The Weekly Links post highlights important or interesting writing from the hockey blogosphere and media. Enjoy!
- Victor Hedman, of the Tampa Bay Lightning, has an interesting piece on growing up playing hockey in Sweden and the differences between this experience and that of North American youth. [Player’s Tribune]
- With superstar Amanda Kessel leaving college after this season, her choice between the NWHL and CWHL will have a large impact on the landscape of women’s hockey. [Hockey Wilderness]
- The NHL has been taking some bad press for its treatment of concussions. Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock caused a stir when he advocated for a “let ’em play” approach to concussions, ignoring the pressures on players to stay in the game and encouraging self diagnosis. [Toronto Star]
- With questions swirling about Babcock and the Calgary Flames’ non-diagnosis of Dennis Wideman’s concussion, Ken Campbell argues that “the NHL’s protocol desperately needs to be equipped with more teeth than it now has.” [The Hockey News]
- The brain of former enforcer Todd Ewen, who committed suicide in September, has been found by researchers to not have CTE. [Puck Daddy]
- With the news about Ewen, Victoria Silverwood’s piece on this blog from September is timely. She offers a critical analysis of CTE and considers other sociocultural reasons for mental health issues among former players. [Hockey in Society]
- Another big name has joined the concussion lawsuit against the NHL: former player and referee Paul Stewart. [The Hockey News]
- In Quebec, provincial courts are bringing into question the extent to which hockey players consent to violence when playing hockey. The involvement of the courts in regulating hockey violence will be interesting to watch over the coming years. [Globe and Mail]
- Delving into the reality behind the stereotype of the toothless hockey player, this piece looks at NHL players and teeth health. [CTV]
- Another instance of parental “rink rage”, as two parents of New Jersey youth hockey players attacked referees following a game. [USA Today]
- With the NHL’s new digital media partnership with MLB Advanced Media kicking in, there are concerns that fan-produced new media content – such as GIFs and videos – may be curtailed. [Puck Daddy]
- The COO of the NWHL has been removed after apparently using his role to undermine the league. A strange story that is still unfolding. [Puck Daddy]
- Former NHLer Donald Brashear is starting a company that manufactures affordable hockey sticks, in order to reduce the cost of playing the sport. He recently received a $500,000 investment on the popular Dragon’s Den show. [Color of Hockey]
- For a lighter read, check out this piece on how NHL goaltenders cope with the need to use the bathroom in the middle of games. [SI.com]
Hockey in Society / Hockey dans la société 
