Image from: http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/roadhockey-640×427.jpg

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

• Colin Horgan writes about the decline of a quintessential Canadian past-time, road hockey, due to urban regulation of public space and fear of letting children play freely. [The Guardian]
• Kate Cimini interviews Claudia Téllez, the star of the Mexican women’s national team and a CWHL draft hopeful, about her career and the growth of hockey in Mexico. [Excelle Sports]
• The American Hockey League is taking modest steps to curb fighting: players who fight 10 times will receive a one game suspension, and players who fight immediately after a faceoff will be ejected from the game. [The Hockey News]
• Further details have emerged in Evander Kane’s harassment case, and they paint a disturbing scene of his violence and aggression towards women. Kane will be charged with “non-criminal harassment” for the incident. [Puck Daddy]
• The Canadian Hockey League is currently facing a class-action lawsuit from former players, who argue that they should be compensated for their labour during their junior careers. Rick Westhead reports on the evidence presented in the trial about the value of CHL franchises, and the implications of these for paying players a wage. [TSN]
• And Ken Campbell weighs in on the merits of junior teams paying minimum wage, including weeding out unsustainable franchises and improving the developmental focus of the league. [The Hockey News]
• One story that has emerged from the trial is the under-the-table payment by the Erie Otters to a star player, Jeremy Gottzmann. According to Westhead, this incident”is being used by lawyers for former players as evidence that the 60 Canadian Hockey League teams are for-profit businesses that will go to extremes. . . to attract the best players, win games and boost profits.” [TSN]
• A thoughtful critique of the discourses that have been circulating about Rogers’ recent overhaul of its Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts, as well as a challenge to the risk-averse approach of the company. [Pension Plan Puppets]
• Ex-NHLer Ray Bourque is facing a one year probation sentence for driving drunk. [ESPN]
• Ari Yanover reports that Mats Zuccarello of the New York Rangers recently hosted a charity hockey tournament in his native Norway, raising approximately $240,000 for the Charity Right to Play. [Blueshirt Banter]
• A reflection on fan protests in sports, including Montreal Canadiens fans protesting the recent trade of P.K. Subban and Toronto Maple Leafs fans throwing waffles on to the ice. [Toronto Star]
• Speaking of P.K. Subban, his trade has apparently devastated patients at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, where Subban did a great deal of community work. [Montreal Gazette]
• Brandon Crombeen reflects on the need for an exit plan when retiring from pro hockey, and offers advice to players pursuing a career in hockey. [The Player’s Tribune]
• The upcoming World Cup of Hockey will generate significant revenue for the NHL and NHLPA. However, as Ken Campbell argues, the international federations competing are receiving paltry sums from this event – but they cannot kick up a fuss without jeopardizing NHL players’ participation in the IIHF World Championships. [The Hockey News]
• Finally, the Toronto Maple Leafs are celebrating their 100th anniversary in 2016-17. What does the team have planned in celebration? [Leafs Nation; Puck Daddy]