Note: This is Part 2 of a 2-part series following the Northern Michigan University hockey team to the Great Lakes Invitational. By Ryan Stieg, AllPuck.com After three days' worth of practices, game day for Northern Michigan University arrived on a Tuesday. The...
JP Hoornstra
Detroit Rock City: On the road with a Division 1 hockey team.
Note: This is Part 1 of a 2-part series following the Northern Michigan University hockey team to the Great Lakes Invitational. By Ryan Stieg, AllPuck.com The bus I’m sitting on is warm, but it’s getting colder outside. I can see the players’ breath as they load their...
We Know Why Hockey Players Fight… Why Should They?
This article originally appeared on AllPuck.com. Another pro-fighting gauntlet was laid today by an active NHL enforcer. I figured his argument was worth examining. Maybe he would cover some new ground in this era of Rule 48 videos and a heightened cultural...
On Slava Voynov and Domestic Violence: Adding Nuance to a Hot Topic
The headline of an article published on Boston.com today asks, "Why Are We So Mum On The NHL's Response To Domestic Violence?" The question grabbed me a bit more than usual. Just last night I took 15 minutes out of my evening to discuss the NHL’s response to domestic...
Hockey is Alive and Well in Sochi at the Paralympics
By J.P. Hoornstra, AllPuck.com There is such a thing as the Paralympic Torch. Like most things concerning the Paralympics, you probably didn’t know that. That’s OK. The flame symbolizes something bigger, and that’s something you should know about. Fame and corporate...
Quirky Hockey Playoff Beards are Back
May 1, 2013 By J.P. Hoornstra, AllPuck.com Where I live, beards are fashionable. A record store, restaurant, grocery store, and boutique knickknack shop that sells bearded garden gnomes, were among the local businesses that recently donated a trove of prizes for a...
NHL in Seattle? Think again …
January 22, 2013 By J.P. Hoornstra, AllPuck.com So Seattle is building a brand new arena and the SuperSonics are on the way back to the NBA. Now the question remains: Will the Sonics end up sharing this new facility with an NHL franchise? Unless you live in Seattle or...
Can the Kings Repeat?
January 18, 2013 By J.P. Hoornstra, AllPuck.com Hockey fans have been talking a lot about last June here in Los Angeles. I’ve also heard whispers about the lockout-shortened 1995 NHL season. You can guess why last June is special to hockey fans in Los Angeles. Here’s...
What’s Next for Brian Burke?
By J.P. Hoornstra, AllPuck.com Brian Burke was named Senior Advisor to Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment President and C.O.O. Tom Anselmi and the MLSE Board of Directors on Wednesday. Put differently, he was fired. It appears that Burke, the Maple Leafs’ general...
Lockout Lesson Learned: Too Many Teams
By J.P. Hoornstra, AllPuck.com. A high-profile sports agent1 once told me that the job of every commissioner is to keep the owners of his eight poorest teams happy. It makes sense. Think of an NHL owners’ meeting like an annual family get-together. Your annual family...
Book review: ‘J.R.’
January 2, 2013 By J.P. Hoornstra, AllPuck.com I’m worried for Jeremy Roenick. This was not the reaction Roenick intended for readers of J.R., his new book, co-authored with Kevin Allen of USA Today. He said as much on page 4: “Mostly, I hope it makes you wonder,...
Book Review: ‘The Instigator’
December 6, 2012 By J.P. Hoornstra, AllPuck.com There is a familiar saying about “instigators” in hockey — you love ‘em when they’re on your side, you hate ‘em when they’re not. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, Matt Cooke, Raffi Torres and Chris Simon have so much in...
The Case for Herb Carnegie
September 20, 2012 By J.P. Hoornstra, AllPuck.com When one of the best hockey players never to appear in the NHL, Herb Carnegie, died on the morning of March 9, 2012, I had two thoughts: 1. He never lived to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. 2. Call Brian...
In Case of a Lockout, Don’t Forget About “Everyone Else”
August 22, 2012 By J.P. Hoornstra, AllPuck.com For NHL fans, there is an elephant in the room. You can ignore it. You can poke at it. You can ignore it some more. But you can’t make it go away, and powerlessness is perhaps the most depressing feeling a fan can suffer....