Hockey

With NFL season underway I'm reminded how becoming a fan of hockey has ruined me for football. It's just sooo slow. I can't wait until NHL season gets underway!

Ken Dryden, the Hall of Fame goaltender whose long resumé in and out of hockey included six Stanley Cup victories and helping backstop Canada's generation-defining victory at the 1972 Summit Series, died Friday at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer.

A key member of the Montreal Canadiens' 1970s dynasty, Dryden's career in the spotlight was only just getting started when he retired from the game — and while at the top of his own game — in his early 30s.

A lawyer, author, politician and NHL executive, he would go on to leave an indelible mark across large swaths of wider Canadian society.

cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/219878

The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded forward Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights for centre Nicolas Roy.

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Invited to watch his first hockey practice at an ice rink in Beijing, Haoxi Wang was no different than any impressionable, wide-eyed 4-year-old being fascinated by the equipment the players wore.

They resembled superheroes with sticks, uniforms and bulging pads, their faces hidden behind helmeted cages. This was before the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, when hockey was a niche sport in China and the NHL a mere pipe dream.

“It was definitely the gear,” the 6-foot-5, 215-pound — and still growing — defenseman who goes by Simon recalled at the NHL pre-draft scouting combine in Buffalo earlier this month.

This marked the start of a journey that saw a 12-year-old Wang move to Toronto and work his way up the junior ranks to play for the OHL Oshawa Generals. At 17, he is considered a candidate to be an early to mid-round pick in the NHL draft in Los Angeles this weekend.

The Abbotsford Canucks became the first Vancouver AHL affiliate to win the Calder Cup with a 3-2 road victory over the Charlotte Checkers in Game 6 of the best-of-seven championship series on Monday.

For over 30 years, the winner of the National Hockey League's top prize has gone to an American team. It's a sorry legacy for a country where ice hockey is not just a sport, but part of the national identity. About 40% of players in the NHL, across all teams, are Canadian - more than any other country.

Last year, the Oilers flopped during the final game of the seven-game series against the Florida Panthers.

It's a sore point for many Canadians that the league's most die-hard fans have gone so long without a trophy, and yet remain willing to spend big money and travel big distances to support their team.

Literally everytime

I don't think my body will survive this series.

The Oilers are 7-0 in game 4s when Stuart Skinner starts.

Please tell me someone else is watching this.