The Weekly Links post highlights important or interesting writing from the hockey blogosphere and media.
- The family of Scott Oake (of Hockey Night in Canada) is helping to fund a drug treatment centre in Winnipeg. Scott’s son, Bruce, died at age 25 from an overdose of heroin. The family is hoping that its donations and sharing of Bruce’s story help others avoid the same fate. [Winnipeg Free Press]
- P.K. Subban, the Nashville Predators’ star, was featured on ESPN’s E:60 program, where he discussed dealing with the immense criticism he faces for his personality and expressiveness, being a Black hockey player, and his controversial trade from the Montreal Canadiens last summer. [Puck Daddy]
- With the Predators’ superb playoff run attracting the hockey media spotlight, there have been numerous pieces written about “Smashville”‘s embrace of the Predators and ascendancy of to a “hockey town” since the team launched in 1998. [The Ringer; New York Times; Puck Daddy]
- While Nashville fans revel in the city’s tradition of throwing catfish on the ice, PETA is among those not happy with this practice: “Whether catfish or cat, it’s never acceptable to toss any sensitive, intelligent animal’s body onto the ice during a hockey game.” [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
- Harnaryan Singh has shot to fame as the face (and voice) of Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi. Mack Irwin profiles Singh and the impact that HNIC Punjabi is having on the hockey media landscape. [VICE Sports]
- HNIC Punjabi’s Randip Janda interviewed Manny Malhotra, one of the few NHL players of Indian heritage and currently a coach with the Vancouver Canucks:
- Chris Simon, a longtime NHL enforcer, is claiming bankruptcy. Simon has stated that the health impacts of hockey-related injuries and concussions have made him unable to work. [Ottawa Citizen; Puck Daddy]
- The Vancouver Island (BC) Amateur Hockey Association is facing backlash after instituting a policy that any girls registered with the Association must play on an all-girls team, even if they wish to only play co-ed hockey. [Sportsnet]
- Marc Savard, who was forced to retire to do major health issues arising from concussions, is calling for the NHL to toughen its policing of headshots by creating an automatic suspension. [Sportsnet]
- The 1998 United States Women’s Olympic team, which won the first ever women’s hockey gold medal, is being inducted into the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame. [Excelle Sports]
- A historical look at the short-lived Cleveland Barons. Despite a long history of hockey in the Ohio city, the Barons failed to take off as an NHL franchise, and left the city after just two years. [The Hockey News]