All World Hockey by T. Michael Travers

The Player's Tribute below, written by former Tampa Bay Lightning team captain, Steven Stamkos is outstanding. He relives the anxiety he felt as an 18-year-old in 2008 starting an NHL career with lots expected of him. Steven @ 18 He shouldn't have worried. As of this date in 2024, he's played 1082 games over 16 years for his Tampa team and scored 1137 points . And, it appears he has lots still in the tank as he moves on to play for a new team in Nashville that will undoubtedly make use of his leadership and scoring touch.   I loved everything about his article, except for one thing. In his rookie year, Lightning owners reached back into coaching history and hired former NHL player/ coach, Barry Melrose to run the "Bolts" and create an atmosphere for their new superstar to do his best. It looked like a good fit. Melrose was an expert at handling premier players and creating a good workplace. In 1992-93, he'd shown the way for his Kings to the Stanley Cup Final....

  He was an NHL player for 20 seasons with 6 different teams. His playing style was simple. He was a bull who enjoyed creating chaos and could score the odd goal.  The Leaf players christened him "Sweet Daddy Shackie" after a famous wrestler at the time, "Sweet Daddy Sikki" "Sweetness" However, the fans had another name. "Eddie the Entertainer". It fit. His most frequent opponent was Montreal's Henri Richard. The "Pocket Rocket" was lightning on skates He was a handful ... even for #4   For some reason, it didn't take much for him to engage with Henri who was "Rocket" Richard's brother. Shack hounded the 5'9" 165 lbs. centreman who only wanted to score, win the game and get inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame for his 22 years of NHL service and 11 Stanley Cup rings. The crazy part was that Henri had a "protector" ... the league's heavyweight champion, John Ferguson. Shackie should have stayed...

You've likely seen it before.  It's beautifully done -- stupendous! I thought you might like to revisit this place where it all started for you and me ... especially if you never thought you'd be watching the Stanley Cup playoffs in June ...   HTTPS://www.youtube.com/embed/wQ5leZrQk-0

The best US college hockey players -vs- the OHA Memorial Cup  champions ... why hasn't this kind of tournament ever happened? The first time a Hockey Summit  was played, hockey changed.  It was 1972  Canada -vs- Russia. Hockey learned a lot from the visiting Russians. First, they could play ... man, could they play.  What was expected to be a Canadian romp for our superstars was a lesson in humility. Every Canadian hockey fan expected the scores from each of the games in the 8-game tournament to be double digits in favour of Team Canada.   I shouldn't do this but just to remind you ... in Game One, Esposito scored 30 seconds after it started and Henderson 6 minutes later. Then the roof caved in and we lost 7 - 3. The "Golden Jet" might have helped. He was banned from the tournament because he had left the NHL for the newly formed World Hockey League. The Toronto Sun newspaper promptly created this slogan in hopes the NHL would change their minds and let him...

  Canadian, Sandy Hawley was one of the best-thoroughbred jockeys in the world. He won the Queens's Plate four times. He finished first in 6,450 races and second in 4,858 races. As a 59-year-old, Sandy had his final win for horse breeder/musician, Herb Alpert, at Hollywood Park in LA  aboard "Tribal Chief". The "Sandman" Sandy Hawley "He put other riders to sleep as he passed them" Several tests have proven that jockeys are the best, pound-for-pound, athletes in the world -- Sandy was clearly superstar status. He was also a very good hockey player. I know because he invited me to play weekly shinny games along with him and his fellow jockeys on their racing day off. Jockeys have endless energy and these guys, Sandy included, were superb skaters.  Ground Zero for horse racing in Canada is Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. However, racing ceases for the winter and jockeys have to find another track (in a warmer climate). He chose Hollywood Park in Los Ange...

A hockey buddy in Florida sent me an email asking how many games of old-timer hockey I play in a year. It got me thinking ... I've played with The Flying Fathers in the 1970s, the boys from Kirkland Lake in the 1980s and most recently with the fabulous Halos organization of Georgetown. Since I retired 19 years ago, I have managed about 220 games a year split between Ontario and Florida -- playing every weekday -- I take the weekends off. My calculator worked overtime searching for an accurate accounting while I thought about some of the characters I'd skated with. I'm sending this note to you because you're a player and likely have some very interesting characters from your own old-timer history -- I wonder how they would match up to these ... Before retirement, I played in numerous tournaments and leagues and did one very special thing that most hockey hosers only dream of ... I was on the ice once a week for 4 years with the NHL OldStars. They needed a weekly tune-up ...

  Did you watch the first round of this year's NHL playoffs? I was amazed at the foot speed of the  Jets  and  Avalanche  and the skill of the  Florida Panthers  and their cast of goal scoring characters and the  Edmonton's Oilers  who seem to have another gear that they haven't had to call on yet.  And, if you stayed up late to watch the western conference, you have to be impressed with  Dallas  and  Vegas  for the same reasons mentioned above. Incidentally, in January, I selected Dallas as my "sleeper" to win the Stanley Cup. Tonight, in game 7 vs Vegas they won to move on in the tournament. If they'd beaten Boston in game seven I don't know that my Leafs would have been able to play against any one of the next playoff opponents -- even the losing teams. My Leafs are a very, very good  American Hockey League  team. It's the only honest way I can describe them following the 2023/24 season.  On-ice play...