Mike Marson. Photo from CBC.ca

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

• Edmonton braces itself to say goodbye to Rexall Place on April 6th, AKA “The House that Gretzky Built.” [The Globe and Mail]
• Nova Scotia may have the longest minor league game in recorded history. The province’s female championships ended in a 1-1 tie after 10 periods of hockey. [CBC]
• [Vice Sports] looks at the historic gamble that is the #1 NHL draft pick.
• We’ve featured a couple of articles on the growth of ice hockey in India recently, so we are happy to report that Noor Jahan, the goalie for the Indian National Women’s Team won the best goalie award at the IIHF Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia. [IIHF]
• First it was Hillary Clinton’s emails, now it’s Gary Bettman’s. The class action brought against the NHL by former players has lead to the unsealing of emails between Bettman, Brendan Shanahan, and Bill Daly regarding the link between fighting, concussions, and mental health. [Dead Spin] [The Globe and Mail] [Puck Daddy] [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
• Mike Marson was the second black player to play in the NHL and this past weekend he was honoured by the Washington Capitals. [Color of Hockey]
• After last week’s “revenge porn” incident, Blackhawks prospect, Garrett Ross has been reinstated. [Puck Daddy] And, according to [Puck Daddy] his accuser is “infuriated” by the Blackhawks decision.
• Brian Burke thinks that women coaching in the NHL is a matter of “when” and not “if”. [Sportsnet]
• Eric Staal pens a goodbye letter to North Carolina in [The Player’s Tribune].
• [Vice Sports] questions the use of Native American mascots for British hockey teams: “borrowed tradition or imported racism”?
• Bobby Clarke reflects on dirty hockey during the 1972 Summit Series. [Sportsnet]
• Lots of talk surrounding Jimmy Vesey’s decision to decline playing for the Nashville Predators to graduate from Harvard and become a free agent in the summer. [Sportsnet]
• Finnish hockey legend, Aarne Honnkavaara, passes away at the age of 91. [IIHF]
• Jen Neale takes an extended peek inside the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. [Puck Daddy]
• Here’s a long read about the…interesting…world of hockey parents [National Post]