Christy Gardner. Photo from Purpose 2 Play.

The Weekly Links post highlights important or interesting writing from the hockey blogosphere and media. Enjoy!

• The opening day for the NWHL is on Sunday October 11th (Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend!) and the Buffalo Beauts will be handing out commemorative pucks to the first 1,000 attendees. Additionally, the first 500 will receive a Manon Rheaume trading card. Should make for a good collector’s item…or ebay sale. [NWHL]
• Quick – Theo Fleury: what’s your first thought? If you said country singer then you get 1 million points.  Find out from [Vice Sports] how country music has helped Theo Fleury deal with his so-called demons.
• Yushiro Hirano is a young 20-year-old from Japan trying to find his way to the NHL. This year he joined the Youngstown Phantoms and has become the first Japanese born player to play in the United States Hockey League. Read about his story at [The Color of Hockey]
• It’s been a rough 2015 for the NHL regarding off-ice incidents. This past week we added Zack Kassian and Sean Avery to the list of those making the Commissioner’s Bad List (although Avery was probably already on that list). After receiving minor injuries in a car accident [Huffington Post] on the weekend, he has since entered a rehab program [CBC News].  Then good ol’ Sean Avery was arrested for throwing objects as passing vehicles and being in possession a bunch of narcotics. [TSN]
• It would seem that the NHL and the PA are playing nicely these days, or that’s what they want us to believe. Fehr has gone so far as to quote his grandmother, “You can disagree without being disagreeable.” Let’s hope that is true. [Globe and Mail]
• A few weeks ago we posted Part 1 of a three part series on Canucks former prospect Prab Rai. Here are parts 2 and 3 where he talks about his life after his car accident and post-hockey. [Vancity Buzz – The Injury] [Vancity Buzz – After hockey]
• The “irredeemable” Raffi Torres received a 41 game suspension for head hunting Jakob Silfverberg. Supposedly, this is the League saying “we don’t play that way anymore.” Time will tell. [Puck Daddy]. Ken Campbell feels that long suspensions are a better policing mechanism than fighting [The Hockey News].
• This is an interesting story about the Islander’s move to Brooklyn. It seems that many of the players are taking the Long Island Railroad to get to the stadium. How cool would it be to hang out with the team on public transit! And, of course, thumbs up for being Green fellas. [Bar Down]
• Director Stephen Hosier has attempted to distill 50 years of disappointment for Leafs fans into this 20 minute documentary titled, The Impassioned. [For the Win]
• Here is an awesome story about a female army veteran who sustained life threatening injuries while on a peacekeeping mission, and found solace on the ice.  Christy Gardner is now a member of the US Women’s Sled hockey team. [Purpose2Play]
• The League and the PA are discussing whether to add cocaine to the list of banned substances. [The Hockey News]
• Another good reflection piece on the Patrick Kane situation comes to us from [Other Half Sports]. And, as the Blackhawks raised the Stanley Cup banner #NotMyNHL trended on twitter trying to shine a light on the problematic position that hockey fans are placed in when unresolved cases of sexual assault continue to cast a shadow over the sport. [Puck Daddy]
• If you are looking for a new hockey read, you might want to check out this review of Andrew J. Ross’ book, Joining the Clubs: The business of of the National Hockey League to 1945. [US Sport History]
• Hamilton, Ontario is trying to garner some NHL attention with a $100,00 upgrade to their ageing Copps Arena. [The Hamilton Spectator]