Category Archives: IHLC News

🇺🇸 American Forward David Backes Retires As Blue At Age 37

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American forward David Backes, who has seen limited playing time over the past two seasons due to recurring injuries, today officially signed with St. Louis for a day to retire as a Blue, ending his career at the age of 37.
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🇨🇳 NHL, IIHF Reach Agreement On 2022 Olympic Participation

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After the NHL and NHL Player’s Association came to an agreement last summer to participate at both the 2022 and 2026 Olympics, pending negotiations with the International Olympic Committee and IIHF, today it was announced that NHL players will in fact participate at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, marking their return to the Games after skipping the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
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🇸🇰 🇱🇻 🇩🇰 Slovakia, Latvia, Denmark Clinch Final Beijing 2022 Men’s Olympic Qualifying Spots

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After nearly two year of Olympic qualifiers that began in Luxembourg and China in November 2019, four rounds of play, 36 teams competing and a global pandemic in between, came to a conclusion today for the final three spots in Beijing, with the spots being clinched locked up by Slovakia, Latvia and Denmark for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
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🇷🇺 Vladimir Shadrin: 1948-2021

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Vladimir Shadrin, the Russian centreman who starred on some of the most powerful Soviet squads of the 1970’s, today passed away in Moscow from COVID-19 complications at the age of 73.
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🇨🇭 Swiss Defender Severin Blindenbacher Announces Retirement At 38

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Swiss defender Severin Blindenbacher, a mainstay on the Eisgenossen blueline for over a decade, today announced his retirement from the ZSC Lions at age 38.
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🇺🇸 Jimmy Hayes: 1989-2021

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The hockey world today was again struck with tragic news, as the news of 31 year old American forward Jimmy Hayes, a former NHL and international player who recently became a new father, had unexpectedly passed away in his home state of Milton, Massachusetts, USA.
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IHLC Preview – 2021 Women’s World Championship

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Following an eighteen month delay of no major international women’s hockey thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw one World Championships cancelled and another delayed, the puck is finally set to drop on the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship, the twentieth edition of the tournament, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, bringing the world’s top ten women’s nations in their first major competition since early 2020.
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🇫🇮 2022 World Championship Schedule Released

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The schedule for the 2022 IIHF World Championship was today announced for the tournament taking place in Tampere and Helsinki, Finland, returning to the nation for the first time since Helsinki hosted consecutively in 2012-13.
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🇨🇦 🇺🇸 Tony Esposito: 1943-2021

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Anthony “Tony O” Esposito, the legendary Chicago Black Hawks goaltender who was a three-time Vezina Trophy winner, and one of the backstops in Canada’s historic 1972 Summit Series, today died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 78. Continue reading →

🇸🇪 Anders Nilsson Announces Retirement Due To Post-Concussion Syndrome

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Swedish journeyman goaltender Anders Nilsson, a former World Champion with playing stints in Sweden, Russia, the United States and Canada, today announced his retirement from hockey at age 31, ending his career over recurring issues suffered from post-concussion syndrome and neck injuries.
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🇸🇪 Niklas Hjalmarsson Retires From NHL, Tre Kronor At Age 34

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Swedish stay-at-home defender Niklas Hjalmarsson, one of the best defensive defencemen of the modern era, a three-time Stanley Cup champion and Olympic Silver medalist for Sweden, today confirmed his retirement from hockey at age 34.
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🇨🇦 Revised 2021 Women’s World Championship Schedule Released

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After having to delay for a year following the 2019-20 outbreak of the COVID-19 virus across the world, delaying another month to meet Canadian quarantine protocols, and finally delaying another three months due to a last-minute cancellation by the Nova Scotia government, today the IIHF announced the schedule for the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, set to open up on 20 August after no international women’s hockey tournaments for two and a half years.
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🇨🇿 Jiří Novotný Retires From NLA At Age 37

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Czech centre Jiří Novotný, a journeyman forward whose career took him across a dozen teams on three continents over a twenty year career, today announced his retirement from pro hockey at the age of 37, after his third and final season in the Swiss National League A.
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🇫🇮 Pekka Rinne Retires As Winningest Finnish Goalie In NHL History

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Finnish netminder Pekka Rinne, whose 13-year pro career saw him become the winningest Finnish goaltender in NHL history, today announced his retirement from professional hockey at the age of 38, spending his entire pro career with the Nashville Predators.
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🇺🇸 Tampa Bay Lightning Repeat As Stanley Cup Champions

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Unlike having to win their 2020 title in front of an empty arena 4,500 kilometres from home, the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight repeated as Stanley Cup champions, defeating the Montréal Canadiens 1-0 to win their third Stanley Cup in Game Five of the Finals in front of a packed Tampa crowd.
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🇱🇻 Matīss Kivlenieks: 1996-2021

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The hockey world today was struck with a tragic blow as news from Latvia emerged that Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matīss Kivlenieks had unexpectedly passed away following a reported accidental injury at only the age of 24 in Novi, Michigan, USA.
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