The Dangers Of Suffering Silently

It's hard to sit here tonight and have anything but compassion and empathy for the Lemieux family. The ovation that Claude Lemieux got before Game Three when he walked down the tunnel with the torch to inspire everyone who loved the Montreal Canadiens was awesome. Therein lies the problem with mental health: it's a pain that no one else sees of feels as we try to make sense of Claude Lemieux taking his own life four days after that magical appearance in Montreal. More than ever, mental health has to be discussed.

For the longest time, he was framed as a villain for how he played the game, specifically in the playoffs where his agitation skills and hockey talents combined into a force that could take over games. The man played over 21 seasons in the NHL, amassing 379 goals and 407 assists in 1215 games. Add in his penalty minute totals of 1775, and he was one of the league's top power forwards for a number of years while playing with Montreal, New Jersey, Colorado, Phoenix, Dallas, and San Jose. Five times, he would hit the 30-goal mark.

The playoffs saw him shine, and that's where Lemieux elevated his game. He went from goal-scoring power forward to an absolute menace for star players, often shadowing them for entire series while still chipping in with his brand of offence. Four Stanley Cups are proof that he was important to teams as he was often lauded for his grittiness, his ability to get under the skin of opponents, and his solid defensive play. In each of the four Stanley Cup seasons where he won, Lemieux never scored less than ten points in the playoffs.

That's what made the news of hearing that the Palm Beach County Sherriff's Office deputies responded just after 3am to the scene of an apparent suicide at the family's furniture store in Lake Park, Florida early Thursday morning. One of his sons discovered Lemieux's body in the rear of the warehouse, and it was confirmed late on Thursday that the victim was indeed the late, great Claude Lemieux.

Lemieux is survived by his wife, Deborah, and his four children, Brendan, Claudia, Michael and, Christopher. I can't imagine the pain and sorrow they're experiencing in this time of loss. My thoughts are with them and Claude's extended family and friends at this time.

I'm not here to lay blame. I'm not here to suggest that someone should have noticed. This is what makes mental health issues so hard to diagnose and treat: it's a silent problem until the person suffering talks about it. Maybe Claude wasn't that person where he shared intimate details about himself. Maybe it was a little bit of pride and old-school hockey thinking that kept Claude from talking about his personal battle. Whatever the case, we may never know now.

With Victor Hedman talking about the struggles he faced, Linus Ullmark opening up about his mental health, and Connor Ingram seeking help for his mental health battles, the stigma that surrounds mental health struggles needs to end. It's not a stretch to suggest that lives are at stake, and it's even more important that retired players are encouraged to discuss mental health openly after their eras in the NHL downplayed any and all mental health issues.

My hope is that, after the required grieving time is taken, the Lemieux family can begin putting the pieces back together. This kind of news can shatter families, and I hope they get the counseling and support they need to work through this tragedy. As I noted on the Victor Hedman article, there are a pile of great resources for anyone seeking help and wanting to talk about their mental battles.

The Canadian Mental Health Association can be reached 24/7 by dialing or texting 9-8-8, there are many provincial resources that can help, the Kids Help Phone has info and resources for younger people seeking help, HeadsUpGuys has mental health resources specifically for men, Indigenous Peoples can get 24/7 help through Hope For Wellness, and the Women's Health Clinic offers assistance to women, Two-Spirit, genderqueer, trans and non-binary people. All of these organizations are incredible at helping those who ask for help.

My heart and thoughts go out to Claude Lemieux's family and friends. Losses on the ice are hard sometimes, but the loss of a legend like Claude Lemieux leaves an unfixable hole in the hockey world.

Whatever his struggle was, it's over. Rest in eternal peace, Claude.

Until next time, raise your sticks high to honour Claude Lemieux!

The Hockey Show - Episode 714

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, returns tonight with a look at a pile of stories that have emerged in the hockey world over the last week or so. There's news from Europe, news from the southern US, new from Russia, and news from across Canada that needs to be discussed in greater depth as our hosts tackle a number of stories. There are no Survivor: NHL Playoffs exit interviews today as we're saving them for next week, so get ready for a pile of news and discussion about everything happening in hockey on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason jump into the hockey stories by discussing the results at the IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship being played in Switzerland including who is being relegated and promoted for next year's tournaments. Beyond those scores and stories, our hosts will discuss Hockey Canada's women's program making changes, an old ECHL team is new again, a more thorough discussion on the Hamilton Hammers, Jordan Tourigny trying to join the musical group Stomp, the Ottawa Charge getting close to announcing what arena they'll play in next season, Russia's return to international hockey, the KHL's winner and an interesting fact, and there was more science revealed about a player we lost last season. It's a busy show with lots to go over, so get ready to roll tonight for The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The UMFM website's streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason chat about international results, program changes, reborn cats, disappointing logos, stepping on toes, relocating teams, a returning foe, Russia's winners, head trauma, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Cats Came Back

This might seem like a historical piece abhHL in Augusta, Georgia from 1998 until 2009 in front of rather modest crowds during that era. The Lynx's best season came in 1999-2000 when the team was eliminated in the third round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, but that history may get a chance to be overwritten by the ECHL's 32nd franchise that will begin play in 2027-28. This new team will be called the Augusta Lynx, but the logo, colours, and branding for these cats will be completely new and wholly separate from the original Augusta Lynx franchise.

Before we get into this new Lynx identity, there's some background that's needed. This new version of the Lynx is owned by former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow and David Hodges, Chairman of 925 Partners. These two collaborated together to bring the Knight Monsters to the southern side of Lake Tahoe, and they'll join forces once again to make this iteration of the Lynx work in Augusta. The team will be managed and operated by Zawyer Sports and Entertainment who has built a massive minor-pro hockey empire in a relatively short time.

As stated, the Lynx failed once in Georgia already as people stopped showing up to games. Every year from 1998-99 until 2005-06, there was a decline in average attendance at Lynx games, and the final four seasons saw them average around 2700 fans. Obviously, that's not going to be anywhere close to being profitable, but it seems that Tebow and Hodges know better than I do. With a metro population of around 611,000 people, there should be enough fans to fill the new 10,500 seat arena currently under construction in downtown Augusta.

Whether or not fans show up for Lynx hockey will be the big question.

A good way to get fans interested in the team is having a good logo, and the logo to the right might just be enough to get casual hockey fans in and around Augusta to buy into this new team! It would appear that the Lynx will play up the "Links" name even more than the previous team by going with the green and yellow colours as the "Lynx" name honours Augusta National Golf Club which hosts The Masters golf tournament every year. The new cat's face on the logo looks more like a lynx does as well, and that playful smirk on the lynx's face should appeal to both kids and adults when it comes to merchandise. This logo is an upgrade over the old one, and that's a good start for this franchise.

The secondary logos seen above are all pretty good as well. Clearly, the lynx face on the left and the wordmark next to it are just the individual pieces of the full logo above, but cat's claw around the state of Georgia is a great secondary logo that likely will be worn on the shoulder of the jerseys. It feels a little like the AHL Bakersfield Condors' talon logo, but I'm not complaining here. The "A" logo on the right seems a little more formal, so we'll see how that gets used.

"We're so excited to bring this team to Augusta and introduce something truly special for our fans," Tebow said on Tuesday. "Our hope is to create an experience that brings families together, builds lasting memories, and reflects the heart of this community."

Co-owner David Hodges seemed to be looking at the bigger picture for Augusta, stating, "Being part of this new chapter in Augusta is incredibly meaningful to us. We're committed to investing in this community and building something that goes beyond the game."

Outside of the logo, there was nothing else shown off by the Lynx today when it came to their brand. The jerseys and mascot will be unveiled at a later date, and the team will announce affiliations and a head coach in the coming months. If you're wondering, the logos above were created by The Barn Creative who, in my humble opinion, did a pretty good job in getting the new Augusta Lynx a brand around which they can build. I may have to get some snazzy merchandise!

The Lynx are back in Augusta beginning in 2027 as the ECHL adds its third Georgia-based team to the map. It's going to take some work to fill that 10,500-seat arena every night, but the branding for the Lynx is the cat's meow! It will be up to Tebow and Hodges to find the right personnel and players to make sure the Lynx are a purr-fect fit and as popular as that big PGA golf tournament is in Augusta, Georgia!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Long Overdue

In a move that should surprise no one, Hockey Canada announced today that Canadian national women's team general manager Gina Kingsbury and head coach Troy Ryan will not return to continue their work with the national women's program. I have nothing against Kingsbury or Ryan personally, but it was hard to understand their personnel choices at the Milano-Cortina Olympics and the games leading up to the Olympics. Yes, they still brought home the second-best medal from the event, but it was hard to watch an older, slower team do everything they could to prevent losses rather than earning wins. Clearly, something had to give.

While there's no denying that Canada's veteran players have an immense amount of talent, it was hard watching the younger, faster Americans dismantle the Canadian squad in the Olympic preliminary round. Yes, Canada looked much better in the gold medal game when these two teams met a second time, but result was identical in that the Americans were celebrating and the Canadians were sobbing.

There has been a quiet chorus for years that has demanded that Hockey Canada should start looking at incorporating younger players into international competitions, but the leadership has always resisted that idea. With Canada's core players moving into the sunsets of their careers, it became more prominent with all of the young talent that Team USA was showcasing at each event. No one will deny that Marie-Philip Poulin and Hilary Knight are still big names, but the likes of Taylor Heise, Caroline Harvey, Hannah Bilka, and Laila Edwards stole the show in Italy. Canada had no answer for them.

In comments made today, Kingsbury indicated that it was time for someone else to step in and push Canada higher. She told reporters, "I'm good with the transition. I'm ready for it. It's time for someone to look at the landscape that has shifted in women's hockey and set out their own vision on what that could look like for the future."

Troy Ryan had already indicated in February that he was stepping down from his coaching position with the team, stating, "I think it's time for someone else to run with it and take it to new heights."

With both Kingsbury and Ryan moving on from their posts, this could open the door for a changing of the guard, so to speak, when it comes to Canada's roster. Players like Sarah Fillier, Emma Maltais, Daryl Watts, Jenn Gardiner, Sophie Jacques, Kati Tabin, and Julia Gosling could all play bigger roles moving forward while adding the likes of Nicole Gosling, Sarah Wozniewicz, Rebecca Leslie, Danielle Serdachny, and Raygan Kirk would all continue pushing the youth movement while challenging Canadian veterans for roster spots.

Let's not forget that all of Marie-Philip Poulin (34), Natalie Spooner (35), Brianne Jenner (34), and Jocelyne Larocque (37) are deep into Hall-of-Fame careers already while Laura Stacey (32), Renata Fast (31), Sarah Nurse (31), Erin Ambrose (32), Emerence Maschmeyer (32) and Ann-Renee Desbiens (32) likely only have one more Olympic run in them. When you consider that's nearly half the current roster, we're overdue in bringing in the next wave of players into the mix.

With four more teams being added to the PWHL next season, there will be lots of opportunity to see amazing young women show off their skills over the next few years if they choose to play professionally. Jade Iginla, Sara Manness, Kahlen Lamarche, Jocelyn Amos, Stryker Zablocki, and Chloe Primerano are just a handful of dynamic Canadians playing at the NCAA level, and Hockey Canada would be wise to keep an eye on U SPORTS when it comes to players like Grace Elliott, Courtney Kollman, Jessymaude Drapeau, and Gabrielle Santerre. There's an immense amount of Canadian talent playing across the planet. All Hockey Canada has to do is look for it.

That's the part that I never understood about Kingsbury and Ryan - they never seemed to look beyond the NCAA. Kingsbury had a handful of U SPORTS players in the lineup for the Calgary Inferno every game in the CWHL while Ryan coached the Dalhouse University Tigers women's program. Both of them are very aware that not all the best players play south of the border, but it's almost as if they forgot that some of Canada's best players learned the game here at home.

Who, you ask? Caroline Ouelette spent one year at Concordia University. Charline Labonte, Ann-Sophie Bettez, Catherine Ward, Kim St-Pierre, and Melodie Daoust all skated for McGill University. Brigette Lacquette spent a season with the University of Manitoba. Hayley Wickenheiser, Colleen Sostorics, and Danielle Goyette played with the University of Calgary. Vicky Sunohara and Jayna Hefford played for the University of Toronto. Delaney Collins played with both Concordia and Alberta. And Gina Kingsbury played with eight of these players mentioned above at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy.

I want to be clear that this isn't about Hockey Canada's continued ignorance of U SPORTS, but it is about expanding the talent pool as far as one can when it comes to finding good, effective players. The preceding paragraph were examples of players that were key to Canada's dominance for so long which was a credit to Canada looking under every stone for good players. Canada needs to start doing that again by tapping into the NCAA, U SPORTS, and Europe where good, young, fast players would go through a wall to wear the maple leaf.

A new general manager and a new head coach is a fresh start for the Canadian women's program that was colloquially getting long in the tooth. We can still honour these long-serving women for their contributions, but Hockey Canada has to be forward thinking when it comes to putting the best team on the ice. Leaving younger players at home isn't the way to do that, so here's hoping that changes.

My hope is that we won't see the same dozen names in the running for these two positions as Hockey Canada begins its searches, but there's no denying that changes were long overdue for this program.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Two Down, Two Up

The four countries shown by their flags to the left will be playing IIHF hockey next season, but the reality is that two countries will be moving down to the Division-1A tournament while two countries will join the top-14 teams playing for the IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship. If you've been following the action, you may already know who is being relegated and promoted, but these four countries are the nations in question. Who's dropping down? Who's going up? Let's find out!

Great Britain came into the IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship as the 17th-ranked nation on the planet. They found themselves in a tough group that featured USA, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, and Latvia, but there was hope that they could qualify for a quarterfinal spot if they caught a few breaks against Austria and Hungary. If they could upset Latvia or Germany, Great Britain would likely not only qualify for the medal round, but they'd jump up in the IIHF rankings as well.

Things quickly changed for Great Britain after they dropped a 5-2 decision to Austria on May 16. A 5-1 loss to the USA, a 5-0 loss to Hungary, and a 4-1 loss to the Swiss put them in jeopardy of battling to stay out of relegation territory, but it didn't get any better in a 4-0 loss to Finland. Tack on a 6-0 loss to Latvia and a 6-3 loss to Germany, and the British went winless in Switzerland as they would be the Group A team who was relegated to the Division-1A tournament.

Defender Nathanael Halbert led the British in scoring with a goal and two assists from the blue line, and goaltender Mat Robson went 0-4-0 with a 4.94 GAA and an .875 save percentage. Veteran Liam Kirk led the way with 19 shots in the tournament, and Halbert had the best seat in the house most often as he served 10 penalty minutes.

Italy began the 2026 IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship as the 20th-ranked nation on the IIHF World Rankings, and they were in Group B with the likes of Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia, and Denmark. Italy likely was looking at the games against Slovenia and Norway as the ones they had to win if they hoped to avoid relegation. Without any NHL talent on their roster, this had to be a solid team effort from the Italians if they wanted to finish in a quarterfinal berth and remain as part of the top tournament. Otherwise, they'd be in a tough spot.

Canada handed them an expected loss by a 6-0 score on May 16, and Slovakia doubled the number of losses with a 4-1 decision. Italy entered the game on May 19 against Norway looking to reverse those fortunes, but the Norwegians played well in a 4-0 win. That Italian loss was followed by a 3-1 loss to Czechia and a 3-0 loss to Sweden. Needing a win desperately, the Italians gave Denmark everything they had, but fell short in the shootout by a 3-2 score. A final 5-1 loss to Slovenia resulted in Italy being the Group B team who is relegated to the Division-1A tournament next season that still needs a host.

Forward Tommy Purdeller had two goals and three points while forward Mikael Frycklund had three assists as the co-leader in points for Italy. Goaltender Davide Fadani was the only goalie to earn a point for Italy as he lost in the shootout while fellow netminder Damian Clara was 0-3-0 with a 3.35 GAA and a .921 save percentage. Defender Phil Pietroniro led the team in shots with 21 and forward Tommaso de Luca served three minor penalties to lead Italy in PIMs.

A country familiar with the teams in the top IIHF tournament will make its return as Kazakhstan earned a promotion back to the big dance. The 15th-ranked team in the IIHF rankings faced off against Lithuania, Japan, Poland, Ukraine, and France in the Division-1A tournament held from May 2-8 in Sosnowiec, Poland, and the Kazakhs emerged undefeated as they went 5-0-0 in the event. Two of those wins did come in the shootout, but Kazakhstan earned enough points for promotion to the 2027 IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship in Germany next May!

Kazakhstan's run in Sosnowiec saw them down Lithuania 4-1 on May 2, beat Japan 6-0, knock off Poland 3-2, defeat Ukraine 5-4 in the skills competition, and defeat France in the shootout as well. They scored the most goals in the tournament despite only scoring once on the power-play in eleven attempts, they tied Ukraine with the fewest shorthanded situations with eight, and they took the least amount of penalties with just 16 PIMs in the tournament on eight infractions.

Forward Artur Gatiyatov had a goal and four helpers while forward Arkadiy Shestakov had five helpers to tie for the team lead in scoring. Goaltender Andrey Shutov went 3-0-0 with a 1.30 GAA and a .933 save percentage as the top stopper, forward Vsevolod Logvin led with 17 shots, and defender Dmitri Breus was the goon with four PIMs.

Perhaps the one nation that should be celebrated for being promoted after everything the country has been through is Ukraine. It's hard not to be inspired knowing that this hockey team was able to focus on winning in Sosnowiec, Poland while friends, colleagues, and family are fighting for their lives back home. Ukraine certainly had a bumpier ride in getting to their promotion as the 27th-ranked team in the IIHF rankings went 3-1-1 in their five games, but that got them ten points and promotion from the Division-1A tournament!

Ukraine opened their tournament against the hosts on May 2, and Poland won that game by a 3-2 score. Ukraine would bounce back with a 2-1 win over Lithuania and a 3-2 win over France before dropping a 5-4 shootout decision to Kazakhstan. Ukraine capped off their tournament with a 3-1 win against Japan, and that was the victory needed to earn their promotion! Ukraine scored the second-most goals in the tournament, had a 5-for-17 power-play, and killed seven of eight shorthanded situations. They did commit twelve infractions, but were the second-least penalized team in the event.

Forward Danil Trakht led the tournament in scoring with four goals and four assists while forward Olexi Vorona had six helpers to tie for the lead in the tournament. Goaltender Bohdan Diachenko played every second for Ukraine, going 3-1-1 with a 2.17 GAA and a .923 save percentage. Olexander Peresunko led Ukraine with 15 shots, and both Yevgen Fedyeyev and Artem Hrebenyk sat for four minutes.

Both Kazakhstan and Ukraine will visit Mannheim and Dusseldorf, Germany as part of the 2027 IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship that's scheduled to run from May 14-30. Great Britain and Italy will await an announcement from the IIHF to know where they're headed for the 2027 IIHF Men's Division-1A World Hockey Championship, but it would seem they'll be joined by France, Poland, Lithuania, and the newly-promoted Estonia. Unfortunately for Japan, they'll be relegated to the Division-1B tournament, replacing promoted Estonia.

The quarterfinals for the 2026 IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship will be set after tomorrow's games, and we could see some intriguing matchups if things go as expected. Of course, that's why the games are played and upsets are a possibility, so we'll see who qualifies for the medal round at the IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!