Kovalchuk, Spezza share top billing

Special to The Hockey News The two-horse race that is the run-up to the 2001 NHL entry draft is a dead heat after the World Junior Championship. Russian left winger Hya Kovalchuk entered the tournament as the consensus No. 1 pick and demonstrated snippets of the blazing speed, lightning-quick hands and tough ness that have placed him at the top of most NHL teams’ draft boards. But he was outplayed by Canadian center Jason Spezza, who got better and better throughout the tournament, earned assists on both goals in Canada’s bronze medal victory over Sweden ana was named to the tournament all-star team. One GM resorted to a baseball analogy to characterize the differences between the two. “Kovalchuk is like a Mark McGwire—he’s a home run threat, a potential game-breaker every time he steps on…

Tensor mouthguards help you play it safe

Leading an active lifestyle is common in today’s society. With increased activity comes the need for improved safety equipment. In contact sports such as hockey, safety has become paramount, especially pertaining to head injuries. Many organized amateur sports have been making the mouthguard, an increasingly important piece of equipment, mandatory. Mouthguards in the past have been restrictive and uncomfortable. It was it hard to breathe or even communicate with your teammates, plus there was the peer pressure factor. Athletes deemed it wasn’t cool. Times have changed. During the past five years, head injuries have gained media attention in sports, particularly in the NHL, where high profile players such as Pat LaFontaine and Brett Lindros have suffered career-ending concussions. Properly fitted mouthguards are worn to protect athletes from a wide variety of injuries. Lost…

Ron Francis quietly making noise among NHL thoroughbreds

The twilight of Ron Francis’ thoroughly distinguished career is being played out mainly in a city called Raleigh which, in the minds of many of us, is associated not with the NHL, but with the old Andy Griffith Show, the state capital to which Mayberryites escaped whenever they wanted a taste of big-city life. His team, the Carolina Hurricanes, may qualify as the NHL’s least visible entity Most nights, you can find the majority of teams somewhere on the satellite dish, but not the Hurricanes, who pretty much only show up as a visiting team. There is an obscurity to them that doesn’t apply to other teams. At age 37, Francis remains his steady, solid self. Once again, his name is atop the team’s scoring list, as he quietly piles up the…

SUMMER HOCKEY SCHOOL GUIDE - EASTERN U.S.