To be honest, there aren’t many events in the offseason that require any form of press level fashion. Not to say they don’t exist, and when they do, it’s often much more relaxed. Case in point as the Pink Puck headed to Connecticut for The Big Assist Charity game. Finding an outfit that works for a 2.5 hour car ride, 95 degree heat, 50 degree rink and doesn’t clash with your co-host on camera can be a bit tricky — but it’s all in the planning.
Associate Editor, Jessica Higham and Editor-in-Chief, Winter Adams
Jessica’s Breakdown: Pink Pants, Old Navy, $20
Black sleeveless shirt, Express, gift
Black combat boots, Target, $34.99
Black blazer, Macy’s, gift
Hockey in July, Priceless
Obviously, as a hockey fan, you know how big of an accomplishment it is to win the Stanley Cup, no matter what team you root for. After winning the cup, the team is able to show off the cup in all of the different places that they come from. So this summer, when the Los Angeles Kings won, the cup has traveled everywhere Slovakia to Las Vegas. It is always fun to see what will be done with the cup. In the past babies have been baptized, sundaes have been eaten out of it, it has been stuck at the bottom of pools… the list goes on and on! This summer was no different when it came to adventurous things done with it. ESPN has an awesome map that shows you everywhere the Stanley Cup has traveled this summer and with whom it has been there with. Check that out here!
2014 Summer with Stanley:
June 29: The Stanley Cup started in Topsfield, MA with the director of amateur scouting, Mark Yannetti
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
July 1: St-Jerome, QC: with Denis Fugere, a Kings scout and Rexdale, Ontario with Mike Futa the Vice President of Hockey Operations and Director of Player Personelle
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
July 2: Scarborough, ON, CAN: Tyler Toffoli has the cup in his home town….his dad even gets a tattoo for the occasion!
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
July 5: Ithaca, NY: The cup is home in New York with the captain himself, Dustin Brown. A fundraiser was held for the local YMCA.
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
July 6: Hampden, CT: The unstoppable goalie for the Kings, Jonathan Quick, held a fundraiser for the family of his old coach who passed away in a car accident this past January.
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
July 9: Smogen, Sweden: It’s Niklas Andersson’s day…and it’s the Cup’s first day of being in Europe
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
July 11: Trenchin, Slovakia: Marian Gaborik has his day with the cup and he takes it all around the city during a parade, ending it with a party in a castle!
Credit: The Score
July 13: Slovenia: Anze Kopitar and his dog eat breakfast out of their own cups, and they take it around on a helicopter tour.
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
July 14: Chelyabinsk, Russia: Slava Voynov has his day with the Cup all the way over in Russia!
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
July 18: Ventnor Heights, NJ: The Cup is back in the ‘States with Justin Williams and he shows it off proudly to his city!
July 20: Kitchener, ON, Canada: Tanner Pearson brings the Cup to Canada where he lead a group of his friends in a game of ball hockey…Winning team won the cup.
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
July 25: London, ON, Canada: Drew Doughty gets his day, and he takes the Stanley Cup golfing AND to the beach
Credit: Drew Doughty twitter
July 26: London, ON, Canada: Jeff Carter gets a King sized cupcake and adds some gold to the Cup (his Gold medal from the Olympics)
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
July 27: Woodstock, ON, Canada: Jake Muzzin gets a cake shaped like the cup, he drinks champagne for breakfast, has a parade, gets the key to the city and goes golfing all in one day!
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
August 1: Kenora, ON, Canada: Mike Richards starts off his day with the cup by eating a big bowl of cereal and then tops it off with a nice boat ride!
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
August 3: Saskatoon, SK, Canada: Jarret Stoll goes golfing and does a fundraiser for the Royal University Hospital
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
August 6: Meadow Lake, SK, Canada: Dwight King spends his day with the cup with his family and friends
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
August 8: Garden River: SK, Canada: Jordan Nolan takes the cup golfing and even to a Pow Wow in Garden River
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
August 11: Grand Ledge, MI: Matt Greene takes the Cup to University of North Dakota to reminisce his college days
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
August 14: Calgary, Canada: The Stanley Cup gets to spend a day with Jeff Schultz in Calgary…and they float in the pool with style
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
August 15: Calgary, Canada: Strength and Conditioning coach Ryan Van Aster takes the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge to a whole new level with the Stanley Cup and even challenges his friend (who has ALS) to do it with him!
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
August 16: Viking, Alberta, Canada: Head coach Darryl Sutter takes the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and hangs out at his family farm with his family
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
August 17: Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada: Colin Fraser spends the day with the cup and his family in Sylvan Lake
Credit: Philip Pritchard, @keeperofthecup
You can check out more pictures on Phillip Pitchard’s twitter account here!
Looks like it the Stanley Cup got to travel the world this summer…guess we’ll see where next years cup will be headed and what team it will be with next June.
As announced today by the team, the New York Islanders will have a new majority owner within the next two years. Current majority owner, Charles Wang has been with the team since 2000. In 2004, Wang bought out his business partner, Sanjay Kumar, to become the majority owner of the franchise. Over the past few years, as the Islanders have continued to underperform, many fans have called for a change within the ownership of the team.
The eventual new majority owners of the team are former co-owner of the Washington Capitals, John Ledecky, and London-based investor, Scott Malkin. The structure of the agreement between Wang and the Ledecky/Malkin group allows Charles Wang to stay as governor and majority shareholder of the team with Scott Malkin and John Ledecky transitioning to majority ownership in two years.
This deal has received many positive comments from fans of the long-time struggling New York Islanders. Charles Wang has been very loyal to the team’s fanbase, keeping them based in New York when other owners may have given up. His loyalty, however, does come with a downside, Wang has continued to retain Garth Snow as the team’s General Manager despite many questionable decisions.
One risk for Islanders fans accompanying this new ownership is the fact that the team does have the option of a buyout after 5 years at Barclays Center. Once those 5 years are up, the new owners may not be as loyal to New York as Wang was. However, this is only speculation right now, and hopefully the new owners will speak out soon and tell the fanbase what their goals are as owners.
The National Hockey League and the Buffalo Sabres have announced that Buffalo will play host to the top 120 draft-eligible players invited to the annual NHL Combine in 2015 and 2016. First Niagara Center and HARBORCENTER, together making up a 3-rink hockey complex downtown near the Erie Canal Harbor, will be the perfect place for the prospective draftees to showcase their talents.
The NHL Combine lasts a week, and gives all 30 NHL teams an opportunity to scout future talent 3 weeks before selecting prospects at the NHL Draft. The players will be interviewed by NHL club management, scouts and athletic training staff, and will also be assessed mentally and physically through fitness and medical exams.
The 2015 NHL Combine is set to feature Jack Eichel of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, and fellow highly-touted North American prospect, Connor McDavid. They will be eligible for the 2015 NHL Draft hosted by the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., June 26-27.
“The NHL Combine is an essential event for all of our Member Clubs in advance of the Draft, which continues to grow in importance,” said Colin Campbell, senior executive vice president of NHL Hockey Operations. “The League has pushed to improve the Combine each year and the state-of-the-art facilities in Buffalo will allow us to further enhance the quality of the event for our teams, prospects and media.”
“We’ve had our eye on hosting the Combine for quite some time and we are thrilled that it will be coming to Buffalo,” said Ted Black, president of the Sabres. “Terry and Kim Pegula have made it a goal of this organization to create an environment here in Buffalo that is ideal for hosting highly visible events like the Combine and we are certainly ready to meet that challenge. All of our resources will be in place to ensure a successful event for the league and we’re proud to have the next wave of NHL players pass through Buffalo.”
First Niagara Center and HARBORCENTER combine to form a 3-rink hockey campus – the only one of its kind in the NHL – which also includes off-ice training facilities, a restaurant, and a hotel, making the Sabres’ home an excellent setting for the NHL Scouting Combine. Partnering with the NHL and the Sabres is Kaleida Health, the largest healthcare provider in Western New York, to provide all medical services and testing for the Combine.
It has been an exciting summer filled with awards, signings, trades, and ALS Ice Bucket Challenges. Now the long-awaited 2014-2015 NHL season is just around the corner. On Tuesday, the NHL announced the official schedule for the 2014 preseason, which is set to begin on Sunday, September 21.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or so they say. Beauty can be experienced in different ways, for some taking in a sunset can be life altering, for others, stepping on a fresh sheet of ice does the trick. But the best kind of beauty is when your expectations are so far surpassed that the presence of something is breathtaking — being in the presence of wolves is not only breathtaking, but simply majestic. Often misunderstood, wolves have gotten a bad wrap for centuries, a concept that needs to change and quickly.
Atka the Ambassador Wolf
People often fear the unknown and getting to experience wolves isn’t something that one would normally encounter on a daily basis. Pink Puck TV had the amazing chance at an in depth tour to learn more about the beauty of the wolf at the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York.
“The Wolf Conservation Center teaches people about wolves, their relationship to the environment and the human role in protecting their future.”
Despite being a private facility, the Wolf Conservation Center provides an array of programs for those interested in learning more about everything wolf. Through Individual or Group Tours, Evening HOWL! Programs, Wolf Camp for Kids, Sleeping with Wolves, Off-Site Programs with Atka the Ambassador wolf, volunteer programs and more, the WCC strives to educate about the plight of the wolf and ways to help these spectacular animals flourish.
Wolves are captivating, if their howling isn’t enough (and we assure you, it’s an experience unlike any other), their intelligence, dedication and pure elegance will make you fall in love.
To learn more about wolves and how you can help, be sure to visit Wolf Conservation Center , like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter! If following them isn’t enough, be sure to sneak a peek at the live wolf cams inside a few of the enclosures.
In overtime of Game 6 in the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, only one person knew the game-winning goal had been scored– the shooter, Chicago’s Patrick Kane, who threw up his gloves for a celebration 49 years in the making.
The shot, from such an incredible angle, went past Philadelphia’s former goalie, Michael Leighton.
Now, Leighton will have a chance to stop plenty of Kane’s shots — at practice. Leighton, 33, from Petrolia Ontario, originally drafted (165th overall/sixth round) by Chicago in 1999, is returning to the Windy City after a globe-spanning career.
With Corey Crawford as a starter, Antti Raanta a skilled backup, and Jason LaBarbera (the Rockford IceHogs’ starter, previously pulled up in case Raanta needed a backup) signing with the Anaheim Ducks, Leighton will most likely start in Rockford as well.
“It’s a two-way contract so my understanding is I’m going to be starting in Rockford,” Leighton told the Chicago Tribune. “In case (of) an injury or anything else, an emergency, I’ll be the call-up guy. For me, it’s just go down and play in Rockford. Obviously I’d like to get called up and play in Chicago but my mindset is to play my best hockey in Rockford for right now.”
Crawford came off a great 2013-14 season and Raanta is solid between the pipes, so filling in the spot they’d need by not re-signing veteran and injury-prone netminder Nikolai Khabibulin became a necessity for the Blackhawks. Keeping the cap hit low, but finding someone with pro experience (though not so much that he’ll fall down and fail to get back up) is a fine game plan for Chicago.
Leighton was the first goalie in Blackhawks’ franchise history to record a shutout in his debut Jan. 8, 2003. He played in 42 games during two seasons in Chicago, where he had a 2.81 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.
In portions of eight seasons with Chicago, the Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Carolina Hurricanes, Leighton earned a 2.97 goals against average and a .901 save percentage playing 105 regular season games.
He has an 8-4 record in 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games and currently holds the NHL record for most shutouts in a postseason series (three versus Montreal in the 2010 Eastern Conference Final).
According to the Chicago Blackhawks Web site, Leighton has also notched 171 victories (171-144-29) in 354 career American Hockey League tilts spanning 10 seasons with the Norfolk Admirals (2001-05), Rochester Americans (2005-06), Portland Pirates (2006-07), Philadelphia Phantoms (2006-07), Albany River Rats (2007-08) and Adirondack Phantoms (2010-2013).
Leighton returns to Chicago from the KHL’s Donbass Donstsk, where he and another netminder set a team record for the fewest regular season goals allowed, leading the team to the playoffs’ second round, according to the Chicago Tribune, with a 1.74 goals against average and a .934 save percentage.
If Leighton had any hangups over 2010, he’s let them go. Or, he will have to before he skates under that banner to the sea of red. Welcome back.
A well-dressed man is a dream for all girls, right?
Every year, Vanity Fair does a best dressed list. As I was reading the recently released list, I came across the NHL’s very own Henrik Lundqvist for not only the first year, but his second year in a row. This list is one of the most prestigious in fashion, and it is no secret that in the eyes of most fashion icons, sports and fashion do not mix. Most often, actually, athletes display the most flamboyant outfits making the snobby fashionistas groan in disgust. So for an NHL player to be on the list two years in a row, that’s kind of a big deal.
Now I know that Lundqvist isn’t the only NHL’er with style, so in honor of that, I rounded up a list of the top 10 best dressed men in the NHL. What could be better than that? Below is my list of the players who know their way around their closet.
Photo Credit: Reid Rolls Photography for John Varvatos
We’ll start it off with the ever classy Patrice Bergeron. In this case, a picture is a worth 1,000 words, and I included TWO. That should speak for itself.
P.K. knows what he is doing when it comes to dressing up. I mean, have you seen his bright orange suit from the NHL Awards?! This suit is no different. Cheers to P.K. and his chambray suit. He is fashionably knowledgeable.
Leather jacket, All Saints henley and dark wash jeans… A hat trick for Captain Serious. All men should be taught that this is the correct way to dress. That is all.
Patrick Sharp is arguably one of the most beautiful men in the NHL. These pictures, and his classic style are probably the reason why. With an appearance from the other Patrick, P.Sharp shows that he can rock a best dressed title.
A cotton blazer and well-fitting khaki’s is how more men should be dressing. One could only wonder if his girlfriend dresses him. Either way, he is the real Stanley Cup Winner.
The Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) announced yesterday the addition of Arlene Dickinson to its board of directors. Dickinson is widely known for her participation as a venture capitalist on the television show Dragons’ Den and as the CEO of Venture Communications and YouInc.com. She has been honored as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.
The CWHL has sought to stack its board with leaders from within the hockey and business community. Dickinson’s addition to the board comes on the heels of news that the CWHL may be expanding further into the U.S., and—more importantly, perhaps—putting a heavier emphasis on trying to figure out how to pay players a salary. Salaries may be part of Dickinson’s agenda as a new board member, if her recent tweet is anything to go by:
“Arlene is a legendary success in the business community, and her experience and expertise are first-rate,” said Brian Burke, CWHL board member and hockey operations president for the Calgary Flames. “She will help us reach our goal so these marvelous athletes have an equal opportunity to pursue their dreams and fulfill the league’s vision.”
At this point, it seems as if salaries are a huge part of that vision, and hopefully in the immediate future. With Dickinson’s history in building and growing business, that goal looks more and more achievable by the day. Adding an entrepreneur like Dickinson to the board suggests that the CWHL is prioritizing a growth in not only the league, but the sport as a whole—after all, it’s hard for little girls to dream of growing up to be hockey players if their best professional option is unpaid.
In Dickinson’s own words, “The remarkable success of the league in just six seasons is a testament to the powerful force of female entrepreneurs in this country. I look forward to working with the board and the league administration to build on its success.”
The Cleveland Indians have been in the media recently because one fan decided to remove the logo from his ballcap, tweeting a picture of the removed logo and hashtagging it #DeChief. Dozens of people followed suit, and suddenly one man’s action became a movement. Now, a group of people are looking to follow suit, with #black out the blackhawk appearing on tumblr, and quickly gaining momentum.
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The Chicago Blackhawks have been around for eighty-eight years. They’re named after a military battalion, the Black Hawk division, that Frederic McLaughlin (the original owner of the team) had commanded in World War I. Their logo, the ‘Indian Head’ was designed by the owner’s wife, and depicts a Native American man’s profile adorned with feathers. The battalion itself was named after a Native American from the Sauk Nation, Black Hawk, a prominent figure in Illinois history.
The Blackhawks’ name and logo are marks of respect. They’re honouring the Native American people and the military division that shares their name, how can that be a bad thing? Wearing the logo should be a symbol of pride, right? It’s not like the Cleveland Indians, whose clearly racist logo depicts a redskinned person with a feathered headdress and a dopey grin or the Washington Redskins, whose name is a huge source of controversy in the NFL (The Redskins, notably, have recently had the trademark license cancelled for the second time because of appeal from Native Americans who feel the name is disparaging and offensive). Wearing the Blackhawks’ Indian head logo should be a symbol of pride, right?
Wrong.
The Blackhawks logo, is, to put it briefly, an appropriation of Native American culture and imagery, and a homogenization of dozens of different cultures that Blackhawks players and fans parade around on their chests as a twisted form of honour. It isn’t as blatantly offensive as the Indians or the Redskins—it’s not a “funny” caricature or a racial slur. It’s just a picture of an ‘Indian head’ profile with a normal skin colour and no comically oversized or exaggerated features. However, just because it’s not explicitly racist (such as say, the literal red skin of the Cleveland logo) doesn’t mean it’s not offensive. The Blackhawks using an image like this is allowing the organisation to profit from an outdated and exaggerated portrayal of a group of marginalised people. It’s exploitative, and it’s normalising the idea that Native American people are all the same and can be encompassed in one image, and that’s precisely why it’s so dangerous.
So, what exactly is #black out the blackhawk?
Co-founder, Aaron El Sabrout, says: “Black out the Blackhawk is a social media awareness campaign where we’re trying to bring attention to the fact that the Chicago Blackhawks logo is a culturally insensitive caricature, with some really problematic appropriative elements. We started on tumblr, but we’re working on branching out and maybe getting in touch with the Change the Mascot campaign, which is trying to get Washington’s NFL team to change their name and logo.”
The campaign is primarily visual; tumblr is a highly image based medium of sharing, and Blackhawks fans want to be able to post and reblog pictures of their favourite players, but were unwilling to have the logo on their blog, so #black out the blackhawk was created as a means of erasing the logo from jerseys, helmets and even backgrounds. Many supporters of the movement also choose not to wear merchandise with the logo in public, and encourage others to do the same thing. El Sabrout also says “When you walk around Chicago there are a lot of Blackhawks logos staring you in the face all the time. Anthony Roy, who’s an outspoken opponent of the logo, said it was like “a sea of floating dead Indian heads.” That’s not really something we think should continue, so we want to try to convince people to either buy merchandise without the logo on it, or not buy merchandise at all, in the hopes of putting more pressure on the team to change it.”
The movement isn’t perfect. It’s still in it’s beginning stages, and I question the decision to use the outline of the Blackhawks logo as the logo for the movement (for one thing, surely the point is to erase the logo completely? The outline of the logo is still visibly recognisable as the logo they’re working so hard to erase, and it seems a little counterproductive), but you can’t deny it’s an important first step in starting to change the born and bred culture of team names and Native American appropriation that has been going on for over a century, and I personally am incredibly excited to watch the movement grow, and see where it goes from here.
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