Showing posts with label Team Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Team Canada. Show all posts

Monday, September 3, 2012

1972 Summit Series serves as a valuable history lesson

Many of us not quite old enough to watch or listen to the events of the 1972 Summit Series between Team Canada and Team Russia rely on summaries provided in books as well as personal accounts from journalists, players and those who were there to describe what happened back then.

Online media provides a wealth of resources to share stories and memories of the historic events that took place 40 years ago.

A new book released recently by '72 Project creator Sean Mitton, highlights 72 of the best stories of Canadians who remembered where they were and what they were doing when Paul Henderson scored the winning goal for Team Canada to beat Team Russia in the eighth and final game.

The book adds a new and unique resource for hockey fans to draw from when celebrating the 40th anniversary of this history-making series of games in 2012.

Growing up in Canada, this series was, is, and always will provide a defining moment in history for Canadians to truly be proud of.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

2012 IIHF World Junior Championship: What happened?


Team Russia looking to repeat - Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images

The gold medal game to claim the 2012 IIHF U20 World Championship finishing in Calgary, Alberta on Thursday will be contested without Team Canada for the first time in 11 years.

Surprising? Absolutely.

However, without Team USA in the medal round this time around either , North American hockey at the international U20 level took a hard hit in open ice which many didn't expect.

Reason? There are great young players playing in Russia, Sweden, and Finland too.

This is not surprising when you consider the following using the 2011 NHL Draft as a basis of analysis (as taken from the NHL Official Guide and Record book ):
  • Of all players drafted in the 2011 NHL class, North American league players (OHL, QMJHL, WHL, US Colleges, US High Schools) totaled 118 of all players drafted.
  • Of all players drafted in the 2011 NHL class, international players totaled 48, and those picked from teams competing in Sweden (25), Russia (6), and Finland (10) totaled 41.

That is, players from those three countries comprised 35% of the total amount drafted from North American leagues - fewer numbers but with high quality.

Impressive and not surprising.

Enjoy the gold and bronze medal games that take place on Thursday  - Team Canada takes on Team Finland for the bronze while Team Russia has a chance to repeat as gold medal winners when they faceoff against Team Sweden.


Recent news from the Carolina Hurricanes Examiner:

Islanders sail past Hurricanes with 4-3 SO win

 
The Carolina Hurricanes suffered a 4-3 shootout loss at the hands of the New York Islanders at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. on Tuesday night.With only 90 seconds left in the third period, the Hurricanes could...