
Finnish netminder Niklas Bäckström, a key to the Leijonat goaltending corps since 1998, today announced his retirement from Tappara of the Liiga, joining the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets as a European scout.
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Category Archives: IHLC News
🇨🇦 Roberto Luongo Retires After 19 NHL Seasons

Canadian goaltender Roberto Luongo, the third winningest goalie in NHL history, only trailing Hall of Famers Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy, today announced his retirement from professional hockey at the age of 40.
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Hockey Hall Of Fame Announces Class Of 2019

The Hockey Hall Of Fame today announced the newest members that will join as the Class of 2019 on 15 November, with the most decorated women’s player in history, the first Iron Curtain star to defect to the west, and a pair of multiple Stanley Cup champions, who between them hold a number of International Hockey Lineal Championships, all to join the ranks of the Hall in Toronto.
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🇺🇸 Brooks Orpik Retires From Washington Capitals At Age 38

American defender Brooks Orpik, whose 18-year pro career saw a pair of Stanley Cups and an Olympic Silver medal, today announced his retirement from pro hockey.
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🇮🇹 Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo Announced As Host Of 2026 Winter Olympics

Today, during the 134th session of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Italian bid of Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo was awarded the hosting rights to the 2026 Winter Olympics, winning the hosting rights over Stockholm–Åre, Sweden.
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Nikita Kucherov Highlights Winners At 2019 NHL Awards

The National Hockey League handed out its hardware to the best players in the world for the 2018-19 season in Las Vegas, with eleven IHLC holders representing six countries taking home trophies.
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🇫🇮 Riikka Sallinen Retires For Second Time At 46

Finnish forward Riikka Sallinen (previously Välilä, née Nieminen), an integral member of the Naisleijonat since 1989 who retired in 2003, but returned in 2013, today announced her re-retirement from professional hockey at the age of 46.
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🇨🇦 Jay Bouwmeester Joins Triple Gold Club

The only player eligible to join in this year’s Stanley Cup Final, defender Jay Bouwmeester tonight joined Triple Gold Club by virtue of winning Lord Stanley’s Mug with the St. Louis Blues, becoming the 30th male and twelfth Canadian to join the club, adding to his two World Championship and Olympic Gold medals.
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St. Louis Blues Win Historic First Stanley Cup

The NHL’s worst team as of the new 2019 calendar year, the St. Louis Blues completed their remarkable and historic season turnaround with a decisive, defensive Game 7 masterpiece to upend the Boston Bruins and win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
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KHL Hands Out 2018-19 Awards In Moscow

The KHL formally closed their tenth season tonight in Moscow with their annual Closing Ceremony, awarding the league’s top teams, players and executives for their performance this year, with Gagarin Cup winners CSKA Moscow drawing in the biggest haul, and ten IHLC winners taking home trophies.
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Major Announcements Made At 2019 IIHF Congress

The IIHF Annual Congress today was held on the off day at the 2019 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, with a number of major announcements voted on to impact the future of international hockey in the coming years.
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🇫🇷 🇦🇹 France, Austria Relegated From World Championship

Both relegation games at the 2019 World Championship came down to thrilling and surprising finishes, with Great Britain and Italy, both promoted from Division IA in 2018, upsetting France and Austria respectively to send them down to Division IA in 2020, while each punching their ticket back to the Top Division in Switzerland.
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IHLC Preview – 2019 World Championship

The finish of the international hockey calendar is set to begin on 10 May in Bratislava and Košice, Slovakia, with the top sixteen hockey countries in the world meeting to compete at the 2019 IIHF World Championship.
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🇷🇺 🇨🇿 Russia Wins Euro Hockey Tour, Czechia Wins Euro Hockey Challenge

With the conclusion of both the Euro Hockey Tour and Euro Hockey Challenge, as the season ends to ring in the start of the 2019 World Championship in Bratislava and Košice, Slovakia, the winners of both the four-nation Euro Hockey Tour and 12-nation Euro Hockey Challenge have been crowned for the 2018-19 season.
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🇰🇿 🇧🇾 Kazakhstan, Belarus Promoted To 2020 World Championship

The Division IA World Championship tournament saw the return of two powerhouses to the Top Division in 2020, with Belarus and hosts Kazakhstan clinching spots for next year in Switzerland at the 2019 tournament in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
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🇩🇰 Jannik Hansen Announces Retirement Following Gagarin Cup Win

Danish winger Jannik Hansen, just one week removed from winning the Gagarin Cup with CSKA Moscow, announced his retirement from pro hockey at the age of 33, ending the career of a trailblazer for Danish players in professional hockey both in North America and Europe.
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🇨🇿 Luděk Bukač: 1935-2019

Just days after the death of Ján Starší, who built the Czechoslovak national team into a dominant force in the 1970’s, the man who helped carry the Czechoslovakian team through the 1980’s and Czech team in the 1990’s has also passed away, as Luděk Bukač today died at the age of 83.
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CSKA Moscow Captures First Gagarin Cup In Team History

CSKA Moscow, one of the most decorated clubs in Russian hockey history, today made history again by capturing just their first Gagarin Cup, sweeping Avangard Omsk with an overtime victory in their third final in four seasons.
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🇸🇰 Ján Starší: 1933-2019

Slovakian player and coach Ján Starší, an architect of the 1970’s Czechoslovakian international powerhouse, passed away today after a long illness at the age of 85. Continue reading
🇫🇮 Venla Hovi Announces Retirement After Historic Worlds Silver Medal

Finnish forward Venla Hovi, only a day removed from Finland’s shocking silver medal finish on home ice at the 2019 Women’s World Championship, announced her retirement on Twitter at age 31, capping a year of both Worlds silver and a Clarkson Cup.
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