EURO CURVE

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

( I apologize for the lateness/earliness of this post as an early morning Remembrance day ceremony/afternoon Winnipeg Blue Bombers playoff victory consumed most of my thoughts Sunday)

- Russia won the Karjala Cup Tournament Sunday, taking the four-team professional tournament, held annually in Finland. They defeated the Czech Republic 4-1 to claim first place. Russia and Sweden both had two victories, but Russia claimed first, having scored more goals. Forward Oleg Saprykin was voted Best Forward of the tournament while Fedor Fedorov tied Swede Andreas Holmqvist for most points in the tournament with three.

- Team Finland won the Under-20 4 Nations tournament, a preparatory tournament for the Under-20 World Junior Championships - to be played in December in the Czech Republic. The 4-nations tournament was held in Vaasa, Finland over the weekend, November 8-11. Finland won all three games by a one goal margin to claim top spot. 2nd place Russia featured 2007 1st round pick Alexei Cherepanov, who led the team with two goals and an assist in three games.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.

EURO CURVE

Euro Curve takes a look at the latest international hockey news.

- According to several sources, including The Globe and Mail and mlive.blogspot.com, Peter Forsberg has been forced to pull out of the Karjala Cup Tournament in Finland. Forsberg's ankle appears to be bothering him yet again and a timetable for his return remains unclear.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.

EURO CURVE

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

- According to the Globe and Mail, Unrestricted Free Agent Forward Peter Forsberg will join the Swedish National Team for the upcoming Karjala Cup Tournament.
The Karjala Tournament, also known as Karjala Cup, is an annual ice hockey event held in Finland. The tournament started in 1996 is part of the Euro Hockey Tour (EHT) in which Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden participate. (source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karjala_Tournament).

- Peter Bondra officially announced his retirement from the National Hockey League today, ending weeks of speculation within the hockey world. He has been named general manager of Team Slovakia by the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation. Bondra was previously unsigned this year after scoring 5 goals and 9 assists in 37 games for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2006'07. Bondra finishes his stellar career with some pretty impressive stats: 1,081 games played, 503 goals, 389 assists, 892 points, 761 Penalty Minutes. He also had 56 points in 80 career playoff games. I think the true sign of his greatness is found in his nine 30-goal seasons, including two 50 goal years ( '95-96, '97-'98). Is Bondra a Hall of Famer? His 503 goals and nine 30-goal seasons make him a contender at the very least. He is hurt by a serious lack of hardware. The closest Bondra came to sipping from Lord Stanley's Mug was in 1997'98 when the Washington Capitals made it to the Finals, only to be swept by the iconic Detroit Red Wings.

Here are your updated Russian Super League Leaders ( courtesy of russianprospects.com)

Super League Leaders
Points
Morozov, Alexei 24 (10+14)
Sushinsky, Maxim 22 (11+11)
Alexandrov, Viktor 21 (9+12)
Atyushov, Vitaliy 21 (4+17)
Mozyakin, Sergei 21 (12+9)

Goals
Saprykin, Oleg 13
Mozyakin, Sergei 12
Dobryshkin, Yuri 11
Kulemin, Nikolai 11
Sushinsky, Maxim 11

Assists
Atyushov, Vitaliy 17
Morozov, Alexei 14
Zinovjev, Sergei 14
Zaripov, Danis 13
Alexandrov, Viktor 12

PIM
Svitov, Alexander 69
Piganovich, Oleg 67
Nikulin, Ilya 53
Vorobiev, Dmitri 48
Saprykin, Oleg 47

For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.