EURO CURVE

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

- According to numerous sources, Travis Green has signed with EV Zug of the Swiss NLA. Green split 2006'07 between the Anaheim Ducks and the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring one goal and one assist in 31 games, mostly as a utility forward/ faceoff expert. At 37 years old, Green still has gas left in the tank, and might be eyeing a berth on Canada's Spengler Cup team this December. Green's best season came in 1995'96 with the New York Islanders when he scored 25 goals and 45 assists in 69 games. Green has played for five different NHL clubs and is only 30 games away from playing in 1,000 games. Although he might not get another shot in the NHL, Green is the type of player who loves the game of hockey and will play until he is no longer offered a contract. It is interesting to note the collection of talent that already plays with EV Zug, among them: Barry Richter, Paul Dipietro, Michal Grosek, Krys Kolanos.

Here are the rosters for the upcoming Karjala Cup.

The first of the four tournaments of the Euro Hockey Tour to be played in 2007/08 is Karjala Tournament. Finland, Czech Republic, Russia and Sweden get together in Helsinki November 8-11 to compare forces.

Team Finland Roster

Goalies
Jussi Markkanen, Jokerit
Antti Niemi, Pelicans

Defensemen
Teemu Aalto, Tappara
Jukka-Pekka Laamanen, Kärpät
Arto Laatikainen, Blues
Mikko Lehtonen, Kärpät
Antti-Jussi Niemi, Frölunda (se)
Janne Niinimaa, Davos (ch)
Pekka Saravo, Luleå (se)
Ossi Väänänen, Djurgården (se)

Forwards
Riku Hahl, Timrå (se)
Jukka Hentunen, Ak Bars Kazan (ru)
Jarkko Immonen, JYP
Toni Koivisto, Ilves
Antti Laaksonen, Fribourg (ch)
Ville Leino, Jokerit
Oskar Osaka, Blues
Petri Pakaslahti, Södertälje (se)
Janne Pesonen, Kärpät
Esa Pirnes, Färjestad (se)
Mika Pyörälä, Timrå (se)
Jani Rita, Jokerit
Tommi Santala, Jokerit

Team Czech Republic Roster

Goalies
Tomas Duba, Sparta Prag
Milan Hnilicka, Liberec

Defensemen
Miroslav Blatak, Ufa (ru)
Petr Caslava, Cherepovets
Vlastimil Kroupa, Trinec
Josef Melichar, Linköping (se)
Filip Novak, Mountfield
Tomas Zizka, Slavia

Forwards
Jaroslav Bednar, Slavia
Jan Bulis, Khimik (ru)
Leos Cermak, Liberec
Roman Cervenka, Slavia
Zbynek Irgl, Yaroslavl (ru)
Jaroslav Kudrna, Magnitogorsk (ru)
Petr Kumstat, Karlovy
VaryJan Marek, Magnitogorsk (ru)
Vaclav Nedorost, Liberec
Vaclav Skuhravy, Karlovy Vary
Josef Straka, Cherepovets (ru)
Petr Sykora, Pardubice
Vaclav Varada, Langnau (ch)

Team Russia Roster

Goalies
Alexander Eremenko, Ufa
Semen Varlamov, Yaroslavl
Dmitri Yachanov, SKA

Defensemen
Vitali Atyushov, Magnitogorsk
Anton Belov, CSKA
Konstantin Korneyev, CSKA
Andrei Kuteikin, Ufa
Evgeny Medvedev, Kazan
Ilya Nikulin, Kazan
Vitali Proshkin, Ufa
Sergei Peretyagin, SKA

Forwards
Dmitri Afanasenkov, Dynamo
Vladimir Antipov, Ufa
Fedor Fedorov, Dynamo
Nikolai Kulemin, Magnitogorsk
Anton Kuriyanov, Omsk
Sergei Mozyakin, Khimik
Ivan Nepriayev, Yaroslavl
Maksim Pestushko, Neftekhimik
Oleg Saprykin, CSKA
Timofei Shishkanov, CSKA
Aleksei Simakov, CSKA
Aleksei Tereshenko, Ufa
Sergei Zinoviev, Kazan

Team Sweden Roster

Goalies
Jhonas Enroth, Södertälje
Stefan Liv, HV71

Defensemen
Andreas Holmqvist, Frölunda
Per Hållberg, Modo
Kenny Jönsson, Rögle
Fredrik Lindgren, Skellefteå
Sanny Lindström, Timrå
Jan Sandström, Luleå
Daniel Tjärnqvist, no club
Johan Åkerman, HV71Forwards
Christian Berglund, Bern (ch)
Johan Davidsson, HV71
Nils Ekman, Khimik (ru)
Peter Forsberg, no club
Patric Hörnqvist, Djurgården
Magnus Kahnberg, Frölunda
Tony Mårtensson, Linköping
Jonas Nordquist, Frölunda
Martin Thörnberg, HV71
Linus Videll, Södertälje
Rickard Wallin, Färjestad
Fredrik Warg, ModoMattias Weinhandl, Linköping

For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.

The HD Corner - Season Opener in London

Thoughts from the O2 Arena in London (aka my TV in my living room)...

The 07-08 hockey seaon is now officially upon us. Although it was a bit of an early wake up Saturday morning (11am central) to catch the first game from London, it was still thoroughly enjoyable. As usual, CBC's coverage was second to none with its crisp HD feed, along with the always solid Jim Hughson manning the mike. Although he looooooves the Canucks, which is always quite evident on his Sporstnet Pacific broadcasts, Hughson always brings his best effort to the table (I think it has something to with a comfort level from all the years being the play-by-play on EA Sport's NHL series). Greg Millen is OK too, just sometimes really annoying as I've eluded to in previous posts. After a half hour delay due to poor lighting at the O2 Arena, and Ron MacLean, Craig Simpson, and Cassy Campbell painfully killing time, the game finally got underway without a hitch.

After searching around for Sunday's game, and nearly having a conniption that it possibly wasn't being shown, I finally discovered it being broadcast on the NHL Network. Although the sound was brutal and the standard-def picture looked so bad that I thought my contacts were in backwards, strategically, it was a good idea to air the second game on the NHL Network. There is a free preview of the NHL Network until November for digital subscribers, and it's a great way to create some hype and viewership. The only drawback is that it obviously doesn't have the same reach as CBC, but it still seems like a great plan to create urgency for viewers to order the channel for the season if people like what they see. And how could they not - the icing on the cake is that Paul Rominuk and Gary Green were at the helm for the game! Yes! The hockey Gods have spoken.