Life in the EURO League is so good, nobody wants to leave it. Only five players who played at least a game in Season 8 retired, according to Season 9 rosters that came out today. The most notable is German defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, 38. Seidenberg began his career as a 6th-round draft pick of the…
Some coaches got a little better over the last season, while others didn’t seem to pay attention or try to improve. Coach of the Year Dave Tippett of Minsk and Willie Desjardins of Lisbon obviously spent their free time on road trips with the iPads, studying video and taking online self-improvement courses. On the other…
Everyone knew the Minsk Hussars were good enough to win their second EURO Cup in three seasons, but they faced adversity a couple of times this season and some were starting to doubt them. Unfortunately for the Hussars’ opponents in the Finals – the Bratislava Eagles – the doubters did not include people named Tippett,…
Just to keep telling the history of this league, here is a list of players who retired before the start of Season 8. Several more will retire in a week or so, once we move into Season 9. The list is sorted by Games Played. A limited number of columns fit into this space. You…
Two days doesn’t seem enough time to recover from the grueling 7-game series Minsk and Bratislava endured, but the Hussars and Eagles will do battle soon in Game 1 of the Season 8 EURO Cup Finals. Minsk got past Belfast and Bratislava edged Lisbon on a Milan Gulas goal in overtime of Game 7. Minsk…
Four teams remain to battle for the Season 8 EURO Cup and three of them were in this very place a season ago. The Southern Conference final features Lisbon HC versus the Bratislava Eagles. Last year, Lisbon swept the Eagles, winning the first two games in Bratislava, both in overtime, with Jared Spurgeon and Max…
Most of the players in the World Cup of Hockey will have their nation’s name and flag somewhere on their uniforms, reminding them to show the world that their people play the best hockey on the planet. But the Team Europe guys are basically trying to shut everyone else up. They come from Slovenia,…
If you are into stats, here are a few deep ones reflecting the season that just ended. Most points per minute played (minimum 41 games) Gustav Nyquist, Minsk, 0.069 Jake Guentzel, London Kyle Turris, Paris Sam Gagne, London Nicklas Backstrom, Minsk Nick Bjugstad, Milan Nikolaj Ehlers, Helsinki Cory Conacher, Prague Thomas Powell, Minsk Jamie McGinn,…
Click on the link for a detailed look at who will be available for the nest EURO League draft, to be conducted after the completion of the playoffs. 9 draft guide Here is a partial sample to whet your appetites: Here is a link to the league’s first and only other draft guide (for Season…
Some teams are done and others have up to three games to play, but two individual EURO records and one team record will be broken once Season 8 comes to an end. Best Save Percentage: Jimmy Howard, the goalie in Athens, will better the save percentage record he set three seasons earlier when he was…
