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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.

• JJ Adams and Patrick Johnston take an in-depth look at the privatization of Canadian elite youth sport, including hockey academies that can cost parents tens of thousands of dollars annually. [The Province]
• Evan F. Moore critically examines how the engagement with local law enforcement by Black NHLers P.K. Subban and J.T. Brown can contribute to an uncritical pro-police culture, rather than contributing to critiques or protests against racialized policing practices. [The Shadow League]
• Concordia graduate student Aaron Lakoff is producing a four-part podcast on social issues in hockey, as part of his Media Studies master’s thesis. The first episode will be based on a roundtable event, entitled “Power Play: How Women Can Change Sports Journalism,” which was hosted in Montreal last week. [Concordia University]
• Legendary NHL journalist Red Fisher passed away at age 91. RIP. [Habs Eyes on the Prize; Sportsnet]
• With the 2018 Olympic tournament expected to be – again – dominated by Canada and the USA, questions remain about the competitive parity of international women’s hockey. [Channel News Asia]
• The first women’s Para Ice Hockey World Cup will be held this spring in Ostrava, Czech Republic. [Inside the Games]
• Patrick Malinowski critiques the shortcomings of the 2018 IIHF U-20 World Junior Championships, which concluded in Buffalo in early January. The event was marked by low attendance and high ticket prices. [Puck Break]
• The Enoch Cree First Nation, whose hockey association was only founded in 2015 and now operates nine teams, had five teams win gold or silver medals during Edmonton Minor Hockey Week. It marked the first time an all-Indigenous team had captured a championship at this major youth hockey event. [CBC News Edmonton]
• February is the NHL’s Hockey is for Everyone month:

• One year ago, Eric Lindros and the Montreal Canadiens’ chief surgeon pitched the NHL on funding ($1 million/team) research on brain trauma. They say that the league has not followed up on their proposal. [TSN]
• The NHL seems poised to expand to Seattle. How would a franchise fair in the West Coast city? [TSN]
• John Shannon ranks the NHL top 25 “power brokers.” Number one, not surprisingly, is Commissioner Gary Bettman. [Sportsnet]
• The NWHL is partnering with author Stephanie Phillips to raise funds for a graphic novel about girls’ empowerment through hockey. [Kickstarter]
• A profile of Jillian Saulnier, one of two Nova Scotian players on Canada’s women’s team at 2018 Pyeongchang. [CBC News Nova Scotia]
• And a feature on Alex Carpenter, the American player who was among Kunlun Red Star’s most prominent signings in its inaugural CWHL season. [Victory Press]
• It appears that legendary winger Jaromir Jágr is retiring from the NHL, after he was cut by the Calgary Flames and assigned to his hometown team in the Czech league’s 2nd division. [SB Nation; The Hockey News]
• A youth team in Whitehorse, Yukon is fundraising for a local food bank and has made a YouTube video featuring a team performance of Bhangra, an upbeat dance that originated in India. [Whitehorse Daily Star]
• Aito Iguchi is a 14 year-old Japanese player who is aiming to compete in the high-profile Greater Toronto Hockey League on the path to a pro career. He is among a small, but growing, number of Japanese boys looking to move to Canadian academies or league to advance their careers. [Toronto Star]
• Matt Nickerson, an American playing for the Milton Keynes Lightning in Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League, has been suspended 20 games and let go from the team for abusing a referee and punching a fan. [BBC Sport]
• The Mighty Ducks 1990s movie franchise may be resurrected as a TV program. [Puck Daddy]
• Tentative steps have been taken toward a new downtown arena for the Ottawa Senators, after the team led a successful bid to redevelop the LeBreton Flats area of the city. [CBC News Ottawa]
• In other arena news, the New York Islanders will return to the Nassau Colissuem for a half of their home games over the next three seasons, as the team’s new arena is built. The Islanders will play the remainder of the games at their current arena, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. [CBS New York]