EURO CURVE

Euro Curve takes a daily look at the latest international hockey headlines.

- Rumours are rampant on the internet ( Hockeybuzz.com, Kuklas Korner) that Peter Forsberg may decide to stay in his native country and play for MODO of the Swedish Eliteserien.

- A moment of silence was observed during last nights Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins/ Bingamton Senators AHL game in honour of Darcy Robinson who suddenly collapsed last Thursday during a game in Italy. Robinson, who played for Asiago, collapsed during the first period of an Italian Ice Hockey League game on September 28, 2007. It is believed he suffered a massive heart attack.

I would like to announce the newest feature of Euro Curve: The international website of the week. This week's site profiles Romanian Team Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc. The site is http://www.sportclub.ro/. As most of the european sites are written in a native tongue, you will likely not understand the text, but that doesn't mean you can't expand your horizons.


SM Liiga- CURRENT STANDINGS

P W OTW OTL L GF GA PTS
Pelicans Lahti 10 7 0 1 2 41 24 22
Kärpät Oulu 9 6 0 0 3 26 21 18
Blues Espoo 9 5 0 1 3 28 20 16
JYP Jyväskylä 8 4 2 0 2 27 21 16
Lukko Rauma 9 4 1 2 2 23 21 16
Tappara Tampere 9 3 2 1 3 27 26 14
Ilves Tampere 10 3 2 1 4 28 28 14
Jokerit Helsinki 9 3 1 3 2 24 24 14
SaiPa Lappeenranta 9 3 1 2 3 24 24 13
HIFK Helsinki 10 2 3 1 4 23 25 13
HPK Hämeenlinna 10 4 0 0 6 25 28 12
TPS Turku 8 3 0 0 5 17 24 9
Ässät Pori 9 2 1 1 5 17 30 9
KalPa Kuopio 9 2 0 0 7 17 31 6

For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.

EURO CURVE

Euro Curve takes a daily look at the world of international hockey.

- There were 19 NHL prospects in last night's Russian Super League contest between Ak Bars Kazan and Metallurg Mg. Among them were Alexei Kaigorodov ( Phoenix Coyotes), Alexei Emelin ( Montreal Canadiens) Andrei Zubarev ( Atlanta Thrashers) Ak Bars Kazan also features NHL castoffs Denis Arkhipov and Mika Noronen ( scratched from line-up)

- Former NHL Players in Russian Super League and their early season stats:
Alexei Yashin (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) 5 Games Played, 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points
Oleg Tverdovsky ( Salavat Yulayev) 5 Games Played, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points
Andrei Taratukhin ( Salavat Yulayev) 5 Games Played, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points
Aleksander Suglobov ( SKA St.Petersburg) 3 Games Played, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point
Denis Shvidki ( SKA St.Petersburg) 3 Games Played, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points
Oleg Saprykin ( CSK Moscow) 5 Games Played, 5 goals, 1 assist, 6 points
Alex Perezhogin ( Salavat Yulayev) 3 games played, 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points
* Nice to see Andrei Kovalenko and Dmitry Yushkevich still playing at a high level

- The Hockey News ran a story in their ' Eye on Europe' section this week which detailed the trials and tribulations of Former Nashiville Predator Jere Karalahti and his desire to return to the National Hockey League. Karalahti was originally drafted by the Kings in 1993 (6/146) but hasn't played in the NHL since 2002 with the Kings and Predators. He was suspended that year for failing to enter the NHL's Substance Abuse Program. Karalahti has played the last 4 years with HIFK Helsinki of the Finnish SM Liiga, registering 5 goals and 9 assists in 51 games last season.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg