The Black Flashes: Howard Sheffield, Arthur Lowe and Gary Smith, 1950s semi-pro stars.     Photo: Mount Forest Museum & Archives

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

• The PWHPA is heading to Tokyo to play a three game series against the Japanese National Women’s Hockey team. [PWHPA]
• Kuwait opened it’s newest ice rink with the inaugural 2020 Open Championship for Professional Arab Clubs and an exhibition game between the Lebanese women’s team and a combined roster representing the Gulf states of Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi and UAE. [IIHF]
• Meet Fernando Ugarte, 19 year veteran of the Mexican National Men’s Hockey Team. [IIHF]
• Gillian Kemmerer interviews Finland and Shenzhen Vanke Rays goalie Noora Räty about playing in China and her reality TV show career. [KHL]
• NHL referee Dean Morton capped off an embarrassing night of reffing by being caught on microphone telling Montreal Canadiens alternate captain to go fuck himself. Matt Drake of Eyes on The Prize summarizes the debacle.
• Is a rebellion against NHL’s so-called player safety brewing? [Ken Campbell, The Hockey News]
• March 8th’s game between Chicago and St. Louis will feature the first all-women broadcast crew for a NHL game. [Blackhawks.com]
• For the Seattle NHL team, “hockey is for everyone” is more than just a saying. [Emily Kaplan, ESPN]
• Teams in the UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League are partnering with universities as way to recruit North American pro players. [Sheehan Desjardins, CBC News]
• Mark Staffieri covers Kirsten Welsh’s journey from NCAA player to referee. [Women’s Hockey Life]
• The QMJHL has postponed a vote on banning fighting until the summer. [CBC News]
• The NHL’s latest outdoor game was the “lowest rated and least-watched NHL game ever on American primetime broadcast television”. Has the NHL over-saturated outdoor games? [Sports Media Watch]
• Read about “The Black Flashes”: Howard Sheffield, Arthur Lowe and Gary Smith who played for the Mount Forest Redmen during the early 1950s. [Haydn Watters, CBC News]