I grew up in a small country town who’s main interests were drinking, cows and football. My dad put in swimming pools for a living and my mother raised us and cut hair. I was lucky however, to have two of the most accepting parents you could imagine. My father once drove a bus for a drag tour and also (in his 20’s) routinely dressed up as a Japanese Geisha for reasons unknown. My mother was a hairdresser. They never judged, accepted everyone and taught me much the same.

Brendan Burke came out to his team mates, many of whom probably didn’t come from families like mine, but grew up in towns like the one I did, small, country and undeniably close minded. He had listened to years and years of chirping centered around insults to ones sexuality, the perceived ultimate in insults if  locker room trash talk was any indication. It had lead to him quitting playing in his final years of high school, unable to bear the talk, the degradation of his self. Still he came out, running the risk of loosing the trust and friendship of the hockey brotherhood he had found as a student manager at Miami-Ohio.

Not only did he come out to his hockey team, he came out to a father that is widely regarded as a prototype of masculinity in an already masculine sport. He takes a risk, at loosing a family that so many of us could never consider making. He takes a risk at rejection and shame that would send so many of us cowering and preferring to hide ourselves rather than run those risks. Instead, he finds acceptance grounded in the common sense belief that someones worth goes far beyond their sexual orientation, that persons value cannot be measured by who they love but by how they live.

The media jumps on this story, of the famous father’s acceptance of his son, the overwhelming acceptance of the hockey community to something still so taboo and suddenly Brendan Burke is everywhere, and everyone? Everyone is okay.

When Brendan Burke came out everyone heard about it. Thousands of hockey players across the country, across the world suddenly had a little bit of light they may not have had before. If Brian Burke can be okay with it, if a college hockey team can, maybe my coach, my team mates, friends and family can too.

Brendan Burke wanted to end the pattern of homophobia that was endemic to hockey and other sports. He wanted it to be okay for anyone to be who they were and to not feel shame for that, to be free to live how they wished without fear of loosing the sport and friends that meant so much. It is a goal, a dream many of us share, and in his memory, many of us will continue to carry on.

Your courage in stepping forward so publicly will serve as inspiration to many and the message you came forward with of acceptance will be remembered and carried forward. You were one of the firsts, but you will not be the last.

Rest in Peace, Brendan.

Cormier’s hit is not in question here. It was dirty. He lead with his elbow at a high speed and Tam suffered the consequences.  Further, Cormier is not a first time offender, instead a young player with an already disgusting reputation for this kind of play.

So where do we go from here?

Cormier needs to be suspended. Plain and simple. If you’re suspending based on the outcome, like the OHL has been (see Lambias), suspend him for a season. If anything, Cormier is probably more deserving of such a suspension, with the likelihood of injury occurring every time a hit is delivered in that manner being substantially higher than that of Lambias, which in my opinion the resulting injury was more from freak circumstances (the loss of the helmet in the fall, so forth).

However, now, the Quebec Provincial Police are reporting that they are investigating Cormier and the incident in the light of possible laying of charges.

This is where the problem I have arises. I, like a lot of people, have a real issue with the involvement of the police when it comes to punishing unacceptable behaviour or violence in sport.

In the United States, there has been one criminal case against a professional hockey player (there has been four criminal indictments of hockey players, but only one involved an NHL player, David Forbes) and Canada has seen several. The more famous of these include Regina v Ciccarelli (Dino was found guilty of assault, fined $1000 and ordered to serve a day in jail) and Regina v McSorley (the trial mainly centered around whether an incident in a professional hockey game could constitute assault with a weapon).

Society’s criminal sentencing system is underpinned by the concepts of retribution and deterrence.  We wish to punish what was done, to restore society to a state prior to the act and in turn prevent its further behaviour. A court can endeavour to do this but when (in accordance with precedent and law) the sentence may be little more than a handful of hours community service, a fine or a suspended sentence, is it going to be as effective as a substantial suspension or even a season long ban to enforce the message to not only the concerned player but the hockey community as a whole? There seems to be no worse punishment for a hockey player than to take away his right to play the game he loves.

Sporting leagues strive to maintain control over the punishment and regulation of its athletes and their actions. They argue, and I agree, that there is no need for outside judicial or legislative involvement in the majority of incidents (if you decapitated someone I’d be inclined to hand someone over to the police however). However, if the League, any league, wishes to remove these incidents from the game of hockey on its own terms, it is swift and harsh punishment that must be dealt out or more and more incidents will end up before the courts.

If Cormier does find himself in a court room in the future, it will not be just him that is on trial, but the sport of hockey and its ability to handle its own problems that will be brought into question.

There’s a blog I found recently,directed that way by a friend after she saw it on OutSports. Now at http://www.hockeykidmn.com/, the blog is run by Mikey, a 17 year old member of a Minneapolis High School team who wants to play D1 college hockey next year. Oh and he happens to be gay and still in the closet.

Having only started blogging a few months ago, Mikey’s already got a fair few followers. His writing style, once you get past the utter teenage boy-ness of it (something that’s almost refreshing in showing that really, he’s just a completely normal kid right down to the slang and mispellings),  is humorous and captivating. He knows the stereotypes, the misconceptions people have about sexuality, being a teenager, and the whole gay athelte thing and does what he can to in most amusing fashion debunk these common myths.

It’s understandably rough that Mikey feels he needs to stay closeted, but with D1 aspirations, his homosexuality could very well damage his chances at the college scholarship that would make a huge difference to his hockey or general future. His guts in bloogging like this, in atleast finding this way where he can reach out for his own purposes, and in turn, provide some form of comfort to other kids struggling with the same issues, who atleast can know that they’re not the only one who feels like this.

My favourite part though? Mikey loves hockey.  Mikey really, really loves hockey. When writing about hockey, you can feel the pride he has in his role with the team, the importance that his contribution to the team has. So many 17 year olds in the sport wouldn’t have this understanding that hockey is much more than putting the puck in the net on the ice.

I hope one day, whether he becomes a superstar, a gritty forward or just another guy who played and loved hockey, Mikey will be able to be whoever he wants to be and let it be known.

For now though, I’ll keep on reading.

In the first week I’ve been here, the team’s gone 4 from 5 games (I like to think I’m lucky because they’d won 3 from the last 12 before that), made some minor rights trades and a released a player. Sadly, the player released was a very good friend of mine, Dale Hunt. Unfortunately this meant the most time we spent hanging out involved packing his life into a suitcase so he could head back to Manitoba. However, with the team also releasing his rights (a classy move) he’s able to carry on his hockey career  whether in the W or another league where the opportunity presents itself. He’s received a lot of interest from MJHL teams back towards home and with one more year left on his eligibility he’s looking forward to atleast another good year of hockey ahead of him.

It was rough though, to see first hand the necessary business side of hockey when it is someone you care about and know well, and particular when it is kids, teenagers who are being shipped around the country between what they know. However, as any of them will tell you, its what they agree to in order to play the game. I know if I had the option, I’d agree to the exact same thing And that’d just to be able to work for the team!

A lot of my time so far has been spent observing and I’m learning a lot about ticket sales and promotions, different marketing and merchandising initiatives and coming up with some great ideas and plans to implement when I get back home. So far I’ve already emailed my team back home with Sponsorship Proposals and merchandising plans, and I’m working on something regarding season tickets at the moment. They’re going to get sick of me soon enough!!

Anyway, the team’s off the ice from practice, JR’s got some adjectives for me to look up for the broadcasts, and I’m off to Seattle this afternoon for the night’s game. So it’s time for me to scoot. Blog to you all soon.

Sasky

See you on the other hemisphere side.

Sasky

“Christmas” (noun) – a day of the year that falls one day before the World Junior Hockey Championship officially starts.

I fell in love with World Juniors during the lock out. I’d only been around hockey for a few years at that point and with internet game streaming practically non-existent at this point (I really only found most of it last season) I listened to a lot of OHL hockey on the internet radio. Then world juniors came along, Patrice Bergeron was playing (I had a bit of a 16 year old school girl crush on the young frenchie) and I was hooked. Ever since then, every year World Juniors has become part of my hockey life.

Here’s a look at a few of my favourite moments of the World Juniors in the last few years.

The First Year

The first year I discovered WJC was that of the lockout. That year, the team that took the ice was as close to a dream team as one could imagine. Of a team of 22, 16 are currently in the NHL, and the majority of those are dominant players. The team had two current NHL captains, numerous NHL assistant captains, team scoring leaders, league scoring leaders, all-stars, trophy nominees and winners and that’s just the Canadian side of the equation. Throw in the pairing of Ovechkin and Malkin and you’ve got a match up a lot of hockey fans would give their eye teeth to see again.

The 2005 Gold Medal Game

Whilst knowing the score and having celebrated like a wild fan (I had worked so someone had brought the score into work for me), it was a month and a half after the tournament ended and the “non-alcoholic champagne” was popped that I finally saw that game. To this date I’ve seen the game upwards of 60 times with the tape itself having actually started to loose its colour. My favourite moment of the game, forever immortalised by the screamings of Pierre McGuire was what is now known as the “Double Dion”, the moment Phanuef clears out two russians to set the line of Crosby-Perry-Bergeron off on an almost clear 3 – 0. The goal, the whole play itself is still one of my favourite moments in hockey. In fact, I’m pretty sure I can do the entire call from memory.

Stefan Legein

I have a little love affair with Stefan Legein. He’s funny as hell, cute and incredibly endearing with his chirpy, chippy and hard nosed style of play. Hell, I even have an entire blog post to him and his youtube highlights (here). It was the World Juniors that many of us not entirely obsessed with Jr Hockey first got to meet Mr Legein, and really it was probably the first time many got to see his endearing personality shine as the camera’s of a nation (or atleast TSN’s) fell on him. And I mean, anyway, who doesn’t love watching a ecstatic, shaving cream covered hockey boy half pounce a TV personality?  I’m pretty sure TSN, or James Cybulski atleast has a crush on the kid.

The Battle between PK Subban and Jonathan Tavares

PK Subban was badass. PK Subban was a brash, trash talking little d-man with a hell of a lot of swagger and a style of play that reflected all of this (even if Pat Quinn wasn’t a fan of the “Subbi-do” Spinorama). Best of all PK Subban was everything that the shy, seemingly personality-less Jonathan Tavares wasn’t. Until you put them in the same room. You put PK and JT in the same interview and you ended up with some hilarious stuff from the boys. Who loves Mariah Carey? Those boys do (”She’s decent. You can’t be dissing Mariah like that”.) Such gems also include “PK. You’re the toughest guy I know with your gloves on.” and a snipping match in a group interview as Thomas Hickey and Zach Boychuk stare confusedly at the pair. The two interviews are here and here

Going to Ottawa

In my travels last year, I was fortunate enough to end up in Ottawa for Christmas / New Years and got to experience the World Juniors first hand. It may have only been Canada v Germany and a bit of a one sided game but to me it was heaven. I turned up with my sign, my Team Canada hoodie and glitter flag cheek decals and for that night, I was truly as close to being Canadian as you can get without that whole pesky citizenship thing. I helped pass the flag, got to cheer and holler and even occasionally yelled random abuse when I felt the need arose.

2009 Canada / USA – New Years Eve Game

Despite the intense love I have for the 2005 Gold Medal Game, the 2009 Canada / USA match is quite possibly my favourite WJC game. It had everything. It had the underdog attacking and the favourite making a come back. It had passion, drama and a lot of fire and bad blood between the teams. It had jr team mates, room mates pitted against each other, both fighting for supremacy and the free pass through to the semi-finals.  So many times since then, I have gone back and watched that game. I even tried to tonight, only to discover that HockeyStreams.com, my savior for hockey archives has finally taken down some of its old streams. Heartbreak.

It’s Boxing Day here, which means that very shortly it’ll be Boxing Day in Canada and once again the fun will begin. Which member of the team will I end up crushing on this year after some amazing play, hilarious interview or endearing moment?

I can’t wait to find out!

See you at 6am Australian time, Team Canada. In the mix for six!

P.S. Team Finland. I no longer shall be supporting you as you cut my friend and Silvertip, Rasmus Rissanen (formally known as Finland to me). I do not like this.

I love the entry draft. All those fresh faced young hockey players, surrounded by their family and friends and still fill of hopes and dreams that GM’s and the real world are just waiting to crush.

My most recent favourite draft moments involve Brian Burke, whether it be watching his soul being crushed as the Kings draft Brayden Schenn and ending his Schenn and Schenn dreams, or the steely glee as he in turn crushes Bryan Murray’s dreams of drafting Nazem Kadri, with a simple “well we’re going to take him”, the draft holds a lot of excitement for those of us who love the jr leagues, and gossiping about what our team’s futures holds.

But what governs the draft?

Article 8.1 sets out that the draft shall be held in June every league year at a date determined by the commissioner. Each draft (8.2) shall consist of 7 rounds, and each of those rounds shall consist of the same number of selections as there shall be clubs in the following league year.

8.3 sets out the guidelines for compensatory draft picks obtained from a loss of a draft pick (they are different rules for loss of a Group III Free agent), requiring that the additional number of picks shall not exceed the number of clubs in the league the following year. The right to a compensatory pick arises if they lose rights to an unsigned draft choice, who was drafted in the first round. This loss of rights cannot arise if the loss is due to their own failure to tender a Bona Fide Offer.

The pick they are granted shall be of the same numerical choice as before but in the 2^nd round of the entry draft which immediately follows the date a which the loss of rights occur. A recent example of this was the Phoneix Coyotes and the loss of Blake Wheeler. Whilst the Coyotes made a legitmate Bona Fide Offer to Wheeler, they failed to retain his services on contract (as he wished to run off somewhere other than Phoenix as a FA) and were awarded the 5^th pick in the 2^nd round as their compensation.

All players 18 years and older are eligible for claim in an entry draft UNLESS:

• They are already on a reserve list of a club.
• They have been claimed in two prior entry drafts.
• They have previously played in the NHL and have since become a FA.
• Is older than 21 and has played in North America for minimum 1 year between 18 – 20 (a free agent).
• Is older than 22 and has not played in North America (a free agent).

8.5 or the order in which the draft is run

The rules that determine the order of selection are dictated by the league. These rules are valid as long as they do not give any club a greater or smaller chance of obtaining rights in a certain player. If any changes are to be made to the process, the NHL must notify the NHLPA by March 1 in the year of the draft to which changes are proposed to take affect.

Currently those rules can be found here

8.6 or how long you retain rights in a player.

Drafting, as everyone knows, gives a team exclusive rights of negotiation for the services of the player.

Initially a club retains exclusive negotiation rights to a player for a period of one year. If the club makes a Bona Fide Offer to the player  before or on June 1 of the year following the draft these negotiation rights will be extended to the second June 1 following the draft.

However, if the player is drafted at 20, his services not retained and he renters at age 22, the drafting club shall only acquire these exclusive negotiations rights for 1 year only unless the player is acquired from a club outside north America.

Realistically however, the retainment of player rights is dependent on several factors including whether they are a major junior or college player, their age and the year they leave either of these fields.

Drafted out of Major Junior

A club shall retain the exclusive negotiating rights until the 4^th June 1 after his intial draft selection of a player drafted at 18 who ceases to play in the major juniors in the first year after being drafted.

If the player ceases to play in his second season after being drafted, if the club hs tendered a Bona Fide Offer, they shall retain exclusive rights until the 4^th June 1,

If the player was drafted at 19 and ceases to play in major juniors in the first season after drafting, they shall retain exclusive rights until the 3^rd june 1^st (compared to the 4^th June 1^st if they were 18). This retainment of rights can be extended to a 4^th year if a BFO is made prior to the 1 June of the third year.

Other than these specific examples, ceasing to play in Jr’s shall have no impact on a club’s right of exclusive negotiation.

Drafted out of College or with Intention to go to College

If you’re 18 or 19 and a bona fide college student AT the time of your selection, or you become one within the next year after your selection (so say you’re kyle turris and you get drafted then go to college the next year where you excel in sports such as beer pong) and you remain a Bona Fide College Student through until the graduation of your college class, the club that drafts you shall retain exclusive rights until the august 15^th following the graduation of your college class. Because of NCAA guidelines, no Bona Fide Offer of a contract is required to retain this rights.

However, if you do not remain a college student through to the end of your graduation, the team shall retain rights until the 4^th June 1 following your intial selection. Once again, no BFO is required.

However if you are drafted at 18 or 19, and receive a BFO, and then become a college student before the 2^nd June 1, if that player remains through to graduation,  exclusive rights will extend until the august 15^th following their graduation from college.  Once again though, if they fail to remain at college through to graduation, the rights shall be retained until the 4^th June following initial selection.

If you draft a player who’s 20 or older and a Bona Fida College student, the club shall retain exclusive rights until the 2^nd June 1 following drafting. However, if on the 2^nd June 1 the player is still in college, the club shall retain those rights until the August 15^th of the year he leaves college, regardless if he has left at or prior to graduation.

8.6 (D) or so What is a Bona Fide Offer??

According to 8.6(d) a bona fide offer is an offer for a standard player contract for a period corresponding with the players age (9.1(b)), which commences at the start of the next league season, offers atleast a minimum paragraph 1 salary (s11.12) and remains open to the player to accept for atleast 30 days after the offer.

8.7 or what age means.

In the first two years after being drafted, an 18 year old who is signed to an SPC must be offered to the club he was drafted from (by the club he who drafted him) before he can be loaned to another.

In the first season after being drafted at 19 (or if they reach their 19^th birthday between September 16 and December 31 the year of the draft) the rule as above applies.

However, during the 18 and 19 year old seasons, IF the picks junior team is no longer in competition he may be loaned to a clubs minor league team provided they have been listed on their eligibility list (the AHL Clear Day List).

8.8 or yes we can trade your rights.

Any right of negotiation is completely transferable to another club by standard assignment without any requirement for waiver.

8.9 or Are you Eligible?

To play in the league you must either be drafted into the league, or be ineligible for drafting under 8.4.

These ineligibilities are:

• That you were older than 20, had played in North America in the prior season and had signed a standard player contract between the last draft and the NHL season’s commencement. Eg. Signed as an undrafted free agent.
• That you were under 20, had played the prior season in North America, and had signed an SPC between the last draft and the NHL Season’s commencement. However if you were on a try-out the date for signing is the first day of the NHL Season.
• That you were older than 22, played hockey outside North America last season, and signed an SPC between the draft and the NHL Season. This is what we call the Europeans take longer for us to figure out they’re there and good rule.

8.10 or so how old are you by Draft standards?

To the CBA 18 is  if you turn 18 between 1 Jan proceeding the draft and September 15 after the draft.

To the CBA to be 19 you must reach your 19^th birthday no later than September 15 the year of the draft.

20, 21 and 22 are all “ages reached prior or on” December 31 of the draft year.

8.11 or letting the NHLPA get to you early.

The NHLPA is entitled to attend and hold a closed and private meeting of players at any pre-draft combine the NHL shall hold. Awesome! It starts early

I came up with the idea for HbH when I was getting frustrated with the large amount of slutty and sparkly that appeared in Women’s hockey clothes.

So if you’re looking for something for the hardcore Hockey Girl in your life, give our site a look and I”m sure you’ll find something she’ll love!

Heartbreak Hockey

Myspace Countdown Clock

Article 1 – Definitions.

Definitions! I love definitions sections of legislation and agreements. For a lack of a better description, and with points awarded for complete obviousness of the term, definitions define what certain teams.  Such definition is really essentially, particularly when they get in the hands of shifty lawyers, who like to suggest certain interpretations of a term to suit their goals. The CBA definitions section enlightens with such pearls as:

“League” or “NHL” refers to the National Hockey League.

“All-Star Game” means the hockey game so designated by the NHL in which All-Star Players play.

However, as not to make light completely of the definitions system, which as I said actually serves a very useful function there are many useful definitions contained within the agreement. A useful examples of this include “European Player” which affects draft exceptions on the basis of having not played in North America and being above a certain age; or a “Free Agent” which is the umbrella term which breaks down into “Restricted Free Agent” and “Unrestricted Free Agent” all defined.

Article 2 -  Recognition

Article 2 of the CBA sets  forth the NHL’s recognition of the NHLPA and its role as the exclusive bargaining representative (for player contracts, conflicts between the league and players and arbitrations) of all present and future NHL players. The recognition however does not prevent a player either representing themselves or being represented by an individually certified agent when it is consistent with the agreement.

2.2 also allows the NHLPA to hold meetings at any time provided the timing is approved by teams and doesn’t interfere with the general play and business of the teams and league. It does however require that approval not be unreasonably withheld.

Article 3- Duration of Agreement

3.1 (a) of the agreement retroactively applies the CBA to run from 14^th of September 2004, the date at which the lockout started. Under this article, the current CBA shall run until 12 am September 15, 2011. (all times in the CBA are considered New York time, on the basis of the league’s offices, unless otherwise indicated). However, after this date, it can be renewed continuously on a year b y year basis, and will be done so until written notice to terminate the agreement is provided  more than 120 days prior to the ending of the current agreement term.

However 3.1(b) allows the NHLPA to terminate prior to 2011, with the first possible date having already passed at September 15 2009. Once again, this termination is contingent on written notice of termination 120 days prior to the agreements end / extension date as above.

Importantly, 3.2 indicates that the agreement of the CBA is binding upon the NHL, the NHLPA, all member clubs and all its minions , uh Players!

Article 4 – Union Security and Check Off

Article 4 basically sets out procedural rules of the NHLPA in relation to player membership and due. Every player has a right and option to join or not join the  NHLPA but regardless of membership everyone is liable to the same payment of an “annual service fee” or “periodic dues” (essentially the terms just differentiate depending on membership). The section (at 4.2) further allows the each individual Club to deduct the dues owed from a players salary if they have been voluntarily authorized and allowed to do so, and pay those dues on to the NHLPA. If this deduction does not conform with NHLPA by laws, the NHLPA will indemnify the NHL club for the costs incurred.

Article 5 – Management Rights

Article 5 sets out the rights each NHL club and the league itself has in regard to the management of their club. At any time, a team shall be able to direct and control their team, and from time to time determine where, how and under what circumstances their team shall continue to operate, be suspended, continued, sold or moved.

This section also provides the basis for the NHL’s right to determine the rules by which the game is played.

Article 6 – NHLPA Agent Certification

Article 6.1. grants exclusive rights of negotiation with an NHL Club to either a Player or to a Certified NHLPA Agent. No other person may enter into negotiations with an NHL club. In order to enable this to be carried out proficiently, 6.1 also lists the procedural rules (such as how often to update, the information to be contained within) which govern the Certified Agent List held by the NHL and provided by the NHLPA.

These rights are then furthered at 6.2 by declaring that NO SPC (Standard Player Contract) may be entered into, and that the NHL will not register or approve any SPC in which a player was not represented by themselves or an NHLPA Certified Agent.

Indemnification the NHL from any costs incurred from a claim made, or a judgment incurred n the basis of their refusal to negotiate with a NON-Certified NHLPA Agent as allowed under the CBA, falls to the NHLPA to cover the costs.

Further procedural rules regarding the Certification Program are added at 6.4 and 6.5 covering the provision of the Agent Certification Program to the NHL within 7 days of the signing of the agreement, as well as that notice of any material changes to the program must be made to the league atleast 60 days prior to the date of change.

Article 7 – No Strike, No Discrimination and Other Undertakings.

A key component I guess in preventing any disgruntled fractions of the League rearing their ugly heads in a way that would prevent league business from being carried out, 7.1 prevents the NHLPA or any of its players from authorizing, encouraging or engaging in any work stoppages, slowdowns or other concerted efforts to interfere with the activities of an individual club or league during this CBA. Declines to play or practice due to picketing or labour disputes are included in this.

7.2 inserts a general discrimination clause that you really see in many contracts or agreements now days, as they are often required by legislation of the relevant countries.

Last but in no means least, we get to 7.3, which prevents any player under a current SPC from negotiating with another club prior to the ending of the SPC. Think of this like, the rule that prevents Brian Burke from chasing down the Sedin twins prior to July 1^st!

And that’s it for the first segment of Naked Shootout: A Stripped Down look at the CBA!