NHL Hockey: Top UFA's

Checking out Cap Geek, there's not a lot out there as far as Unrestricted Free Agents. Lot of over 30-year old players out there looking for a team.

Why Canada’s world junior loss to U.S. should not come as a shock

Here is a good read that I found in the National Post, a major newspaper from Canada. I would have to say that contrary to public belief, the Canadians aren’t going to win a WJC every year. It’s just not possible. I also don’t think that it’s realistic to expect them to win a medal every year either. There are good hockey players all-over the world. The USA has closed the gap between us and the Canadians. Both countries develop good hockey players. That’s a fact.

Cam Cole, National Post --- So Canada’s under-20 national team won’t be playing for the gold medal, after getting clocked 5-1 by the United States Thursday at the world junior championship in Ufa, Russia.

So this means … what? A colossal failure? Cause for a royal commission? A closing of the borders so that those dastardly foreigners — all two of them, per team — can’t play in our major junior leagues, take spots away from our own kids, and then turn around and use what they’ve learned here to beat us over there?

Or is it simply one more chapter in the ongoing story of a sport that now belongs to the elite players of a half-dozen or more nations, not just one or two. To Americans and Swedes, to Russians and Canadians, to Finns and Swiss and Czechs.

This is also a fact that makes me very happy.

Nearly one in four NHLers is an American. And the NHL footprint has greatly increased the number of states that now produce elite junior players.

I have been reading some of the pundits break down the Canadians 4th place finish and you would think that with their line-up that the Canadians had, this would have been their year. But as we know, talent doesn’t always equal victory.

While it’s easy to bag on the Canadians for them not winning the gold. I believe that the Canadians play the game the right way. You don’t see the Canadians flailing all-over ice diving like a bunch of ballerinas. I am pointing my finger at a few of the European teams.

Lastly, going forward in the future, if the USA can’t win the gold, I would much rather see the team wearing Maple Leaf standing at their blue ling singing their national anthem than the Russians or the Swedes any day.

Edit: WJC and NCAA Hockey television schedule

You have options, when it comes to watchable hockey. As I have mentioned in a couple of posts in the past, there has been a huge void left by the NHL Lockout and hockey fans have been looking for other options to fill that void left by the NHL Lockout. As the lockout motors towards day 100, College hockey has taken center stage for hockey fans in the USA.

This fall, I have been keeping a national television schedule of NCAA Hockey games. With the U20 World Junior Championship going on in Ufa, Russia starting on the 26^th of December, 2012 there will be more hockey viewing options for the holiday season. Here is the updated hockey schedule.

All times are central standard time. *DTV = DirecTV. *Dish = Dish TV.

s/t to one of the readers for bringing up a correction, it was an over sight on my part. The Great Lakes Invitational is the 29-30th of December, 2012.

Originally, the 2012 Great Lakes Invitational was scheduled to take place at Comerica Park in Detroit, MI on December 27-28. The NHL Lockout and the subsequent cancellation of the 2013 NHL Winter Classic meant the GLI would not be played at Comerica Park, therefore the GLI was moved back into Joe Louis Arena where the tourney played on a yearly basis. So the even was also rescheduled.

Thur.	Dec. 27		WJC USA vs. German	NHL Net	8:00 a.m.	215/157
Fri.	Dec. 28		WJC Slovakia vs. Canada	NHL Net	3:30 a.m.	215/157
Fri.	Dec. 28		WJC USA vs. Russia	NHL Net	8:00 a.m.	215/157
Sat.	Dec. 29		WJC Russia vs. Germany	NHL Net	8:00 a.m.	215/157
Sat.	Dec. 29		Air Force at Minnesota	FS North+	7:05 p.m.	657/444
Sat.	Dec. 29		Boston University at Denver	ROOT Sports	8:00 p.m.	683 / 414
Sun.	Dec.30		WJC USA vs. Canada	NHL Net	3:30 a.m.	215/157
Sun.	Dec. 30		WJC Germany vs. Slovakia	NHL Net	8:00 a.m.	215/157
Sat.	Dec. 30		Michigan State vs. WMichigan	FS Detroit	2:30 p.m.	663 / 430
Sat.	Dec. 30		Michigan vs. Michigan Tech	FS Detroit	6:30 p.m.	663 / 430
Sun.	Dec. 30		Boston College at Minnesota	FS North+	7:05 p.m.	657/444
Sun.	Dec. 30		GLI Third-Place Game	FS Detroit	2:30 p.m.	663 / 430
Sun.	Dec. 30		GLI Championship Game	FS Detroit	6:30 p.m.	663 / 430
Mon.	Dec. 31		WJC USA vs. Slovakia	NHL Net	4:00 a.m.	215/157
Mon.	Dec. 31		WJC Canada vs. Russia	NHL Net	8:00 a.m.	215/157

Originally Posted at the Hockey Writers Combine

Related articles

• WJC and NCAA Hockey television schedule (thehockeywriters.com)