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Olympics » Ilya Kovalchuk: “At the Olympics you should shove your ‘I’ up a certain place”

puckagency — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:31:00 +0000

Ilya Kovalchuk talked about the bad powerplay of team Russia in the 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament, the changes that the team will undergo for the next game against Czech Republic and his ice time in an interview to the Russian newspaper Sovietskiy Sport.

Continue Reading: http://www.russianhockeyfans.com/team-russia/ilya-kovalchuk-at-the-olympics-you-should-shove-your-i-up-a-certain-place-148.html

Rinne or Ellis? Tough Choices in Nashville

puckagency — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:42:00 +0000

…The Predators have goalies Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis who are both set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. GM David Poile has expressed interest in keeping them both but it’s more likely the small-market Predators will eventually be forced to make a decision
The team has been in New York this week, during a stretch of games against the Islanders, Rangers and Devils and the trip has given Poile and Rinne an opportunity to meet separately with Rinne’s agent Jay Grossman of the New York-based Puck Agency, LLC.

CONTINUE READING: http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Grinder/entry/view/55538

Kings fans happy with Kovalchuk decision

puckagency — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:27:00 +0000

TFP Columnist Dennis Bernstein, based in Los Angeles, explores the psyche of the Kings’ fan base.

[LOS ANGELES, CA] — Although March 3 is the NHL trade deadline, the deal that will stand to be the biggest of this season was consummated 27 days earlier.

A few weeks ago, the hockey earth moved in the Deep South when Ilya Kovalchuk was extracted from a 7-and-a-half year sentence of hard labor in the Peach State.

While it’s hard to imagine that the gritty destination of Newark, N.J. would be a safe harbor for anyone, much less one of the world’s best (but not THE best) hockey players, Kovalchuk expressed happiness to join the perennial contender.

Continue Reading: http://thefourthperiod.com/columnists/bernstein100218.html

Mikael Samuelsson Among 22 Triple Gold Club Members To Be Honored

puckagency — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:26:00 +0000

Vancouver Cancuck Mikael Samuelsson among the 22 Triple Gold Club Members to be honored Monday February 22. For official info, please see below.

The IIHF invites members of the media to the Triple Gold Club Induction Ceremony on Monday, February 22, at the Molson Canadian Hockey House.

Sixteen years after Tomas Jonsson, Mats Naslund and Hakan Loob became the first players to earn the exclusive membership, the Triple Gold Club has grown to include 22 players from four nations (Sweden, Russia, Canada and the Czech Republic). They will be ceremonially inducted on February 22 in Vancouver during the XXI Olympic Winter Games.

The Triple Gold Club admits players who have won the Olympic ice hockey gold, the IIHF World Championship gold and the Stanley Cup.

WHAT:

Triple Gold Club Induction Ceremony

WHEN:

Monday, February 22
20.00 sharp (PT). Doors open 19.30

WHERE:

Molson Canadian Hockey House (8 minute walk from CHP)
Concord Place Community Celebration Zone
Vancouver, B.C.

WHO:

IOC Honorary President Juan Antonio Samaranch
IIHF President René Fasel
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman

TGC Members: (in order of completing the TGC honors):
Tomas Jonsson (SWE), Mats Naslund (SWE), Hakan Loob (SWE), Valeri Kamensky (RUS), Alexei Gusarov (RUS), Peter Forsberg (SWE), Vyacheslav Fetisov (RUS), Igor Larionov (RUS), Alexander Mogilny (RUS), Vladimir Malakhov (RUS), Rob Blake (CAN), Joe Sakic (CAN), Brendan Shanahan (CAN), Scott Niedermayer (CAN), Jaromir Jagr (CZE), Jiri Slegr (CZE), Nicklas Lidstrom (SWE), Fredrik Modin (SWE), Chris Pronger (CAN), Niklas Kronwall (SWE), Henrik Zetterberg (SWE), Mikael Samuelsson (SWE).

The Great Ambassador: Ilya Kovalchuk

puckagency — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:23:00 +0000

Great piece by Michelle Kenneth at Inside Hockey on Ilya Kovalchuk and his Olympic play. To read Michelle’s piece in its entirety, please visit this link.

The newest member to the New Jersey Devils, Ilya Kovalchuk, is participating in his third Olympics. He was only 18 years old when he was first selected to represent Russia.

“Probably the first one,” he said of his favorite Olympic memory. “I was 18 years old and we got so many great players and we won the bronze medal. It was kind of exciting.

“It’s always nice when you win. But now, I’m a little older, I have a little more experience. We won two World Cup Championships with the national team. We’ve got a great atmosphere in the locker room. It will be very interesting. We’ve got a great chance to play really well.”

After all, he’s representing the country that almost every country in the world considers their biggest rivalry.

Sergei Shirokov’s Impressive Season Continues

puckagency — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:14:00 +0000

Sergei Shirokov continued to shine with the AHL Manitoba Moose as the Russian winger scored on Wednesday night against the Toronto Marlies. The 2010 AHL All Star has looked impressive all year and has 17 goals and 35 points for the season.

The NHL’s Best Wingers: Ilya Kovalchuk

puckagency — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:05:00 +0000

Nice analysis by Christian at NA Sports on Ilya Kovalchuk and the top wingers in the game today.

Once one of the leagues more one dimensional players, New Jersey Devil Ilya Kovalchuk is in the top two of the league’s best wingers. Dominant offensively, lightning quick and crucial to any side he plays in Kovalchuk consistently scores at an elite level. On course for 44 goals, ‘Kovy’ has not scored less than 40 goals in a full NHL season since before the lockout when he ‘only’ scored 38. Prior to his trade this year had seen Kovalchuk become a leader in Atlanta which may have coincided with the clubs improvement on the ice. With 325 goals already in his career (at just 26) the only significant thing missing for Kovalchuk is playoff success. Now on a strong Jersey team following that trade, Kovy may get the post season success his regular season play warrants. One final comment; with Parise AND Kovalchuk bearing down on goalies together, how scary do the Devils now look?

To see Christians article in its entirety, please visit this link.

Strong Play By Morozov Reignites Talk About Move Back to NHL

puckagency — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:48:00 +0000

Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses the possibility of KHL star and Russian National Team Captain Alexei Morozov returning the NHL.

To read Dave’s February 17, 2010 column, please visit this link.

Kovalchuk, Radulov and Morozov Score in 8-2 Russian Route of Latvia

puckagency — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:37:00 +0000

The Russian hockey team showed the world why they were are favorites to win gold in Vancouver, as they pummeled Latvia 8-2 on Tuesday.

Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexander Radulov, and Alexei Morozov were among the seven Russian players that scored against Latvia.

To read more on the Russian’s win, please visit this link.

Binghamton Senators’ Daugavins savors Olympic opportunity

puckagency — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:27:00 +0000

Latvia is not particularly known for its international sports prowess, but don’t tell that to AHL Binghamton Senator and Latvia native Kaspars Daugavins. Daugavins admits that Latvia has traditionally not stacked well against global hockey powerhouses such as Canada and Russia, but none the less, he believes his home country has the best fans ever.

To read Michael Sharp’s excellent February 15, 2010 piece on Kaspars Duagavins and Latvia’s Olympic hopes, please visit this link.