Angela Ruggiero, 2015 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee.

The Weekly Links post highlights important or interesting writing from the hockey blogosphere and media. After a brief hiatus, we are back to posting this feature weekly. Enjoy!

• Mike Richards is the tabloid fodder of the week for the NHL. Rumour has it that he was caught trying to cross the Canadian/US border with the prescription pain medication oxycodone. Read all about “Painkillers and double standards in the NHL” from the [Pension Plan Puppets].
• Learn more about the National Women’s Hockey League (opening in October) and the role of the Northeastern University women’s hockey alumna in its creation. [Northeastern News]
• Do you often sit and wonder about the state of women’s hockey in Slovakia? Ya, probably not but thanks to Liz over at Women’s Hockey Life we can all learn a little bit about the growth and development of our favourite sport in the Southern half of what used to be Czechoslovakia. [Women’s Hockey Life]
• In other tabloid news, the alleged sexual assault case of Mike Ribeiro continues … [Puck Daddy]
• Finally, we have seen a little colour added to this year’s NHL draft and [The Color of Hockey] is all over it.  This year nine players of colour were drafted making this the most diverse draft in the league’s history.  But let’s face, nine player in seven rounds is indicative of hockey’s lack of diversity.
• Another one from the [Pension Plan Puppets] offers readers an anthropological take on the NHL draft and the accompanying rituals of manhood.
• The Chicago Blackhawks beat out the Supreme Court’s support for the LGBTQ community by crashing the Chicago Pride parade with Lord Stanley’s Cup. [Puck Daddy]
• Andong Song is the first Chinese player to ever be drafted by an NHL club.  His Chinese heritage is an obvious connection with the Islander’s owner Charles Wang but we will have to wait and see whether or not Song’s future will enhance the sport of hockey in China. [Sportsnet]
• After 16 season in the NHL, Martin St. Louis has decided to hang up his skates. [NHL.com]
• Here’s a piece of trivia that may come in handy at the pub one day: Haiti is the 2015 World Champion of Road Hockey! [Color of Hockey]
• What do Angela Ruggiero and Nik Lidstrom have in common? They will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this year along with Chris Pronger, Sergei Federov and others. [CBC Sports]