Belated All-Star Results

The KHL All-Star Game went on Saturday, and the game featured a lot of offence, no hitting, and some very bloated goals-against averages. In short, it was like any other hockey all-star game. Team Fedorov and Team Ozolinsh squared off in Riga, Latvia in front of a capacity crowd, and the show began. Honestly, the talent in the KHL is high despite there being few players that North Americans will recognize. The KHL All-Star Game is proof of this.

The Skills Competition was a tightly-contested affair as both squads showed off an immense amount of talent. The winners in each event were as follows:

• Fastest Skater - Miķelis Rēdlihs (Dinamo Riga/Ozoliņš)
  
• Shootout Skill - Vladimir Tarasenko (Sibir Novosibirsk/Fedorov)
• Goaltender Competition - Chris Holt (Dinamo Riga/Ozoliņš)
• Longest Shot - Dmitri Kalinin (SKA Saint Petersburg/Ozoliņš)
• Puck Control Team Relay - Team Ozoliņš
• Shooting Accuracy - Sergei Mozyakin (Metallurg Magnitogorsk/Fedorov)
• Hardest Shot - Alexander Riazantsev (Traktor Chelyabinsk/Fedorov)
• Captains Duel - Sergei Fedorov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
• Fastest Skater Team Relay - Team Fedorov

The All-Star Game also featured a tribute to those players lost in the Lokomotiv tragedy earlier this season. The video is entirely in Russian, but the message and memory of the Lokomotiv players and coaches is clear in this video.

An excellent tribute from the KHL and the fans in Riga.

The best move of the night? Salavat Yulaev Ufa's Alexander Radulov - the former Nashville Predator sniper - got a chance to skate in on a penalty shot, and his move, while subtle, shows hands of gold.

That slight backhand that found space under Konstantin Barulin and between his pads is a thing of beauty! Radulov might be one of the best players not playing in the NHL right now, and this penalty shot shows why he's an all-star.

The final score in the KHL All-Star Game was 15-11 in favour of Team Fedorov representing the Eastern Conference. SOGAZ Insurance Group sponsored the Most Reliable Defenseman award for each team. Dmitry Kalinin (Team Ozolins) and Ilya Nikulin (Team Fedorov) were the winners, and they receive a certificate of an insurance policy for foreign travel, providing cover worth up to €300,000.

MegaFon sponsored "The Future Depends on You" award for the two youngest all-stars on each team. 21 year-old defenseman Maxim Chudinov and 23 year-old forward Mikhail Anisin were Team Ozoliņš's youngest players while Team Fedorov was represented by 19 year-old Evgeny Kuznetsov and 20 year-old Vladimir Tarasenko. All four men received a tablet computer and a year of unlimited Internet access, plus a handy sports bag. Personally, I'm not sure what the Internet is like in Russia in terms of costs, so this could be a big-ticket item.

Baltic Miles sponsored the MVP awards for the KHL All-Star Game for each team's best player. Not surprisingly, the two most recognizable names were the MVPs! Sandis Ozolins and Sergei Fedorov took home the honours, and each received a week’s holiday for them and their families in a five-star hotel, with a rented car at their disposal and a choice of Turkey, Greece or Egypt as their destination.

The 2013 KHL All-Star Game will move to Chelyabinsk next season, so plan accordingly if you have a chance to attend! Hoepfully there will be English coverage broadcast back to North America again as I really enjoyed seeing some of the Russian players I grew up with performing in front of friends and family in their homeland.

Well done, KHL, on a solid weekend of fun for fans and players!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

As Malkin Goes

Six straight wins, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are back in the race for the Eastern Conference title. Of course, they still have some ground to make up on the Bruins and Rangers, but this team, riddled with injuries, looks scary as the offence is clicking on all cylinders. While you would expect Evgeni Malkin to be a part of that offensive outburst, the fact that Malkin is looking like the second coming of #66 shows that he can not only lead this Penguins team through adversity, but that he is arguably the best player in the NHL right now.

Today's game against the Washington Capitals was a little weird as the two teams have struggled thus far. The Capitals can't seem to get on the same page as their stars appear to be going through the motions most nights while the Penguins have dealt with injuries to a vast number of their stars - Crosby, Staal, Letang, and Neal. But with the Capitals seeing some life in Ovechkin and the Penguins getting their offensive dynamo in Malkin going, this game turned out to be a great Sunday afternoon game.

"I have great confidence now, you know?" Malkin told the Associated Press. "You win six games, I think everyone has great confidence now. I just am enjoying the game, you know? And having fun."

Malkin not only leads the league in scoring, but his six games with goals is the longest streak in the NHL thus far this season. His goal 1:31 into overtime gave Pittsburgh the 4-3 win over Washington, and his two assists pushed him to 58 points on the season.

But it's just how Malkin has taken over games lately that is showing why he is a world-class talent. His natural hat trick in the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, including his scrum with Vincent Lecavalier, showed that he can impose his will on a game and mix in a little nastiness as well. His goal on Monday against the Canadiens tied the game, and Malkin showed a little dazzle in the shootout with his winner. In short, Malkin has returned to the form that allowed him to capture the Conn Smythe Trophyin 2009.

Of course, having your star players performing at their best will turn any team's fortunes to the positive, but Malkin, it seems, is literally willing his team to win. The game against the Lightning looked lost until Malkin imposed himself on the game. Take a look at the jump that Malkin has in Tampa Bay.

Malkin just looks like he wants the puck, and, when he gets it, he seems to find the net or someone who can convert. While I'm not going to say that he has Super Mario's vision, Malkin is showing that he can be a force with his size and skill, and that bodes well for the second half of the season.

It's clear that as Malkin goes, so do the Penguins. James Neal and Chris Kunitz are benefiting from Malkin's immense skill, and it's clear that Malkin is on a different level than most of the NHL at this point in the season. While there will be peaks and valleys still to come in Malkin's career, there's no doubt that the Hart Trophy discussion at this point in this season has to involve Evgeni Malkin.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Outdoor Beauty

Hamilton's Ivor Wynne Stadium was home to a pretty good game today. Not a CFL football game, mind you, but an AHL game between the hometown Hamilton Bulldogs and the visiting Toronto Marlies. The game was, in my opinion, a great display of AHL hockey as the two teams battled in a North Division contest, and the fans in Hamilton turned out in a big way to watch the AHL's Battle of Ontario write another chapter in its history. While the end result wasn't exactly an edge-of-your-seat outcome, the action on the ice should give hope to fans of both the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The temperature at game time was a balmy -4C (25F), and both teams enjoyed the warmer winter weather while playing a solid game. It looked like this game might be dominated by the fourth-place Bulldogs when Dany Masse scored just 27 seconds into the game. But the first-place Marlies roared back, controlling the game from that point on. The 7-2 Marlies win was more of a blowout than anything, but the largest crowd to ever watch an AHL game in Canada - 20,565 fans - went home happy after a great game.

If you happened to catch the game or viewed the picture linked above, you may have noticed that the Hamilton Bulldogs looked a little different than they normally do. Hamilton wore these uniforms for the game, and they looked pretty good. I can't really find fault with anything on these jerseys, but the use of the cream colour for "vintage" jerseys is starting to wear thin. White in the sunlight looks pretty darn good, and I wish that teams would start using white again when given the option for a special jersey.

In any case, here are the highlights in six minutes of the game at Ivor Wynne today. The AHL Outdoor Classic is a great AHL event, and I really hope they'll continue to use these games to build momentum for the AHL. Having watched the Manitoba Moose for a long time, I am a true fan of the AHL and I really think that this league deserves more credit for the stars they are developing. Here are the highlights!

That Joe Colborne goal that made it 5-2? That's a big reason why the Leafs should be excited about him. That was a big-league goal scored by one of the better defencemen in the AHL this season. That setup by Matt Frattin was pretty good as well - perhaps a sign that his time spent with the Leafs has already made him a better player.

Congratulations to the people of Hamilton on hosting a fabulous event, and for setting the record that all future games will look to eclipse when it comes to attendance! I really enjoyed the game on television, and I can only hope to get to an Outdoor Classic one day in the future!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Doan-Tracker

I'll admit something about myself that you may not know. When I'm getting ready for work in the morning, I usually watch SportsCenter on TSN. However, certain highlight packages don't interest me, so I begin to channel surf. The one program that always stops me is OLN's ManTracker. I'm not sure if it's the thrill of watching a trained 25-year-veteran of the Alberta Foothills Search and Rescue Team hunt down people who believe that they can elude the ManTracker, but Terry Grant's knowledge of the outdoors and how to track people mesmerizes me. Season Six of ManTracker featured Phoenix Coyotes' star Shane Doan as the prey.

Shane Doan was partnered with his 23-year-old brother Brook, an electrician from Halkirk, Alberta, in British Columbia's southern Chilcotin Mountains as they attempted to avoid Terry "ManTracker" Grant and his partner, local hunting guide Russ Floyd, across 37 kilometers of mountain terrain. Personally, I'm pretty sure I'd get caught in about 10 minutes by ManTracker, so I was very interested in seeing how Shane and Brook did in this episode.

Thanks to YouTube, you can watch the entire episode to see if the Doans can avoid being caught! Just as a heads-up, this video is nearly 60 minutes long, so be prepared with a beverage if you want to watch from start to finish.

Pretty darn good episode, if I do say so myself! The Doans put on a pretty good show in evading ManTracker, and they'll have this achievement to talk about for a long, long time!

"It will be something I never ever forget," Shane told the camera. "For the rest of our lives, we'll have that and that's special."

"It was my Stanley Cup," Brook said to the camera.

This episode originally aired on OLN on April 17, 2011, but I had yet to see it. I'm glad that I did, though, because it really shows how good of an athlete Shane Doan is. While it may have taken him 1161 games to notch his first hat trick, the tricks used by the Doans to avoid ManTracker gave them the all-important win in BC!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

KHL All-Stars Prepare

With the KHL All-Star Game fast approaching on January 21, there have been some announcements made regarding who will be taking part in the game and what activities will go on in the days leading up to the game. The starters for the game were picked long ago, so it was just a matter of filling additional spots on the two teams - Team Ozolinsh and Team Fedorov - to complete the All-Star Game rosters. It also sounds as if the All-Star Game will feature many of the same things the NHL All-Star Game does: a skills competition and a legends game. I'm particularly intrigued by the KHL Legends Game simply because I want to see who fills out that roster, but we'll start with today's KHL All-Stars and which team they will be representing.

Team Ozolins will represent the Western Conference of the KHL, and it seems that the vast majority of this team played in the NHL at one point or another. Here is Team Ozolins in its entirety.

Goalies: Konstantin Barulin, Vitaly Koval.
Defense: Sandis Ozolins (captain), Jere Karalahti, Maxim Chudinov, Dmitry Kalinin, Janne Niskala, Kirill Koltsov, Karel Pilar.
Forwards: Mikelis Redlihs, Vadim Shipachyov, Jeff Platt, Sergei Shirokov, Mikhail Anisin, Toni Martensson, Nikolai Zherdev, Martins Karsums, Vyacheslav Kozlov.
Coaches: Milos Riha, Oleg Znarok.

That's a pretty recognizable lineup for Sandis Ozolinsh's team, but Sergei Fedorov's squad, representing the Eastern Conference, also has some pretty impressive names playing. While the number of former NHLers isn't as great, Team Fedorov does have some high-scoring players.

Goalies: Mikhail Biryukov, Michael Garnett.
Defense: Ilya Nikulin, Mikko Maenpaa, Alexander Ryazantsev, Kevin Dallman, Vitaly Proshkin, Evgeny Medvedev.
Forwards: Sergei Fedorov (captain), Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alexei Kalyuzhny, Jakub Petruzalek, Alexander Radulov, Vladimir Tarasenko, Roman Cervenka, Sergei Mozyakin, Brandon Bochenski, Alexander Frolov.
Coaches: Valery Belousov, Hannu Jortikka.

On paper, I would have to believe that Ozolinsh's team has more firepower based on name recognition alone, but I'm going with Team Fedorov on this one because of the high-scoring players selected. Of course, that's why they play the game, and you can catch the KHL All-Star Game this weekend on TSN2!

The KHL Legends Game will play Friday evening on January 20. Vyacheslav Fetisov and Helmuts Balderis will captain the two teams, and there are some very notable names taking part in this game. The oldest player is Latvian Anatolijs Jemeljanenko, born Janaury 1, 1949, who starred for Dinamo Riga in the 1970s. He's one day older than Vladimir Lutchenko, born January 2, 1949, who played for the USSR in the 1972 Summit Series while wearing #3. He starred with HC CSKA Moscow in the Russian SuperLeague. The youngest player will be Artis Abols, born January 3, 1973, who played for a number of Russian, Latvian, and Scandinavian teams during his career, including a few appears for the Latvian national team.

The rosters for the two teams are posted below, and I'll try to give a brief description of each player so you have a better idea who each of these legends are.

Team Balderis

Goalies
#30 Sergejs Naumovs - played all over the world and on Team Latvia.
#1 Guntis Karklins - Latvian who starred with Dinamo Riga.

Defence
#5 Aleksandrs Siskovics - Latvian who played all over Europe.
#28 Andrejs Maticins - Russian who starred with Dinamo Riga.
#33 Agris Balodis - Latvian who starred with Latvijas Zelts Riga.
#44 Normunds Sejejs - Latvian and current GM with Dinamo Riga.
#22 Vadims Solovjovs - Latvian who starred with HK NIK's Brih Riga.
#3 Viktors Ignatjevs - Spent 11 games with the Penguins in '98-99.
#2 Konstantins Grigorjevs - Latvian who starred with Dinamo Riga.
#8 Martins Grundmanis - Latvian who starred with Saga Kekava.

Forwards
#19 Hemluts Balderis - Two-time leading scorer in Russia.
#7 Anatolijs Jemeljanenko - Latvian who starred with Dinamo Riga.
#13 Nikolajs Sirotkins - Latvian who starred with HK NIK's Brih Riga.
#21 Aleksandrs Kercs - 57 games with the '93 Cape Breton Oilers.
#25 Sergejs Nikitins - Latvian who starred with HK NIK's Brih Riga.
#18 Sergejs Povecerovskis - Latvian who played on Lido Nafta Riga.
#24 Andrejs Ignatovics - best forward in the B-World Championships.
#26 Artis Abols - Played with Latvia in four World Championships.
#11 Olegs Znaroks - Latvian who starred with DEL's EHC Freiburg.
#10 Juris Opulskis - Latvian who starred in the German Elite League.
#29 Aigars Cipruss - First goal for the new Team Latvia in '92.
#20 Harijs Vitolins - Played 8 games with the '93-94 Winnipeg Jets.
#23 Maris Drelings - Latvian who starred with HK NIK's Brih Riga.

Team Fetisov

Goalies
#20 Maxim Mikhailovsky - Russian who starred with CSKA Moscow.
#1 Vladimir Myshkin - Losing goaltender in the "Miracle On Ice".

Defence
#2 Vyacheslav Fetisov - Legendary Russian defenceman.
#7 Alexei Kasatonov - Stanley Cup winner in '94 with the Rangers.
#3 Vladimir Lutchenko - Defenceman in the 1972 Summit Series.
#15 Evgeny Shtepa - Russian who starred with Krylja Sovetov.
#6 Dmitry Frolov - Russian who starred with Dynamo Moscow.
#10 Vladimir Tyurikov - Russian who starred with Spartak Moscow.
#23 Vladimir Malakhov - Stanley Cup winner in 2000 with the Devils.
#5 Alexei Gusarov - Stanley Cup winner in 1996 with the Avalanche.
#55 Sergey Gimaev - Russian who starred with Severstal Cherepovets.

Forwards
#8 Alexander Golikov - Russian who starred with Dynamo Moscow.
#25 Vladimir Golikov - Russian who starred with Dynamo Moscow.
#11 Alexander Medvedev - President of the KHL.
#24 Sergei Makarov - Legendary member of the KLM line.
#16 Alexander Kozhevnikov - Russian who played on Spartak Moscow.
#13 Valery Kamensky - Stanley Cup winner in '96 on the Avalanche.
#28 Lev Berdichevsky - 38 games with the Adirondack Red Wings.
#71 Igor Varitsky - Russian who starred with Chelyabinsk Traktor.
#64 Evgeny Chizhmin - Russian who starred in the German League.
#9 Viktor Shalimov - Scoring leader in 1976 with Spartak Moscow.
#17 Vitaly Prokhorov - 83 games with the St. Louis Blues.
#51 Andrei Kovalenko - 620 NHL games with six NHL teams.
#22 Vyacheslav Anisin - Scoring leader in 1974 with Krylia Sovetov.
#26 Vyacheslav Butsaev - 132 NHL games with six teams.

It seems as though this game will be Team Latvia versus Team Russia in terms of how the teams are put together. In any case, I expect all of these legendary players to have smiles as wide as the rink as they "compete" once again for bragging rights. As you can see, the Russians would most likely have the edge if the game was all about name recognition, but they're playing the game for a reason.

I'll try and update everyone as to what happens on Saturday, but I'm going to be ridiculously busy all weekend with other happenings. Updates will happen where possible, but you can catch the KHL All-Star Game on TSN2! Check your local listings!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!