The Korean Women’s team after they defeated China at the 2017 Asian Games. Photo from Korea.net.

Formerly known as “Weekly Links,” our round-up of important and interesting pieces from the hockey blogosphere and media will now appear twice a month.

• Perhaps the biggest news, or most unique news, in the last couple of weeks was the announcement that the North and South Korean women’s national teams would be presented as a united front at the upcoming PyeongChang Olympics. One has to wonder why they chose to use women’s hockey for this political maneuver. [Washington Post] [CBC] Coach of the South Korean women’s team, Canadian Sarah Murray, feels that this move should have been made years before the Olympics.[Toronto Star]
• Congratulations to Jessica Platt of the CWHL’s Toronto Furies for coming out as transgender! [Ice Garden]
• And in other CWHL news, Danielle Gagne, also of the Toronto Furies, talks about her journey through professional women’s hockey. [The Varsity]
• With the NWHL and NHL drawing closer ties each season, Angelica Rodriguez asks: Where does a women’s team — and by extension, a league — draw the line as far as creating an identity of its own? [Ice Garden]
• Is fighting in hockey going extinct? [TSN] looks at some of the numbers.
• Former NHL’er Kevin Stevens talked to [Sportsnet] about his struggles with hockey injuries and drug addiction.
• Former enforcer Matt Johnson has been in jail on felony vandalism charges since New Year’s Eve. [TSN]
• Unlike the NFL, the NHL is not required to disclose the nature of player injuries. Instead, we have created a culture of “lower body” vs. “upper body” injuries. But what are the implications to player safety of this secrecy? [Washington Post]
• The Boston Bruins celebrated Willie O’Ree as the first black NHL’er allowed to play in the game. [Color of Hockey]
• The Hockey Foundation is back in Ladakh, India bringing the game the people of the Himalayas:

• The World Junior Championships has become a Canadian holiday spectacle but how did TSN manage to turn a minor round-robin tournament into a major money-maker? [National Post] And here’s a historical look and the growth of junior hockey in Canada. [US Sport History]
• Phil Bourque opens up about his concerns about CTE and the lasting effects of concussions. [Post Gazette]
• ICYMI: Cheryl MacDonald took a look at the evolution of the NHL’s Hockey is For Everyone campaign getting us ready for Hockey is For Everyone Month!