TheColorOfHockey

~ Hockey for Fans and Players of Color

TheColorOfHockey

Tag Archives: Alex Ovechkin

New icemen cometh at ginormous sports facility in Washington Capitals’ backyard

12 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Alex Ovechkin, The College of William & Mary, The St. James, Washington Capitals

As former football players, Kendrick F. Ashton, Jr., and Craig A.A. Dixon never envisioned being on the same line with Washington Capitals super star Alex Ovechkin.

But there the two were, flanking Ovechkin in hockey face-off pose last year. But instead of sticks and hockey helmets, the makeshift line had shovels in their hands and hardhats on their heads.

Ovechkin was on hand for he groundbreaking of The St. James, a recently-opened 450,000 square-foot sports complex in Springfield, Virginia, co-founded by Ashton and Dixon, two young African-American entrepreneurs who dreamed – and succeeded – in building a gym on steroids.

The St. James co-founders Craig A.A. Dixon, left, and Kendrick F. Ashton, Jr., at one of the two NHL-sized ice rinks inside their 450,000 square-foot sports facility in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Hockey is front and center at the massive facility that includes a 50-meter Olympic-size pool, a three-story, 50,000-square-foot health club, four full-length basketball courts, eight squash courts, and a field house with a FIFA regulation-sized turf field.

The St. James features two NHL-sized ice rinks that offer an array of hockey, hockey coaching,  and leagues for all playing levels in addition to ice-dancing, figure skating, and speedskating.

There are a handful of ice skating rinks in North America named after black people, but there are very few that are black-owned and operated.

The twin ice rinks at The St. James will help alleviate an ice shortage in the hockey-mad Washington, D.C., area.

Ashton, 42, and Dixon, 43, who grew up in the Washington, D.C., knew little about hockey before building their facility, but they’ve grown to love the game since.

“We walk in there all the time and we see these two gleaming, beautiful rinks, it just makes you want to get out on them,” Dixon said.

Enough for the co-founders and co-executive officers to lace up the skates for a few laps?

“No,” Dixon replied. “I know this is the Color of Hockey – I don’t know how to skate on hockey skates, but I plan to learn.”

“We’ve developed a real appreciation of the game and become quite passionate about it as fans,” Ashton added.  “We’ve tempered our desire to hurt ourselves on the ice, we’re taking that slowly, but we will be out there.”

Kendrick f. Ashton, Jr., left, with Washington Capitals star forward Alex Ovechkin, and Craig A.A. Dixon at The St. James’ groundbreaking in 2017.

The twin rinks are a godsend in a D.C., Northern Virginia, Maryland area that has a voracious hockey-playing appetite – both youth and adult – and a severe rink shortage, exacerbated by a January 2017 fire that shuttered Maryland’s Tucker Road Ice Arena.

While access to the St. James’ rinks is largely based on facility membership, Ashton said “we are very much committed to and very interested in everybody having access to everything.”

“Whereas having kids of color may not be a particular focus point for other (rink) owners, I don’t know if it is or isn’t, it may not be, it certainly is for us,” Ashton added.  “We’re going to do what we can to make sure that kids are exposed to the greatness of this game.”

Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin takes a skate on one of the rinks at The St. James.

And the Capitals winning the Stanley Cup, with the help of forward Devante Smith-Pelly’s playoff heroics, has increased the demand for ice time in the area.

“The excitement that that run created in this town was palpable” Dixon said. “And that was across demographics, across races, across ages because everyone loves a champion. When they won the Cup and you looked at the scenes from news broadcasts of people out in the streets, it was the whole city. It wasn’t just one particular group of people out there celebrating that championship, and I think that is the new hockey fan in this town and, I’m sure, in many towns across the country.”

Craig A.A. Dixon, left, with Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin and Kendrick F. Ashton, Jr., at The St. James’ opening.

Ashton and Dixon aren’t strangers to rough-and-tumble sports. Ashton played football for The College of William & Mary and Dixon played high school football while growing up in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

The two men developed a friendship while students W&M, forged by their athletic experiences growing up in areas where quality facilities weren’t always accessible. That, and their shared love of business, led to the St. James concept.

“When we were young people, we were multi-sport athletes, and we were fairly serious about it, and we couldn’t quite understand why we very often ran into issues playing sports,” Ashton said. “We’re sure there are many kids of our generation who had trouble getting on ice, had trouble getting in pools.”

So Ashton and Dixon are trying to rectify that 450,000 square feet at a time. The Springfield mega-complex won’t be a one-and-done if its co-founders have their way. They’ve already purchased land in the northern Chicago suburbs and hope to have a similar facility built there in 2021.

“We’re looking at all the major markets in the country,” Ashton said. “We’re actively engaged in trying to lock down great sites in every one of them.”

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

Caps’ Smith-Pelly does the rounds with Stanley Cup at Toronto area pub, hospital

07 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Alex Ovechkin, Chris Stewart, Devante Smith-Pelly, Stanley Cup, Washington Capitals

Talk about Soul on Ice.

Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly had a cool day with the Stanley Cup Monday complete with an ice sculpture likeness of him in at a Scarborough, Ontario, pub hoisting the treasured trophy.

Washington Capitals right wing Devante-Smith Pelly.

Hundreds of fans braved torrential rain in the Toronto area to venture to the Black Dog Pub to get a glimpse of the Cup and the man of the hour.

“When I saw it start to rain, I didn’t know what to expect,” Smith-Pelly told NHL.com. “To see the line of people snaked around and down the block, I’m so excited…I  mean, you want to bring the Stanley Cup where you grew up. I grew up right down the street from here and used to come here and hang out.”

Chris Stewart, a forward who skated for the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames last season, was among the water-logged faithful at the Black Dog.

“He’s come a long way. I’m proud of him,” said Stewart, who has 160 goals and 161 assists in 652 National Hockey League games. “He stuck it out and now he’s on top.”

How cool is this? Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly and an ice sculpture likeness of him with Stanley Cup (Photo/Courtesy Phil Prtichard/HHOF).

The Black Dog Pub wasn’t Smith-Pelly’s only stop with Stanley on Monday. He took the Cup to downtown Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and showed off the trophy to family and close friends in private moments.

Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff’s most valuable player, but Smith-Pelly also had a heroic Stanley Cup run.

Devante Smith-Pelly with Toronto Mayor John Tory, left, and some young hockey fans (Photo/Courtesy Phil Pritchard/HHOF).

He tallied 7 goals and 1 assist in 24 playoff games; potted a goal in three consecutive Stanley Cup Final games against the Vegas Golden Knights; netted the game-winning goal in Game 4; scored the tying goal in Cup-clinching Game 5, a highlight reel kick-the-puck-onto-the-stick and fly-in-the-air snipe past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury; and the series-clinching goal in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Not bad for a guy who only scored 7 goals and 9 assists in 75 games and averaged 12:21 minutes of ice time per game during the regular season and 12:02 minutes per game in the playoffs.

Devante Smith-Pelly has a little quiet time with the Stanley Cup and his grandparents, who rocked the Washington Capitals red hockey jerseys (Photo/Courtesy Phil Pritchard/HHOF).

“There’s been some struggles,” Smith-Pelly told NHL.com. But at the same time, I’m not the first guy to go through it and I won’t be the mast. You can’t feel sorry for yourself. You’ve got to go out there and do what you have to do.”

Smith-Pelly’s playoff prowess made Capitals fans love him. And Smith-Pelly fell in love with Washington. So much so that he rejected contract offers from other teams with longer terms and more money to sign one-year, $1 million deal to return to the Capitals.

Ain’t no party like a Stanley Cup party. Washington Capitals’ Devante Smith-Pelly shares the Stanley Cup with some of his long-time buddies (Photo/Courtesy Phil Pritchard/HHOF).

“It wasn’t worth it to leave somewhere where I’m happy and somewhere where I really want to be,” Smith-Pelly told the Associated Press in June. “The money to me personally is not that important if I’m not going to be happy somewhere else.”

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

Ovechkin takes the Cup to North America’s oldest minority youth hockey program

16 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Alex Ovechkin, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Stanley Cup, Washington Capitals

They came to pay homage to the Stanley Cup Friday and the Cup came to pay homage to them.

Lord Stanley, Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin, and team owner Ted Leonsis journeyed to D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood to show off the National Hockey League championship trophy to players and supporters of the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club – the oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program in North America.

Washington Capitals forward  Alex Ovechkin shared the Stanley Cup with members of the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club (Photo/Kate Irby).

It was sweltering hot inside the Fort Dupont Ice Arena – the ice is off for summer maintenance – but no one cared as players and coaches from the team lined up for photos with Ovechkin and the Cup.

“It feels good and special,” Justus Tyree, a 10-year-old Fort Dupont forward, told me. “They (the Capitals) won and they get to bring the Cup for our organization and not the other organizations that practice here. It’s very cool.”

U.S. Marine Corps. Lt. Col. Ralph Featherstone, a Fort Dupont assistant coach, was all smiles after he posed for a photo with Ovechkin, Fort Dupont founder and Head Coach Neal Henderson and the Cup.

Great to see Coach Neal Henderson meet the #StanleyCup at Fort Dupont Ice Arena! #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/JFgBaKbHpH

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 15, 2018

“It’s awesome, I thought I’d never be able to do that,” Featherstone said. “They (the Capitals) are at the top of the world right now and they took time to hang out with us for a few minutes. Ovi brought the Cup, Ted Leonsis is here. The owner of the team is in Southeast D.C., at Fort Dupont, hanging out.”

Leonsis said Fort Dupont was a must-do stop for the Cup.

“We love coming to Fort Dupont,” he said. “Neal has just been such a bedrock in the community and we love working with him, supporting the rink. And just to see all the young kids here in awe to meet Alex and the Cup.”

“For [fans], it’s maybe a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be around it.” — Alex Ovechkin on taking the #StanleyCup⁠ ⁠ around Washington. Today, the Cup made stops at @ArlingtonVaPD, @MedStarGUH and Fort Dupont Ice Arena. #ALLCAPS⁠ ⁠ pic.twitter.com/Zn4tKEUN3l

— Tarik El-Bashir⌨️🎙🏒 (@TarikNBCS) June 15, 2018

The Fort Dupont rink may look ordinary on the outside and a little dog-eared inside, but it’s a special place. For 43, years Henderson has taught life lessons to hundreds of African-American kids there through the prism of hockey.

It’s also one of the area rinks where 18-year-old Maame Biney, the first black female to make the U.S. Olympic short track speedskating team, got her start.

Several of Henderson’s pupils have gone on to achieve what they once thought was unachievable growing up in an area that had a reputation as one of the District of Columbia’s toughest neighborhoods.

Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin shows off the Stanley Cup to players and supporters of the District’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club (Photo/Kate Irby).

Featherstone went on from the rink on Ely Place Southeast to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he became the first black captain of the Midshipmen’s club hockey team. He’s now a Marine aviator.

Duante Abercrombie, another Fort Dupont alum, is following in Henderson’s footsteps into head coaching. He recently was named bench boss for the Washington Little Capitals U16 National Team, a program that has a track record for developing players for college and major junior hockey.

Washington Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis and forward Alex Ovechkin put something other than champagne in the Stanley Cup at the Fort Dupont Ice Arena (Photo/Kate Irby).

Leonsis said he hopes to bring the Cup back to Fort Dupont for a celebration same time next year.

But folks at the rink are hoping that they’ll have an occasion to party sooner. Henderson is one of three finalists for the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award. The winner will be announced at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas Wednesday.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

Richard Park seeks Winter Olympics ‘Miracle’ for South Korea’s hockey team

31 Tuesday Oct 2017

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Alex Ovechkin, Jim Paek, Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins., PyeongChang, Richard Park, Winter Olympics

Richard Park won’t say that South Korea’s men’s ice hockey team will win a medal in its Olympic debut at the 2018 Winter Games in February. But….

South Korean men’s hockey team Assistant Coach Richard Park. Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn/
Minnesota Wild

“It’s a short tournament and anything can happen,” Park told me recently. “You use the word ‘miracle,’ you think of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, the ‘Miracle on Ice.’ It’s happen before. If we can come close to matching that, or even duplicating it, it will be an amazing accomplishment.”

It’s been an amazing hockey journey for Park, a retired forward who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks and New York Islanders.

The journey has come full circle for Park. He’s returned to the country of his birth to serve as assistant director and assistant coach for a South Korean men’s team that will compete in its first Winter Olympics when it takes to the Gangneung Hockey Center ice in PyeongChang, South Korea, on Feb. 15 to face the Czech Republic.

Park discusses South Korea’s upcoming Olympic experience, the rise of hockey in Asia, and reflects on his NHL career in the latest Color of Hockey podcast.

While Park won’t predict a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal for South Korea, he says that the 2018 Olympic hockey tournament will be dramatically different from previous Winter Games because the NHL isn’t releasing its players to compete for their countries.

With no Sidney Crosby for Canada, no Patrick Kane, for the United States, no Alex Ovechkin for Russia, and no Henrik Lundqvist  for Sweden, the tournament could be ripe for a surprise.

“It doesn’t directly have an affect on us like other countries,” Park said of the absence of NHL superstars. “But it does have an affect on us because it changes the playing field for us. We’ll see. Hopefully we can turn that into an advantage.”

South Korea has already surprised the hockey world. Under Head Coach Jim Paek and Park, the team finished second at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship Division I Group A tournament in Kiev in April.

Richard Park was a forward for the Minnesota Wild for three seasons and is currently a development coach for the team (Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn/Minnesota Wild).

The showing earned South Korea a promotion to the IIHF’s top division, joining the ranks of the United States, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland and other hockey powers.

“Korea has never ever been close, let alone in the top division in the world of hockey,”  Park said. “It’s huge. It’s big, it’s never been done before.”

Park’s team now faces the daunting task of trying to win in Group A at the Olympic hockey tournament, a bracket that includes powerhouses Canada and the Czech Republic and always pesky Switzerland.

“It’s really the first time we’ll be playing at that caliber,” Park told me. “We’ll do okay.”

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

UAE hockey star Fatima Al Ali wows Washington

10 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Alex Ovechkin, Fatima Al Ali, United Arab Emirates, Washington Capitals

Fatima Al Ali, a member of the United Arab Emirates women’s national hockey team, has mad stick-handling skills and a shy personality.

Both were on display this week as the Washington Capitals, and Emirates  airlines, brought her to the Nation’s Capital to meet All-Star forward Alex Ovechkin and to drop the puck at the start of the Caps’ 6-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings Thursday night.

Ali called her time this week  practicing with the Capitals’ and watching them play at Washington’s Verizon Center against the Carolina Hurricanes and Red Wings a dream come true.

After she dropped the puck at Thursday night’s game, Ali showed off another slick move, whipping out her phone and taking a selfie at center ice with Ovechkin and Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg.

An amazing trip. Thank you so much for coming over and championing #HockeyIsForEveryone @FatimaAl_Ali https://t.co/gskjASvZ0P

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 10, 2017

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

Fatima Al Ali and Washington Capitals prove that ‘Hockey is for Everyone’

25 Sunday Dec 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Alex Ovechkin, Hockey is for Everyone, Peter Bondra, Washington Capitals

Fatima Al Ali is a dangler, and a darn good one.

Former Washington Capitals  star Peter Bondra  quickly noticed that when he was working as a coach at the Pavilkovsky Hockey School in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, in November.

Ali is a slick stick-handling whiz who looks like she’s been playing hockey forever. But the star of the UAE’s women’s hockey team has only been playing since 2008 when she caught the hockey bug while working as the official photographer for the country’s men’s national team.

In partnership w/ @EtihadAirways, @MSE's Monumental Global Academies surprised Fatima to be part of Hockey Is For Everyone Month. #CapsHIFE pic.twitter.com/7StdzlXBBI

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 20, 2016

Bondra was so impressed with her stick handling skills that he told the Capitals. Now the team, in partnership with Etihad Airways, is giving Ali a chance to show off her skills and meet Capitals sniper Alex Ovechkin and other NHL players in the United States.

They surprised her earlier this month with two round-trip business class tickets to D.C. and tickets to attend a Capitals game in February, which the NHL observes as “Hockey is for Everyone Month.” 

“When we talked, I remember you told me your favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, and your favorite team is the Washington Capitals,” Bondra told Fatima during a video call earlier this month. “Looking forward to seeing you again in person, and watch the game, and hopefully (you will) meet Alex Ovechkin and the whole team. I hope you be able to show some skills to Washington Capitals players.”

Embed from Getty Images

 

With a population of more than 5.7 million, the United Arab Emirates has 802  hockey players – 386 men, 334 juniors, and only 82 women. Its men’s national team is ranked 46th in the world while its women’s program isn’t ranked. There are nine indoor rinks in the country.

Bondra journeyed to Adu Dhabi with on a mission to help grow the game, a priority for the Capitals brain trust.

Thanks to @etihadairways & @capitals specially @PeterBondra12 for the amazing #surprise… https://t.co/0hmrJK4XZN

— Fatima Al Ali (@FatimaAl_Ali) December 13, 2016

“We recognize the growth of basketball and hockey worldwide, along with the Arena Football League and our new franchise, the Washington Valor,” said Jim Van Stone, president of business operations and chief commercial officer for Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns and operates the Capitals and the NBA’s Washington Wizards. “We are committed to encouraging that development on an international scale through several initiatives, including upcoming clinics.”

 

 

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

Eight is great for ‘Krash’ Green, just as it was for her NHL pioneer grandad

04 Sunday Dec 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Alex Ovechkin, Bill Riley, Kryshanda Green, Mike Marson, Ryerson University, Washington Capitals, Willie O'Ree

When Ryerson University hockey forward Kryshanda Green had to choose what number to wear on her jersey this season, she quickly picked No.8 in honor of a certain Washington Capitals player.

While high-scoring  Alex Ovechkin is currently Washington’s Great Eight, Green’s choice pays homage to a different No. 8 who she thinks is pretty great: her grandfather, Bill Riley.

Ryerson University's Kryshanda Green (Photo/Alex D'Addese).

Ryerson University’s Kryshanda Green (Photo/Alex D’Addese).

Riley, who the number for the Capitals from 1976 to 1979, was the National Hockey League’s third black player. He followed in the skates of teammate Mike Marson and Willie O’Ree, who became the league’s first black player when he joined the Boston Bruins in 1958.

“My grandfather is like a a huge influence on me, he’s very inspiring,” Green told me recently. “I know he dealt with a lot of adversity. His situation is something that I can be proud of for the rest of my life.”

Green took Riley’s number as a personal reminder of the obstacles that he had to overcome and the perseverance he displayed in not letting anyone  – including some racist fans and fellow players – or anything prevent him from achieving his goals.

“It was more when I was in the minor leagues – I went through a lot in the minors,” Riley, who grew up in Nova Scotia, told me recently. “I got called names down in the U.S., I didn’t even know what they meant. I had to ask another black guy. They used to call me ‘chitlin.‘ I didn’t know what a chitlin was. We don’t have chitlins up in Canada, we don’t eat chitlins in Canada.”

Riley appeared in 139 NHL games over five seasons with the Capitals and Winnipeg Jets, notching 31 goals and 30 assists.

Bill Riley, the NHL's third black player, donned the Number 8 for the Washington Capitals long before Alex Ovechkin made it famous.(Photos/Washington Capitals).

Bill Riley, the NHL’s third black player, donned the No. 8 for the Washington Capitals long before Alex Ovechkin made it famous.(Photos/Washington Capitals).

Green says she’s taking lessons from Riley’s perseverance and using it to revive a promising hockey career that hit a big red stop sign three seasons ago.

Green began her Canadian collegiate hockey career at London, Ontario’s Western University in 2012-13. She tallied 9 goals and 13 assists for the Mustangs and earned Ontario University Athletics’ All-Rookie Team honors that season.

But success on ice didn’t translate to success in the classroom. Hitting the books wasn’t her top priority.

“I wasn’t ready academically,” she said. “I wasn’t willing to do the work. I wasn’t willing to study or put dedication toward academics. I was certainly willing to play hockey. I did that day in and day out, anytime I could. I loved it. But academically, I hadn’t matured in the same way, and that was my downfall.”

Kryshanda Green leads Ryerson University's women's hockey team in scoring in the 2016-17 season (Photo by Alex D'Addese/ Ryerson Rams Athletics)

Kryshanda Green leads Ryerson University’s women’s hockey team in scoring in the 2016-17 season (Photo by Alex D’Addese/ Ryerson Rams Athletics)

Frustrated, Green left Western and quit hockey altogether – moves that broke her grandfather’s heart.

“It really disappointed me because I knew how good she was,” said Riley, 66. “She has a gear that a lot of players will never get, no matter how hard they work. She is so explosive to the outside, she’s unbelievable. And she shoots the puck a ton – she fires bullets for a girl that small. She was too darn good not to play.”

“To be honest, I think my grandfather was the most upset,” Green recalled. “He was like ‘What are you doing? How can you stop playing? You’ve got to get through this.'”

But Green said was stubbornly determined not to return to the rink. She filled the hockey void by getting in touch with her artistic side.

She collaborated with Toronto-area hip-hop artists and even released her own EP and video as the artist known as Krash.

But even as she busted rhymes, hockey remained on her mind.

“It was something that I knew I wasn’t done with, that I finished too early,” Green told me. “It was something that I was tired of keeping me up at night.”

While performing music was fun, working regular jobs in Toronto area warehouses and for a film services company from 2013 to 2015 were hardly inspiring, Green confessed.

Fortunately, a life-line came in the form of a phone call from Lisa Haley, Ryerson’s women’s hockey head coach and former assistant coach on the Canadian women’s national team that won gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Haley wanted to know if Green was interested in playing hockey again. Krash dropped the mic and grabbed a stick.

“I thought I wasn’t going to get another chance to finish what I started after all these years, so I took it because I thought that getting an education was the most valuable thing for me to get right now,” Green said.

Green was red-shirted at Ryerson last season, meaning she didn’t appear in single game for the Rams. That gave her time to focus on academics, which resulted in a 3.5 grade-point average last year, she said.

“This year, I’m currently a 3.0. After exams, hopefully, it will be higher,” Green, a politics and governance major, told me. “It’s the most important part.”

Her on-ice stats are pretty good, too. The 5-foot-4 forward from Brampton, Ontario, leads the Rams in scoring with 8 goals and 7 assists for 15 points in 12 games. She’s fourth in the OUA in points; fourth in goals; and eighth in assists.

She’s tenth in goals and thirteenth in points in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, the country’s version of the NCAA.

“It’s been amazing,” Green said of her success after the long hockey layoff. “I have a greater appreciation for the game that I never thought I’d have. It feels like home again…It’s honestly such a privilege for me to get on the ice. For me, just being able to step on the ice and play a game is huge.”

Kryshanda Green is thrilled to be playing hockey again after a lengthy layoff (Photo by Alex D'Addese/ Ryerson Rams Athletics)

Kryshanda Green is thrilled to be playing hockey again after a lengthy layoff (Photo by Alex D’Addese/ Ryerson Rams Athletics)

Green’s work ethic and dedication earned her an assistant captain’s “A” on her jersey this season, a symbol that she’s a team leader.

“She is highly skilled, she’s got blazing speed on the ice, but the bigger impact of ‘Krash’s’ legacy on our program has been her leadership,” Haley said. “She is the picture of accountability, integrity and perseverance. These are key qualities that every successful team embodies and she brought these to the rink every single day last year, knowing she wouldn’t even play a game the entire season.”

Just what proud grandpa Bill Riley likes to hear.

“She’s blowing the doors off her grades,” he said of his granddaughter. “And she’s blowing the doors off the hockey.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

Christopher Gibson wins 1st NHL start, secures playoff spot for N.Y. Islanders

07 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Alex Ovechkin, Christopher Gibson, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins., Sidney Crosby

There was no pressure on New York Islanders rookie goaltender Christopher Gibson Tuesday night when he faced the Washington Capitals.

Traded from Toronto on the first day of training camp, Gibson clinches playoff spot for Islanders in first NHL start.

Traded from Toronto on the first day of training camp, Gibson clinches playoff spot for Islanders in first NHL start.

He was only making his first National Hockey League start against superstar sniper Alex Ovechkin and the team with the league’s best regular season record with a Stanley Cup playoff berth on the line.

Gibson showed his mettle, making 29 saves in a 4-3 comeback overtime Islanders victory against Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals in D.C. that secured team’s third playoff spot in four years.

“Right now, it’s the best night of my life so far,” Gibson told NHL Tonight via the highlight show’s arena camera. “I never thought my first game would be against the Washington Capitals. Especially going to OT and winning in overtime, it’s been unbelievable.”

Islanders Head Coach Jack Capuano told reporters that Gibson “gave us a chance to win, and he was our best player tonight.”

Tuesday night’s best player wasn’t on the Islanders roster last Sunday. The team called him up from its American Hockey League farm team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, because of injuries to goalies Jean-Francois Berube and Jaroslav Halak.

.@CGibber37 made 29 saves in his first NHL start as #Isles rallied for OT win! Check out his segment on #NHLLive:https://t.co/kujVQlMmJg

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 6, 2016

Doesn't get much better for your first @NHL win! Congrats @CGibber37! pic.twitter.com/CnRlvAbr7k

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 6, 2016

Gibson, 23, was born in Karkkila, Finland. His mother is Finnish and his father hails from St. Lucia. After playing four seasons playing for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Gibson was chosen by the Los Angeles Kings with the 49th pick of the NHL Draft in 2011.

But Gibson didn’t sign with the Kings, and ended up signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He bounced between the Leafs’ farm teams – the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL and Toronto Marlies of the AHL – in the 2013-14 season.

The Leafs traded him to the Islanders on the first day of training camp in September for Michael Grabner and was assigned to Bridgeport where he has a 19-11-3 record and a 2.70 goals-against average.

Tuesday was his first NHL start, but he played in his first NHL game on Jan. 2, 2016, relieving starting Isles goalie Thomas Greiss in a tilt against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He gave up one goal in a 5-2 Penguins victory.

Brent Thompson, Gibson’s head coach in Bridgeport, told the Islanders website reporter Cory Wright that the goaltender is “one of the hardest-working kids both on and off the ice.”

“If there’s an opportunity to get on the ice early, he’s on the ice early, doing extra, we always do extra shooting,” Thompson told Wright. “His conditioning, he takes pride in that. I think you couldn’t ask for a better kid all around. He’s got great character, a great work ethic and it’s really nice to see him get that kind of reward with his first NHL win.”

 

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

Globetrotting Yushiro Hirano hopes long hockey road trip leads to NHL career

27 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Alex Ovechkin, Chicago Blackhawks, Jonathan Toews, Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, USHL, Washington Capitals

Yushiro Hirano has taken the term “road trip” to a new level.

The 20-year-old right wing left Hokkaido, Japan, last year to play hockey in Tingsryds, Sweden, some 4,683 miles away from his island home.

This year, Hirano’s pursuit of a National Hockey League career has taken him nearly 5,960 miles from home to Ohio, where he made history over the weekend as a member of the Youngstown Phantoms. Skating in the Phantoms’ season-opening 6-4 loss to Team USA Saturday, Hirano became the United States Hockey League’s first player born in Japan.

Ohio is Japan's Yushiro Hirano's new hockey home (Photo/Bill Paterson).

Ohio is Japan’s Yushiro Hirano’s new hockey home (Photo/Bill Paterson).

“I’m happy because I feel there is a responsibility for me to represent Japan well,”  Hirano said when asked in an e-mail exchange about making the Phantoms roster. “I hope to grow the game in Japan and make everybody proud. I also want to play well enough to get to the professional ranks here in the United States.”

Joining the Phantoms capped an excellent hockey summer for Hirano. Before he tried out for the USHL team, he attended the Chicago Blackhawks development camp in July as a free agent invitee.

Hirano attended the Chicago Blackhawks development camp before joining the Phantoms (Photo/Bill Paterson).

Hirano attended the Chicago Blackhawks development camp before joining the Phantoms (Photo/Bill Paterson).

The Hawks learned about Hirano through Andrew Allen, who was a developmental goaltending coach in the Chicago organization before becoming the Buffalo Sabres’ goalie coach this season. Allen knew of Hirano because he served as goaltending coach and developmental coach for Japan’s national team.

The son of a former Team Japan player, Hirano compiled an impressive numbers in Japan and Sweden. He tallied 12 goals and 14 assists in 26 games for Tingsryds’ junior team last season.

He collected 6 goals and 2 assists in 5 games as captain for Japan’s Under-20 team playing in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Junior Championship in the D1B Division in 2014-15. He also notched 3 goals in 5 games for Team Japan’s men’s squad in the IIHF world championship D1A Division last season.

But Hirano – whose first name is sometimes spelled Yushiroh –  wasn’t widely known in North America because Japan isn’t a hockey power. Its men’s team is 21st in IIHF rankings. The women’s team is ranked eighth internationally and competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The squad played hard in Russia, but didn’t win a game.

With a baseball and soccer-obsessed population of 127,103,388, Japan has 19,260 hockey players – 9,641 men, 6,996 juniors, and 2,623 women – playing on 120 outdoor rinks and 110 indoor ice sheets.

“It is still a minor sport in Japan, but more people have been watching and following hockey in the United States, which will only help the game,” Hirano told me.

So how did Hirano wind up in Youngstown?  Tingsryds team management emailed Phantoms CEO and Co-Owner Troy Loney that Hirano might be worth a look.

“He received an email this summer and passed it along to our general manager about a young Japanese player who was looking to pay his own way to come over and try out,” Phantoms Head Coach John Wroblewski told me recently. “I guess there was a little bit of intrigue because he attended Chicago Blackhawks rookie camp as well this summer, but we knew nothing about him when the emails started coming around.”

It didn’t take long for the 6-foot, 200-pound Hirano to impress Wroblewski.

“He’s a big kid, very strong and sturdy,” he said. “He looks a lot like some of the pro players I dealt with the last few years. This leads into him being able to shoot the puck extremely hard. Tremendous accurate shot, very, very heavy shot. Those are the things that stuck out right away.”

Hirano is one of the Phantoms' top forwards and skates on the power play (Photo/Bill Paterson).

Hirano is one of the Phantoms’ top forwards and skates on the power play (Photo/Bill Paterson).

But Wroblewski saw something more in Hirano than a big body and a shot. “His work ethic was the next thing, and the ability to make plays,” he said. “He has quite a bit of vision and the ability to make deft, subtle plays. He works extremely hard away from the puck. If he’s the last guy on a back-check he’s working as hard as if he has it (the puck) going forward.”

Hirano says he’s adjusting to life in North America on and off the ice just fine, though he cites “the language barrier” as the biggest challenge. His coach isn’t so sure about that.

“He’s sneaky, I think he might know a little more than he’s letting on,” Wroblewski said with a laugh. “He understands it very well, he does have to concentrate a little more than the next guy on it, but he does understand it quite nicely. I say that because he picks up on subtlties within drills that really aren’t explained very well. Either he’s really smart, knows a little bit more English than we think, or a combination of both. I think it’s the third scenario.”

The United States Hockey League is the nation’s only Tier 1 junior league and prides itself on being a pathway to college hockey for its players. More than 95 percent of USHL players receive an opportunity to play NCAA Division I hockey.

Hirano, however, is viewing his USHL stint in Youngstown as a stepping stone to the NHL. He hopes to someday play alongside or against his favorite players – Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, Tampa Bay Lightning sniper Steven Stamkos, or Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin.

“I’m nowhere close to the (NHL) level yet,” he told The Chicago Tribune in July. “I’d like to keep improving, but if I do get there, it’d be a huge impact for kids in Japan. They’d have a legitimate dream they could look up to and strive for.”

Wroblewski believes that Hirano’s dream isn’t an impossible one.

“In this short time, if his learning curve continues on this pace, on the degree it has thus far, there’s no telling how much he can get done here,” he said. “His straight ahead speed has to improve, there’s definitely a skating factor that the NHL desires, but his ability to play with others and put the puck in the net is pretty special.”

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...

Ex-NHL tough guy Donald Brashear goes from jaw-breaker to stick-maker

27 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Alex Ovechkin, Donald Brashear, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals

After 17 National Hockey League seasons playing for five teams that provided him with every piece of equipment he needed, tough guy forward Donald Brashear had an epiphany – and a case of sticker shock – when he had to buy a hockey stick.

“I was retired for five years, so when I ran out of sticks and I went to buy one at a store, I thought the sticks were so expensive,” Brashear told me recently. “Even though I have money, it didn’t make sense for me to pay 300 bucks for a stick just to play in the beer league.”

Donald Brashear  launched a quest to make an affordable hockey stick.

Donald Brashear launched a quest to make an affordable hockey stick.

That breath-gasping experience launched Brashear on a mission to manufacture and sell professional-caliber, carbon fiber, high-performance hockey sticks at an affordable price.

The result was Brash 87, an upstart business that sells Brashear-designed sticks for players of all levels. He’s priced them between $129 (CAN) and $189 (CAN) – roughly $103 to $151 (USD) – about half the cost of name-brand sticks.

Brashear is the latest individual or company to venture into the lucrative and ultra-competitive hockey stick business.  In 2013, STX, a Baltimore-based lacrosse, field hockey, and golf equipment maker branched off into ice hockey sticks.

In 2000, golf club shaft-maker True got into the hockey stick biz and has sold more than two million twigs since.  But big-name hockey companies continue to be the big dogs. Bauer, for example, has an estimated 54 percent of the hockey equipment market – which includes sticks.

Brashear says he’s not out to conquer the hockey stick-making world. He just wants a small piece of the planet.

“It’s like you’re drinking Pepsi-Cola and then there’s a new company that shows up and says ‘Listen, I want to take one percent of that market,'” he told me. “If I can get one percent of what that company is making, that’s a lot of money.”

Donald Brashear played for five NHL teams, including the Philadelphia Flyers (Photo/ Mitchell Layton/Getty Images via Philadelphia Flyers)

Donald Brashear played for five NHL teams, including the Philadelphia Flyers (Photo/ Mitchell Layton/Getty Images via Philadelphia Flyers)

Brashear began his quest slowly. First, he searched for a reliable manufacturer in China who could make sticks to his specifications. After personally putting prototype sticks through their paces, he began selling the sticks around hometown Quebec City and at a Toronto-area Canadian Tire store.

“In six months, eight months, I sold like close to 3,000 sticks with no marketing, no advertising, no nothing. Only word of mouth,” he told me. “I hit two markets: the parents who don’t want to pay for a stick that’s too expensive and the beer league player who wants a high-performance stick.”

He’s become a traveling salesman of sorts, lugging a few Brash 87’s with him to rinks around Quebec City where he plays hockey five times a week.

“I bring my sticks, other players take them and they realize ‘That’s a nice stick, it’s light,'” Brashear said. “I say ‘Why don’t you try it?’ They try it and they adopt it.”

Now Brashear is looking to expand. He pitched his wares earlier this month before the panelists of CBC’s “Dragons’ Den,” Canada’s equivalent to CNBC’s popular “Shark Tank” business reality television show. The episode should air in the upcoming season.

Donald Brashear recently pitched his less-expensive Brash 87 hockey sticks to CBC's

Donald Brashear recently pitched his less-expensive Brash 87 hockey sticks to CBC’s “Dragons’ Den,” Canada’s version of CNBC’s “Shark Tank.” (Photo/CBC)

“The ultimate goal is to build a high-performance stick to help people save money on sticks,” he said. “It’s not something I’m doing to become a millionaire. It’s something I’m doing where I’m helping people and helping me at the same time.”

Some fans might think Brashear’s desire to sell hockey sticks a bit odd. After all, he was a player known more for his fists than his scoring touch. In 1,025 NHL games, Brashear tallied 85 goals, 120 assists and a whopping 2,634 penalty minutes – most of them accumulated five minutes at a time as one of the league’s fiercest and most-feared fighters.

The website dropyourgloves.com calculates that Brashear had 390 fights during his hockey career – 277 of them while playing for the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, and New York Rangers. He spent enough time in the sin bin that he’s ranked 15th all-time in penalty minutes among NHL players.

“A lot of people know me as a guy that was fighting but knew how to play the game, that could score a goal once in a while, and could make some passes,” said Brashear, an Indiana-born French-Canadian. “If you look at my stats, I fight but I was also picking up points.”

Brashear had the ability to light the lamp. He was second in scoring on the Fredericton Canadiens -Montreal’s American Hockey League farm team in 1993-94 – with 38 goals and 28 assists while amassing 250 penalty minutes. He had an NHL career-high 28 points – 9 goals, 19 assists – for the Canucks in 2000-2001.

One of his most satisfying seasons was when he scored 25 points – 8 goals, 17 assists – with the Flyers in 2002-03 as a fourth-line player with right wing Sami Kapanen and center Keith Primeau.

“That was a fun year, I really liked it,” Brashear told me. “I always wanted to be in different situations, and I was used in different situations. I wanted to become a better player.”

He added: “I shot a lot of pucks and I know a lot about hockey sticks. I would watch (Capitals forward Alex) Ovechkin make a move and I would try to make the same one. It would take me two years before I would be able to, but in the end I would get it.”

But toughness remains Brashear’s calling card. When his young players were being pushed around in the Swedish Hockey League last season, Modo Assistant General Manager Peter Forsberg telephoned his then 42-year-old former Flyers teammate Brashear and asked him to hop a plane and suit up.

“I said ‘Peter, I’ve been retired for five years. Yeah, I play a lot of hockey, but I’m not in game shape like going 100 miles an hour like these kids now in Europe,'” Brashear recalled. “I said ‘We’re not allowed to fight.’ He said ‘No, but your presence there is going to make a big difference.'”

Brashear’s Modo stat line: 12 regular season games, no points and six penalty minutes.  He had a goal, no assists, and two penalty minutes in four playoff games. He was a fan favorite during his nearly three-month stint in Sweden.

“I really enjoyed it…I kind of wish right after my career I had the chance to go play there to get better at the game there,” he said. “There’s so much skating, passing the puck. It’s not so much physical.”

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Skype

Like this:

Like Loading...
← Older posts

Recent Posts

  • Asian & Pacific Islander heritage players on 2020-21 team rosters in pictures
  • Meet the Black players on NCAA women’s hockey rosters in 2020-21
  • Jaden Lindo adds new chapter to ‘Soul on Ice’ by winning hockey championship
  • Sarah Nurse seeks gold at IIHF world championship after winning Olympic silver
  • Hockey Family Photo Album, Page 2

Archives

  • May 2021
  • February 2021
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • April 2013
  • December 2012

Categories

  • John Tortorella
  • nhl.com
  • Uncategorized

Hockey Links

  • American Collegiate Hockey Association
  • Black Ice Book
  • Detroit Hockey Association
  • Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation
  • Fort Dupont Ice Arena
  • Hasek's Heroes
  • Hockey is for Everyone
  • Hockeyland Canada
  • Ice Hockey in Harlem
  • International Ice Hockey Federation
  • Jamaica Olympic Ice Hockey Federation
  • Kevin Weekes Online
  • NHL official website
  • NHL Uniforms
  • Ted's Take
  • The American Hockey League
  • The ECHL
  • TSN
  • USA Hockey

Powered by WordPress.com.

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: