This week The Nation Network is focusing on the seven Canadian franchises’ all-time roster of drafted players. While unrestricted free agency gets more focus each summer, the draft is much more important to an organization’s long-term success. The NHL Entry Draft is the scouts’ championship. It is very difficult projecting how good teenage hockey players…
Before we begin, let’s be clear: This is not a rumour. It was a suggestion mentioned by Nick Kypreos in Toronto yesterday. He mentioned the Oilers need a scoring winger and Mitch Marner might be a fit. There is no doubt the Oilers could use some offence right now. He said it would take Darnell…
I was 27 years old. I was in my second semester of the Radio & Television Arts Program at NAIT. It was a Friday evening and my good friend Jeff and I had gone to the Oilers preseason game, and then out on the town for some fun. We met up with our regular crew…
What a glorious day. Canada can knock the USA out of the tournament with a victory tonight. A win would give the Red and White a 2-0 record and guarantee them a berth in the playoff round, along with Team Europe, while the USA would play the Czech Republic in a meaningless game on Thursday….
The final rosters for the World Cup of Hockey will be announced today. Finland, Russia, Sweden and the Czech Republic filled out their 23-man rosters this morning, and the remaining four teams will be named this afternoon. When Canada’s final roster is finalized there will be a lot of debate among passionate Canadian fans. Some very…
It was another rollercoaster weekend for Oilers fans. You were on a high after Friday’s convincing victory over Chicago, but the winning ride didn’t last long after yesterday’s loss to the Florida Panthers. We are officially past the halfway point of the NHL season, with only the Rangers, Canucks, Panthers and Blue Jackets not playing 41…
Canada finally announced their 2014 roster for the Sochi Olympics, and without a doubt the biggest surprise is Claude Giroux not making the team. There are eleven returning players on the 25-man roster, but in my eyes Rick Nash continues to be the most overrated player in the NHL. Nash has had one 70-point season,…
Home ice advantage has been a mirage for the Edmonton Oilers so far this season. The Oilers are 3-8-0 at home this year. They’ve been outscored 38-23. They’ve allowed 3+ goals in 9 of the 11 home games and they’ve scored once or been shutout seven times. There is no other way to say it,…
Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock has had a very successful career. He was a decent hockey player; suiting up for the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL, the University of McGill and he spent one season playing pro hockey in England where he racked up 45 goals and 127 assists in 49 games. But…
Donald Fehr and Gary Bettman will not be directly involved in today’s meeting between six NHL owners and a select group of NHL players, but don’t jump to a conclusion assuming that both sides will suddenly find some common ground with their leaders out of the room. Bettman has long been the player’s whipping boy….
Jeremy Roenick scored 513 goals and 1216 points in 1363 games. In his first 15 seasons he was a point-a-game player scoring 1,124 points in 1,120 games, but then the lockout hit. He’d already played 15 years and it’s likely he was going to slow down, but a full season off, where he admittedly didn’t…
The Last Gladiators is a documentary about hockey, but it focuses mainly on former NHLer Chris Nilan. The film is honest, funny, realistic and heartbreaking. Nilan talks openly about his career, his drug and alcohol addiction as well as his upbringing with an abusive father. Check your local listings to see where it is playing…
