NHL Stories

[hockeyfan1]

Let this three serve as the place for NHL stories... be it anything having to do with hockey stories befitting of history, players, tales, past, present, & even future, etc.

Below are links to two of them:


Up until the '80's, (and throughout it's history),  there were no players from Eastern Europe playing in the NHL.  Of  course. this was during the "Cold War" era, way before Glasnost and Perestroika ever came into being.  So, just what did the Vancouver Canucks and Canada  have to do with it?  In essence, they began the first trickle of any Eastern European player to cross the shores of the capitalist West.  The players?  Ivan Hlinka & Jiri Bubla of the then Czechoslovakia, who would eventually be followed by the likes of Soviets Igor Larionov, Vladimir Krutov, and Sergei Makharov.

A fascinating journey of cultoral exchanges, foreign surroundings, language barrier and a place in hockey (& perhaps sports history).

Trip by two Canucks lifted curtain to Russia

                                                        -------------

The next one showcases the human element and hockey players, in this case, T,J, Oshie of the St, Louis Blues, whose birth of his baby daughter was fraught with both joy and sadness, similar to what most parents go throngh with a child born with a defect.  Luckily, for a grateful Oshie & his wife, his infant daughter Lyla Grace survived all the surgeries required to reattach her internal organs (intestines & bowels) jnside her tiny body where they belonged.  Being the daughter at a hockey player, she certainly was strong!

T.J. Oshie of St. Louis Blues thankful for infant daughter's ...

 

[hockeyfan1]

In what is billed as "one of the most spectacular comebacks of all time", renowned hockey writer Stan Fischer, writes of the 1958-'59 season, in which saw the Toronto Maple Leafs make the playoffs with just a few games remaining and literally, nine points out of the fourth and final playoff spot.

Remember, this was the era of the Original Six teams in the NHL -- Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New York Rangers, Montreal, and Toronto -- and only the top four teams made the playoffs.

Now, with the final weekend of the season approaching fast, no one thought the Toronto Maple Leafs could even possibly think of making the post season.  From March the 9th to March the 15th, a strange twist of fate, or you could say, hockey history took place.  And what was even more stunning, was how the opposition, mainly the Leafs rivals the Rangers, collapsed/imploded, even though they had all but been assured of a playoff spot.

It's one of those hockey stories found in Fischler's  feature, "Strange But True".

Read all about this fascinating part of Leafs history here:
http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/strange-but-true-punch-imlach-and-one-of-the-most-spectacular-sports-comebacks-of-all-time/

 

[ZBBM]

OK, so this is not NHL-related, but if anyone is interested in high-art hockey movies (no, Slap Shot is not), here's an interesting tidbit about a new doc on the Red Army team.  It's making waves in Cannes, of all places, and Slava Fetisov is involved.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/19/movies/red-army-is-among-the-notables-at-festival.html?hpw&rref=arts

 

[hockeyfan1]

OK, so this is not NHL-related, but if anyone is interested in high-art hockey movies (no, Slap Shot is not), here's an interesting tidbit about a new doc on the Red Army team.  It's making waves in Cannes, of all places, and Slava Fetisov is involved.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/19/movies/red-army-is-among-the-notables-at-festival.html?hpw&rref=arts

Here is the movie trailer:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZxiPwGjqAE[/youtube]

http://www.tmlfans.ca/community/index.phptopic=46.new;topicseen#new

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

A heartwarming story between New York Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic and a Canadian family from PrInce Edward Island, the McGuigans, Islander fans and all, but having had to deal with a tragedy in their midst.

Kim McGuigan and her four children have had to deal with the double loss of not only Brendon McGuigan (Kim's husband and the children's father), but also of Brent McGuigan (Kim's father-in-law & the children's grandfather).  Both Brendan and Brent were killed in what was billed as a "double homicide" by the police.

The McGuigan's, longtime Islander fans thanks to Brendon, were devastated as a family.  Enter Travis Harmonic.

Hamonic, having dealt with the loss of his own father, befriended the family upon learning that they were Islander fans, though that was not the main reason for Hamonic's help.  Hamonic has offered his support to many children who have lost a beloved parent.

What better way to oheer up a mournful family of Islander fans than to invite them behind the scenes in the dressing room and spend some time with them, and generally tending to them in the best way possible.  (Thanks in part to the University of P.E. I. that raised some funds to help send the family to a game in Long Island -- and the eventual meeting with Hamonic ).  This was probably the best way to honour Brendon McGuigan, a longtime Islander fan.

Yeah, there was a link posted about a week ago, I believe the general consensus was that it outlined just how much of a fat wanker Kessel is.

So there has been a lot of talk about character.  Here is an example of it:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152769425102686&fref=nf

Sorry it is a facebook link, I couldn't find another one. 

That's not to say that Phil Kessel doesn't do things like this, because I don't know if he does or not.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Here's the video:

Travis Harmonic helps boy and family cope with loss...

[youtube]3JqoyuXvaOY[/youtube]

 

[hockeyfan1]

Looking back at some nostalgia, found this photo of Gordie Howe a.k.a. "Mr.Hockey".  Who says the players of the past were flabby.  Judging by Howe's physique, isn't it any wonder why he was a feared opponent on ice.  Not to mention a gentleman off it.

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/vintage-gordie-howe-photo-shows-off-his-amazing-physique/

 

[Al14]

Looking back at some nostalgia, found this photo of Gordie Howe a.k.a. "Mr.Hockey".  Who says the players of the past were flabby.  Judging by Howe's physique, isn't it any wonder why he was a feared opponent on ice.  Not to mention a gentleman off it.

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/vintage-gordie-howe-photo-shows-off-his-amazing-physique/

Look at those biceps!  No wonder his elbows were so feared around the League. 

 

[hockeyfan1]

From dreams to nightmare:  The story and courage of New Englander Travis Roy, who twenty years ago, had dreams of playing in the NHL someday.  But, during an NCAA Level 1 matchup, on a line with then future NHLers and fellow Americans Mike Grier & Chris Drury, Roy in his attempt at a corner check went in headfirst, broke both vertebrae and ended up a quadriplegic.  Those eleven seconds, in his own words, changed his life forever.

He continues to participate in speaking engagements and raises awareness for his foundation for research into spinal cord injuries.

Here is his (inspiring) story...
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=783934&navid=nhl:topheads

 

[Boston Leaf]

From dreams to nightmare:  The story and courage of New Englander Travis Roy, who twenty years ago, had dreams of playing in the NHL someday.  But, during an NCAA Level 1 matchup, on a line with then future NHLers and fellow Americans Mike Grier & Chris Drury, Roy in his attempt at a corner check went in headfirst, broke both vertebrae and ended up a quadriplegic.  Those eleven seconds, in his own words, changed his life forever.

He continues to participate in speaking engagements and raises awareness for his foundation for research into spinal cord injuries.

Here is his (inspiring) story...
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=783934&navid=nhl:topheads

Living i area I remember when the injury happened very well. Very sad but Travis has done a lot of good since..

 

[hockeyfan1]

It was the year 1996 -- and the Colorado Avalanche had just been crowned Stanley Cup champions that Spring -- when Avs forward Mike Ricci brought the Cup to Haliburton, Ontario.  Ricci, at the time was in need of adding some construction to his cottage in -order to hold a Cup party there.  Several local people from the area were hired to finish the work from a contractor.  Enter the Rileys...

Ken Riley was one of the locals working on Ricci's cottage.  After the construction had been  completed, Ricci invited all of the workers' families to enjoy a weekend with the Cup.  That's when Ken's wife Cheryl, who had been trying to conceive for twenty years, kissed the Cup.  In the words of her husband, "the rest is history"...as coincidentally, a few days  later, much to her amazement, Cheryl became pregnant...

Read this wonderful story here:
https://www.nhl.com/news/woman-became-pregnant-following-stanley-cup-kiss/c-279122260

 

[hockeyfan1]

The late "Badger" Bob Johnson.  For many an NHL fan, the name alone evokes memories of Johnson  behind the Calgary Flames bench, back in those early to mid 1980's NHL years, with the playoff successes of the Flames and their eventual appearance In a Stanley Cup Final in 1986.

Johnson, who earned the nickname "Badger", previously had been coach of the NCAA's Wisconsin Badgers, who under Johnson's tutelage, became three-time national finalists.  Johnson was largely responsible for revamping Wisconsin's college  hockey program, so much so  that he was credited with modernizing the entire American college hockey program.  Americans in both the NHL and college hockey past and present, have Badger Bob to thank for revitalizing and incorporating  techniques, (both on & off the ice), that today are considered the normin hockey, at both the amateur & professional level.

What exactly then was Johnson's legacy, and how does it continue to be felt today, across all levels?  The man many referred to as "Badger' was simply ahead of his time...

Read on:
https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/bob-johnsons-legacy-lives-on-in-todays-nhl/article33429597/

 

[hockeyfan1]

Vaclav Nedomansky.  The name rings a bell with hockey fans of yesteryears, as Nedomansky defected from his native Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia back in the day ? among one of the first Eastern European players to do so ? and carve out a career playing for various teams in  both the then WHA (World Hockey Association) and the NHL.

His son Vashii, who was four when his parents defected to Canada, produced a documentary chronicling his father?s life, and the courageousness of his parents to defect even though they knew they could be caught and the consequences punishable.

?Big Ned? as he was called by teammates and fans alike is a story of bravery, to follow the path to freedom from the tyranny & shackles of the Communist era.

https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/vaclav-nedomansky-followed-his-dream-to-play-in-north-america