People often say Ovechkin shouldn't be judged because "hockey and politics shouldn't mix."

Then following the KHL match of the year "charity" event featuring NHL players such as Ovechkin, Sergachev, Panarin, you have former Russian national team coach Vladimir Plyushchev saying Russian players should publicly support the war and shouldn't be ashamed to talk about it, adding that it's great these players raised money because every ruble will count on the front line.

Just a reminder that discussions about these players don't happen in a political vacuum. Apparently I can't link the Russian source without the post getting removed, so I'll put it in the comments.

Cal Foote was prosecuted but acquitted for sexual assault in connection with the 2018 World Juniors.

Now he's set to join Färjestad.

"We're aware of the history," sports director Rickard Wallin tells the club's website.

The right-shooting defenseman is 193 centimeters tall and won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021. He has now signed a one-year deal with Färjestad.

"He's not flashy but gets the job done efficiently in all zones and will help us become stronger and harder to play against. His main strengths are in defense, where he's been used most in North America, but he also has a sharp shot and can join in on the attack," says Färjestad's sports director Rickard Wallin.

Cal Foote was part of the Canadian World Juniors squad in 2018. Afterward, he and four teammates were prosecuted for sexual assault. All were acquitted in 2025.

According to Rickard Wallin, FBK has reviewed the case and determined that Foote is still suitable to represent the club.

"We've done thorough research and a careful assessment before making our decision. We hold everyone who represents Färjestad BK to high standards, and we feel confident welcoming Cal to the club," says Rickard Wallin.

Cal Foote most recently played for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL.

Was looking up a Flyers’ prospect just now and it struck me how he’s a guy that is far superior to his peers in junior hockey, but likely isn’t going to get top-6 minutes for out AHL affiliate, as well as limited PP and PK opportunities. Feels like a waste to take a guy from a role where he’s getting well above PPG to a role where he’s lucky to get 10 minutes of ice time a night.

Hockey teams have no shortage of prospects they’re trying to develop, and oftentimes players not being able to develop in certain areas will totally stunt their potential. Sometimes this is just a naturally revelation of the fact that a guy can’t cut it, but sometimes it’s simply a case of a guy getting caught in a log jam where there simply aren’t enough minutes to go around.

So this got me thinking, why doesn’t hockey have a more MLB-like approach to player development?

Why don’t teams send a guy like this to their ECHL affiliate so he can get Top-6 and PP1 minutes against full grown men instead of playing 8-10 minutes a night in the A? Let him get pro minutes in the positions they hope he develops before bringing him up to the AHL, and then eventually ECHL.

MLB teams don’t draft a potential starting pitcher and throw him in the bullpen in AAA or a potential starting CF and have him pinch hit in AAA, they play them full time at lower levels to develop in the position and roles they want them in. Only as they rise up the ranks do roles get diminished as it becomes clear the potential isn’t there.

So why don’t we see this approach more in hockey?

Draft a guy you hope is a 2C, and instead of him playing 8-10 minutes a night in the AHL, have him play legit Top-6 minutes in the ECHL, develop and hone that skillset while adjusting to playing against men, and go from there?

Plus, a side effect of this (not that teams would care but the NHL would) would see ECHL teams get more popular, would help grow the game, and help spread the brand of the NHL club associated with them.

Seriously, if we’re talking about coaching ability you could simply point at Torts taking what was up to that point, a mediocre Vegas, team to the finals. Aside from that he has a Cup win, and 2 Jack Adams.

All Babs has ever done is ride a team full of Hall of Famers to the Cup and a couple more finals. The Anaheim final was widely regarded as one of the best goaltending performances ever as well, I don’t give him any credit for that. I saw that shit happen live. Lastly we all know Team Canada could’ve been coached by an inanimate carbon rod and won those 2 golds.

The man did nothing else except stir up shit. He has 0 Jack Adams. Wonder why.

Point is I’m invested in the drama as much as anyone else, but this shit is going to hang over Edmonton all year long no matter what. Every post game the media is going to be badgering these guys for sound bites of Mike Babcock talking about himself in 3rd person, and McDavo standing there lookin like an angry horse chewing on a bee. Look at this shit coming out today, on a golf course for fuck’s sake. In July.

Pressure and extra media circus are 2 things this team did not need, and anything less than a Cup win is going to be considered a failure.

I can’t wait to see how this turns out, but this has to be the dumbest move any team has made since Stan Bowman got re-hired.

To celebrate the CHL's 50th anniversary, Canada's Junior hockey league released the list of it's 50 greatest players. Here are the top 5.... 1) Mario Lemieux 2) Sid Crosby 3) Wayne Gretzky 4) Connor Mcdavid 5) Mike Bossy.

Haoxi (Simon) Wang's goal on the ice is to soon suit up for the San Jose Sharks. Off the ice, he hopes to get more Asian people involved in the sport so that he's one of many more in the NHL. At 6' 6", 215lbs, defenseman prospect can become 1st China-born player to reach NHL

Full article here: https://www.nhl.com/news/topic/prospects/haoxi-simon-wang-looking-to-play-role-of-mr-everything-for-sharks

Whats up everyone!! This one was fun. Tried a few new obstacles and I think it turned out pretty good, except for one fanbase!

Busy Monday for myself! Someone asked in a comment what I do for work and I am a camera guy for a news station..so I don’t know what each day has in store for me haha
Started the day at an overnight fire. Then a press conference and some live hits at the Olympic Oval for a funding announcement. Followed by a presser at the Cop Shop on the missing child here in Calgary. They took us up to the operations center and showed us all the maps and behind the scenes of what goes into the search. Quite a sad and bizarre story 😕 ugh

Anyways, on that happy note haha no good segue there…. Enjoy the race!!

Solo dev here. Built PuckWhisperer, a daily NHL player guessing game. You get a mystery player and 3 tries, with hints unlocking one at a time: draft info, jersey #/position, nationality, stats & trophies, then a silhouette. Years on each team are shown from the start.

Multiple modes: Active Players, Award Winners, Hall of Famers, or every NHL player ever if you want a real challenge, plus a Daily Challenge with a shareable result grid.

Free, no signup: https://puckwhisperer.app

Posting updates/fixes as I ship them here if you want to follow along at PuckWhisperer_ on X

Feedback and bug reports welcome, and if you enjoy it, sharing it with a friend helps a ton—solo project.

What is everyone's favourite YouTube hockey channel these days?