NCAA: Breaking the Ice in Kansas City

By Dane Nolan
October 15th 2012

T.J. Tynan was named MVP as he led the Fighting Irish to a 3-2 victory over Nebraska-Omaha at the 2012 Ice Breaker Tournament (Photo by Suzanna Pratt/The Observer).

As a Kansas City native and current resident, the idea of having a sheet of ice down at the Sprint Center, national television cameras warming up to cover the action, and Pierre McGuire espousing wisdom concerning “active sticks” and “big body presence” was a moment I have long looked forward to. Of course, that dream usually featured an NHL team that Kansas City could call its own, but the 2012 NCAA Ice Breaker tournament this past weekend managed to give fans a sneak peek of what a season of high-level hockey might look like on the Sprint Center ice. More

War of Words: The Battle Between the NHL and NHLPA

By Harry Ouzounian
October 3rd 2012

The NHL and NHLPA remain ‘worlds apart’ as they enter week three of the league imposed lockout.

Forget Mitt Romney versus Barack Obama and the 2012 Presidential Election. A more heated exchange of verbal joust is taking place between NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr. Both sides have entrenched themselves in a stalemate as we enter week three of the NHL lockout with no resolution in sight. More

The USHL: America’s Top Junior Hockey League

By Dane Nolan
September 18th 2012

Jacob Trouba was selected 9th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2012 NHL Draft. Trouba played two seasons in the USHL with the US National Development Team. (Photo by Beau Bennet/Getty Images)

Now that the 2012-2013 National Hockey League season is almost certainly delayed at least for the foreseeable future, hockey fans will be looking for other venues to channel their emotions and dollars during the long fall and winter months ahead. Once they move past the “cursing Gary Bettman and/or Don Fehr” anger stage of grief and into the bargaining stage, many will surely be looking for NHL alternatives in order to get their hockey fix during those cold January nights when Iowa versus Michigan college basketball just isn’t getting the job done. More

Healing a Broken Wing(s)

By Harry Ouzounian
September 11th 2012
A dejected Red Wings bench reacts to their loss against the Nashville Predators.

Will the Detroit Red Wings’ 21-year playoff streak come to an end in 2013? (Photo by M.J. Masotti Jr./Reuters)

On the day of his retirement, Steve Yzerman shared these parting words, “Players have come and players have gone. Coaches have come and gone. The one biggest reason that this organization has been able to do well, has been successful and will continue to be successful is because the Ilitches will do whatever they have to do… to make this organization successful.”

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Building a Kingdom

By Harry Ouzounian
September 3rd 2012
LA Kings Architect Dean Lombardi

Dean Lombardi, the architect who built the Kings into Stanley Cup Champions. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NHL via Getty Images)

On April 21, 2006, Dean Lombardi was named General Manager of a struggling Los Angeles Kings, a franchise that had missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. Under the management of Dave Taylor, the Kings had struggled to find consistency and had great difficulty in drafting and developing a solid foundation in net and on defense. Although the Kings won only one playoff round in eight seasons under the management of Dave Taylor, a significant amount of credit for the success of the Kings in 2012 goes to Dave Taylor and his staff for drafting three key players, players who helped lead the Kings to their first Stanley Cup victory in 45 years. On the day of his hiring, Lombardi said, “I chose the Kings for a number of reasons. First off, I’m a builder, and I see the foundation put in place by Dave Taylor.” More