Hockey Association (ČSLH) failed to authorize the proposed move.

A unanimous 11-0 decision of the ČSLH executive board in early June dashed Hradec Králové’s hopes to become the first Czech team to join the KHL. The league was founded in 2008 as a Russian response to North America’s National Hockey League (NHL). Today, 20 KHL participants are based in Russia with the remaining four located in Belarus, Latvia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

“We decided to rule against Hradec Králové’s involvement in the KHL because it could harm other Czech teams, and also our association does not have any agreements with the KHL,” said ČSLH General Secretary Martin Urban.

HC Lev Hradec Králové’s KHL challenge is creating turmoil. Last year, then Extraliga champion HC Karlovy Vary admitted it was eyeing the KHL and said it was negotiating with the Russian league’s management. Hradec Králové came much closer to joining the Russian league this year. The club had been developing its bid throughout the year and underwent several audits by KHL officials. After examining the Czech club’s infrastructure, KHL management issued in May a preliminary agreement allowing Hradec Králové to join the KHL next season.

Despite competing in the Czech Republic’s second division, Hradec Králové secured sponsorship of some 350 million Kč to finance the jump to the Russian league. In contrast, the richest Extraliga clubs’ seasonal budgets reach only some 150 million Kč in sponsorship.

In order to boost the chance of being approved by the ČSLH, Hradec Králové even offered to play some home games in Prague and Brno.

Two of the country’s most celebrated hockey players are currently competing in the KHL. Forward Jaromír Jágr plays for Avangard Omsk, and veteran goalie Dominik Hašek agreed in early June to join Spartak Moscow. Hradec Králové spokesman Zdeněk Šesták said games against Avangard and Spartak were slated to take place in major Czech towns. “It would be an attractive opportunity for many Czech hockey fans to see some world-class hockey,” Šesták said.

But representatives of Czech hockey clubs fear Hradec Králové could threaten their position.

“Hradec Králové’s participation in the KHL would cause an exodus of players,” said HC Sparta Praha General Manager Petr Bříza. “And if Hradec went on and lured Extraliga players to boost its team, it would initiate salary inflation in the Extraliga.”

Šesták said none of Hradec sponsors was among Extraliga clubs’ sponsors.

HC Chomutov General Manager Milan Vacke said fans’ focus on Hradec Králové’s KHL games could overshadow the Extraliga. As a result, Vacke said, commercial sponsors could lose interest in supporting the top-flight Czech hockey league.

KHL boss Alexander Medvedev said the ČSLH decision harmed Czech hockey and it prevents new would-be sponsors from investing their money. Medvedev said Hradec Králové fulfilled KHL’s criteria but the Russian management is not willing to admit any foreign team whose participation is not supported by their national hockey association.

Urban said the Czech association was ready to consider participation of a Czech team in the KHL in the future.

“We aren’t saying ‘no’ forever,” Urban said.

By: Sports Extra

The Central Hockey League on Thursday announced that four teams from the International Hockey League will join the CHL for the 2010-11 season beginning on Oct. 15.

The Fort Wayne (Ind.) Komets, the Bloomington (Ill.) PrairieThunder, the Dayton (Ohio) Gems and the Quad City (Iowa) Mallards will compete with the 13 returning CHL teams.

Announcements regarding playoff format, conference alignment, additional cities for the 2010-11 season and other team-related issues will be made at a later date. The 2010-11 CHL regular season schedule is scheduled to be released in July.

CHICAGO (AP) -It wasn’t until decades later, after his son Brett won it all, that Bobby Hull finally got to drink out of a Stanley Cup.

At a golf event, not after a clincher. And his shoulders were so bad he couldn’t lift it.

So as the Chicago Blackhawks closed in on their first championship in 49 years, Hull had some advice: “Take advantage of it now,” he said. “You’re so very close. You’re right on the edge of it here.”

The Blackhawks were one win away heading into Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals at Philadelphia on Wednesday, and Hull couldn’t help but think back to when he and Stan Mikita led the way in 1961.

The Golden Jet was a “22-year-old snotty nosed kid” who thought this was going to be one of many when Chicago beat Detroit, and he didn’t embrace the moment the way he should have.

“I should have really enjoyed and wallowed in it and drank champagne from it, even though there were babies that sat in it and peed and pooped in it,” Hull said. “I should have been more a part of it.”

At least he feels a part of this one.

It wasn’t too long ago that the Blackhawks were seen as an out-of-touch organization that had alienated a once-loyal fan base under late owner Bill Wirtz. But now?

“It’s like old home week,” Mikita said.

It seems hard to believe that just a few years ago, losses were piling up. Most home games were not on TV. Crowds were dwindling. Legends such as Hull, Mikita and Tony Esposito were estranged from the organization, but everything started to change three years ago.

Bill Wirtz died and his son Rocky replaced him as chairman in October 2007, and it quickly became clear that the son’s Blackhawks were nothing like the father’s.

He started televising home games, moved longtime executive Bob Pulford out of hockey operations, and hired Cubs president John McDonough to fill a similar role with the Blackhawks, bringing his marketing touch and an encouraging nudge to reconnect with the past.

The Blackhawks rehired popular broadcaster Pat Foley and brought back Hull, Mikita and Esposito as club ambassadors. They did the same for Denis Savard only weeks after he was replaced as coach by Joel Quenneville four games into last season, easing a messy situation.

“It was just a different atmosphere right from Day 1,” said Esposito, the Hall of Fame goalie who helped the Blackhawks reach the Stanley Cup finals twice in the early 1970s. “He just decided to clean out the old regime, a lot of personnel, and start fresh.”

And the wins started piling up, too.

Young stars like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane re-energized the franchise, and key additions like Marian Hossa last summer helped push them into the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1992.

“I’m just happy that the team has come back so far,” Esposito said. “They went through many years there where … you’d just shake your head. You just shook your head the way the franchise was being handled.”

Hull, Chicago’s career leader with 604 goals in 15 seasons, left the Blackhawks for the World Hockey Association’s Winnipeg Jets in 1972 after an acrimonious contract negotiation with Bill Wirtz, and the ill will continued to build over the years.

Chicago claimed him when the NHL absorbed four WHA teams, including Winnipeg, in 1979, but Pulford left him unprotected and the Jets reclaimed him.

Although the Blackhawks retired his No. 9 in 1983, the bad feelings continued. Bobby Hull resented that the Hawks failed to acquire son Brett Hull on several occasions, including when he was a free agent, and there was another issue that had to be cleared up – his reputation.

He took a big hit when he allegedly told a reporter that Hitler “had some good ideas, but went too far,” and it took years to live down that comment.

Now, he’s back in the fold, something he never would have envisioned five years ago.

“I’m sure that I burned all the bridges that there were to be burned when I left in ‘72,” he said. “All I could do from then on was be on the outside looking in.”

He said he reached out to Bill Wirtz and son Peter over the years and had several meetings with them, but nothing ever came of that.

“I tried to show them how to fill the building, but they wouldn’t listen to me,” he said. “They thought that I was going to get something out of it that I didn’t deserve. And it was just exactly what Rocky did. I said, ‘Guys, all you need to do is hold a press conference, tell the people that I’m back in the fold and that we’re catering to them. We’re going to try to put together a better team for them to watch and they’d come out of the woodwork.”’

He said Rocky Wirtz “has more on the ball in one minute” than his father had “in his lifetime,” and Hull rates the last three years among the best of his life.

He looks at the current group and sees the potential for a dynasty, something he thought he would be part of all those years ago.

He never did drink out of the cup when the Blackhawks beat Detroit for the championship in 1961. He did, however, drink beer out of team vice president Michael Wirtz’s “dirty old felt hat” and “got sicker than a pig.”

The only time Hull drank out of the cup was years later when he and Brett, who won two championships with Dallas and Detroit, were at Chris Chelios’ golf outing. They poured in a few beers and hoisted it for Bobby to take a few swigs.

Now?

“I’m looking forward to drinking some real champagne if I get a chance this time,” Bobby Hull said. “I will imbibe in that.”

(AP)PHOENIX — Ice Edge Holdings has exclusive rights, with some conditions, to negotiate a lease agreement for the Phoenix Coyotes with the city of Glendale under a memorandum of understanding to be presented to the city council next week.

The memorandum agreed to by Ice Edge and city officials is a significant step toward purchase of the Coyotes from the NHL. It was presented to the council in a close-door session on Friday, then the item was posted on the agenda for the council’s regularly scheduled meeting next Tuesday.

Ice Edge, a group of mostly Canadian investors, would have exclusive negotiating rights for 60 days unless another potential buyer gives $25 million to the city to cover its obligations to the NHL. Ice Edge also has to present a term sheet to the city from a lender proving it has the financial backing to buy the team.

The only other potential buyer has been a group headed by Chicago sports mogul Jerry Reinsdorf and there was no indication it was willing to make that commitment.

The NHL bought the team out of bankruptcy last September with the intention of selling it to someone who would keep it in Glendale, where the team has lost tens of millions of dollars in recent seasons.

Purchase of the team is contingent on a new lease agreement with Glendale for the Coyotes to play at Jobing.com Arena.

“This has been a long process for everyone involved with many peaks and valleys,” said Ice Edge chief executive officer Anthony LeBlanc. “We are happy to be in a position to hopefully move forward with our plans for the Coyotes. However, there still is a lot of work to be done starting with the approval of our MOU by Glendale city council.”

Earlier, the council approved a memorandum for the Reinsdorf group but rejected the Ice Edge proposal.

Later, city officials approached Ice Edge asking if it would return to the bargaining table. At one point, Ice Edge walked away from those talks, but later returned.

The NHL will decide who will buy the team but if Ice Edge can work out a new lease within 60 days, it would be the only potential purchaser with the necessary lease agreement. The league has said it would look to move the troubled franchise if no buyer could be found to keep the team in Arizona.

The Coyotes never have turned a profit since the franchise moved from Winnipeg in 1996. The team had played before sparse crowds until this season, when the Coyotes set franchise records for wins. The team played before sellout crowds at season’s end before falling to Detroit in seven games in the first round of the playoffs.

The agreement notes that it is important to complete the sale as soon as possible.

“It is the intention of both parties,” the memorandum reads, “to proceed with negotiations of the necessary agreements without delay with the desire to have agreements completed for approval within 60 days.”

By: CHL

In a joint announcement that marks a historic day for minor professional hockey, two of pro hockey’s most storied leagues, the Central Hockey League (CHL) and International Hockey League (IHL), have entered into a letter of intent to form a “AA” level super league beginning in the 2010-11 season.  We plan to play under the Central Hockey League, CHL, moniker, with the identity of the IHL being maintained through various aspects that will be announced in the near future.  Leaders of the CHL and IHL will meet during the week ahead to work out the remaining material terms.

“The arrangement between the CHL and the IHL should create an innovative and exciting “AA” level professional hockey league which is scheduled to start play in the 2010-2011 season,” said Dennis Hextall, IHL Commissioner.  “The two leagues each have longstanding histories and share the common goal of solidifying minor professional hockey for our players, our passionate fans and their communities.  I believe this arrangement will enable our teams to recruit the best young talent to join our league, with the potential of improving their game and moving up to the higher leagues.”

“This is an exciting day for our teams and markets,” said Duane Lewis, CHL Commissioner.  “Both leagues have worked hard to establish tremendous entertainment at a great value for their fans, and by combining our resources we believe we can strengthen those efforts providing greater fan interest as well as a stronger brand.”

Operating guidelines, including the teams competing in the CHL, divisional alignment, the 2010-11 regular season schedule and various hockey operations issues will be discussed at the CHL Summer Conference (league meetings) occurring June 3-5 in Gilbert, Arizona and will continue at the IHL meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 21-23.

The CHL competed with 15 teams during the 2009-10 season with the Rapid City Rush taking home the Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup title, while the IHL competed with seven teams with the Fort Wayne Komets winning their seventh Turner Cup Championship and third straight league title.

This will be the 19th season for the CHL whose teams cover nine states.  The league saw close to two million fans attend games in each of the last two seasons and has regularly been the North American professional “AA” hockey league leader in average attendance.  This season, the CHL was the top “AA” hockey league in playoff attendance.  In the league’s history, a total of 88 players have played in both the National Hockey League and the CHL.

The 2010-2011 season will mark the 60th year of professional hockey for the International Hockey League, which was comprised last season of seven Midwestern teams in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.  More than 900,000 fans attended IHL hockey games this past season, and a sell-out crowd of 10,480 fans watched the Fort Wayne Komets win the 2010 Turner Cup over the Flint Generals at the Coliseum last month.  Nine players who played on IHL teams this past season had prior NHL experience, while many more have played for their respective national teams and professionally abroad.  The IHL’s Commissioner, Dennis Hextall, spent more than ten years as a player in the National Hockey League, and serves as President of the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association.

Moscow (Reuters) – Former NHL All-Star goaltender Dominik Hasek is set to join Spartak Moscow, the Continental Hockey League (KHL) club said on Wednesday.

Spartak will hold a news conference on Monday to announce the signing of the 45-year-old, who came out of retirement last year to play for Pardubice in his native Czech Republic.

Hasek retired from the NHL in 2008 after lifting the Stanley Cup for the second time with the Detroit Red Wings.

His best years were with the Buffalo Sabres where he won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player in 1997 and 1998 and also claimed the Vezina Trophy as the best netminder six times from 1994-2001.

Hasek led the Czechs to the gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Games when leading NHL players were allowed to take part in the Olympics for the first time.

He has been persuaded to move to Spartak by the club’s Czech coach Milos Riha, the goalie told Russian media.

“I know Pardubice would have liked me to stay for another season but I wanted a new challenge,” said Hasek, who helped the small-town team to the national title this year.

“Hockey experts say KHL is the top league in Europe so I want to try it. Mr Riha has told me a lot of interesting things about Moscow and the Russian league.”

The KHL, formed in 2008 with teams from Russia, Belarus, Latvia and Kazakhstan, is trying to lure big-name players to rival the NHL.

Hasek’s fellow Czech and former NHL All-Star forward Jaromir Jagr has played for Siberian club Avangard Omsk, who are also in the KHL, since 2008.

By: Russia Today

With all the action done and dusted in the KHL this season, it was time to party. The end of season awards ceremony brought out the best and brightest, with RT’s Robert Vardanian stuck in the middle.

The 2010 KHL awards ceremony was hosted in one of Moscow’s elite night clubs.

With the season’s battles on the ice finally over, the recent rivals went face-to-face again, not for a battle, but for a celebration.

“I think the season was very good, and why not have a party to celebrate it at the end. It’s a celebration of a lot of good things that happened,” explained HC MVD goalie Michael Garnett.

Head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, whose team beat MVD in the final series, echoed the Canadian goalkeeper.

“There are such a lot of friends of mine here, whom I used to play with, and against. Everybody’s very busy during the season, but now we can finally see each other and have a good time. That’s great!”, he exclaimed.

But aside from it being a great party, the night also had the serious side, which was all about the awards.

No surprise that most of the accolades were shared by the Gagarin Cup finalists, winners Ak Bars and the season’s biggest sensation, MVD.

The Kazan side’s Petri Vehanen was crowned the best goalie, despite many expecting the award to go to Garnett, the Policemen’s netminder.
Meanwhile, Vehanen’s teammate, defenseman and Russian international Ilya Nikulin, was named the playoffs Most Valuable Player.

“Nikulin was amazing. In the finals, he was out there almost 30 minutes a night. Every time he was out there, he was creating chances and playing good defense. I think he was the best player, for sure,” Garnett said.

However, the award for the best coach did go to MVD. Oleg Znarok led the club, with one of the lowest budgets in the league, to the KHL final.

“I didn’t expect this,” Znarok said. “I think there are some coaches here who are much more experienced and deserved the award more than me. I’m still learning and gaining experience.”

Znarok should have far more resources at his disposal. He tries to go one better next season as the KHL’s Cinderella side, MVD, has recently merged with giant Dynamo Moscow. And it’s Znarok, still the coach of the Latvian national side, who will also lead the newly-established club.