Weekly Links: World Cup news and views; Views on concussions and fighting in hockey; and more

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

  • The NHL-run World Cup of Hockey is underway in Toronto. Despite some half empty arenas, international fans have made their presence known. [Sportsnet]
  • Team Europe may not exist at the 2020 World Cup. A look at this hybrid team and its players. [Sportsnet]
  • Will the World Cup spell the end of NHL participation at the Olympics? [Spectors Hockey]
  • Finally, Travis Yost explains how the NHL is moving towards a more international style of play in terms of physicality, with rapidly declining rates of fighting and boarding penalties. [TSN]
  • Two different takes on concussions in hockey: firstly, Travis Waldron takes a look at former NHL enforcers who are struggling with a variety of ailments from their hockey careers and who want to see legislative change to make the sport safer. [Huffington Post]
  • Secondly, Mike Murphy offers a critique of the idea that fighting is the major cause of concussions, and a call to look deeply at the other aspects of the game that cause them. [Blueshirt Banter]
  • A profile of Gabor Matyas, a 16 year-old from Spain who is pursuing a hockey career in Canada. [HEO Midget AAA Hockey]
  • The Chicago Blackhawks are expanding their radio coverage to include 14 games in Spanish, in a move to serve their Hispanic fans. [Second City Hockey]
  • More love for the Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi broadcasters, this time from Darpan Magazine:

  • Shannon Szabados continues her career in men’s professional hockey, joining the Peoria Rivermen of the Southern Professional Hockey League. [Journal Star]
  • The NHL continues to deny that fans are not interested in salary cap websites, despite ample evidence to the contrary. *cough* GeneralFanager *cough* [Puck Daddy]
  • While the Ottawa Senators and NHL are interested in holding an outdoor game at Parliament Hill, there are a large number of government protocols – such as prohibitions on charging admission for events at the public space – that make it unlikely to happen. [CBC News]
  • Former NHLer Dave Babych helped resue an injured teenage hiker near Vancouver, and is being hailed as a hero. [CTV News]

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