Latest news with #Wickenheiser
Edmonton Journal
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
MAPLE LEAFS NOTES: Camp instructors consider draft pick TLK an A student
Article content As Hayley Wickenheiser wrapped up the 2025 Maple Leafs development camp for media, she eyed Tinus-Luc Koblar milking every last second on ice, stalling the Zamboni as the last skater to exit the Ford Centre pad. Article content 'A very serious kid,' said Toronto's assistant general manager, as this year's top draft pick flew around, putting on a bar-down shooting show, with a Michigan move or two. 'I think it comes from having the Olympic history with his parents (dad an alpine skier, mom a biathlete) and knowing what training and work ethic are all about. Article content Article content 'It seems he doesn't give up much on the ice. He gets pushed around, he pushes right back. I liked what I saw there and his good offensive instincts. He's been a bright spot at camp.' Article content Article content The 6-foot-3 forward was asked by the Leafs to stay around Toronto's NHL summer workouts a few days beyond this week. Chosen 64th overall, he'll return to the Leksands juniors in Sweden. Article content A year ago, Nathan Mayes was more curiosity than confirmed prospect as the last player chosen in the NHL draft, 225th overall. But the 6-foot-4 defenceman from the Spokane Chiefs improved from 16 points to 27 in fewer appearances, turning a minus 16 into plus 15. He added 12 points in 20 playoff games in reaching the WHL finals. Article content 'I've said since last year, it's irrelevant where I was picked,' Mayes said. 'It just fuels me to get better every day.' Article content Wickenheiser likes the numbers Mayes posted, opining he just must decide his own direction. Article content Article content 'He scored some really nice goals. It's finding the sweet spot of who is going to be. He's a big body. Is he more a defensive defenceman, even though he skates well with good hands?' Article content Article content FAMILY AFFAIR Article content Watching 6-2 NCAA forward Nick Rheaume was a delight for Wickenheiser. He's the nephew of her national team mentor Manon Rheaume and son of former NHL defender Pascal. Manon was the first female goaltender to appear in an NHL exhibition game for Tampa Bay, Wickenheiser broke ground on a men's club team in Finland, Article content 'I admired how Manon navigated the NHL situation and she was a great teammate, too,' Wickenheiser said. 'When I see Nick, I see Manon. They're similar in many ways. He's just a really nice kid who wants to play pro hockey so badly.' Article content The 23-year-old Nick went undrafted and just wrapped up his third college season at Northeastern.
CBC
19-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Poulin breaks Wickenheiser's Canadian record for career points in world championships
Social Sharing Marie-Philip Poulin has set a Canadian record for career points in women's world hockey championships. Poulin's goal in the first period of a semifinal against Finland gave her 39 goals and 48 assists for a career 87 points. Poulin of Beauceville, Que., passed Hayley Wickenheiser's 86 accrued from 1994 to 2016. WATCH l Poulin surpasses Wickenheiser with 87th career point at worlds: Marie Philip-Poulin breaks Canadian women's hockey worlds career points record 31 minutes ago Duration 1:04 Women's championships became an annual tournament starting in 1999. Poulin and Wickenheiser are tied for the most world championship appearances by a Canadian player at 13. The 34-year-old Poulin played in her first in 2009. Canada's goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens also sought a tournament record in the semifinal. The 31-year-old from Clermont, Que., needed one win to set an all-time tournament record of 22 by a goaltender. U.S. beats Czechs in semifinal Kelly Pannek scored to rally the United States past the host Czech Republic 2-1 and into the final at the women's hockey world championship on Saturday in Ceske Budejovice. In Sunday's final, the U.S. will play defending champion Canada or last year's bronze medallist Finland, who meet in the other semifinal later Saturday. With the victory, the Americans improved to 6-0 against the Czechs all-time at the worlds and 3-0 in semifinals. Laila Edwards also scored for the U.S. and captain Hilary Knight recorded an assist to increase her record at the worlds to 52. U.S. goalie Aerin Frankel made 10 saves. "I'm proud of how this team fought tonight," U.S. coach John Wroblewski said. "Pucks were not bouncing our way early but we dug in and pulled it off." Pannek has earned at least a point in every U.S. game and leads the team with four goals. Pannek skated around the net and her backhand shot was saved by Czech goalie Klara Peslarova, but she netted the winner on a rebound 8:26 into the final period. In the second period where the Americans pushed hard for an equalizer, outshooting the Czechs 17-2 and 45-11 overall, Edwards got it 8:56 in, wristing a shot into the roof of the net from the left circle on a power play. Tereze Plosova scored for the Czechs, who will play the bronze medal game for the fourth straight tournament. The Czechs stunned the hot favourite, taking a lead with 4:32 left in the opening period to the delight of the sell-out crowd of almost 6,000. Klara Hymlarova seized the puck behind the goal and fed Plosova, who shot over the shoulder of Frankel.
CBC
25-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
A mark once thought unbreakable, can Poulin eclipse Wickenheiser's Canadian points record?
Social Sharing When you think of Canadian women's hockey excellence through much of the 2000s, Hayley Wickenheiser comes to mind. The hard-working star from Saskatchewan was the leading scorer and tournament MVP in 2002, when Canada won its first Olympic gold medal in women's hockey. She repeated those feats again four years later in 2006. Over more than two decades wearing the maple leaf, Wickenheiser amassed a whopping 379 points for her country. As Alex Ovechkin chases the Wayne Gretzky NHL goal-scoring record that many once thought was unsurpassable, there's no direct equivalent in women's hockey. Records are an important measure of greatness and a big part of preserving history. But women's hockey leagues have come and gone over the years, making it more difficult to capture, measure and compare how the best of the best stack up. In Canada, Wickenheiser's points in a Canadian jersey might be the closest to an untouchable record. Her 379 points includes all games the Canadian team played at, including non-International Ice Hockey Federation games such as the Rivalry Series. (When you look at IIHF play only, American Hilary Knight owns the most points, 111, and goals, 65, according to the most recent IIHF record book.) Next on the list for points in a Canadian jersey is Jayna Hefford (291) and Caroline Ouellette (242). Both have retired from playing. But there's one active player who's been climbing the list: Marie-Philip Poulin. The Canadian captain sits at 220 points after surpassing Danielle Goyette in November. It won't come as a surprise to anyone that Poulin hasn't been paying attention to her place in the record book. "Hayley is another level," Poulin said when asked about the record. Poulin has a steep hill to climb. To surpass Wickeheiser at No. 1, she needs 160 points. But those who've played with and against her aren't counting her out. "Just like it's difficult to compare an Ovechkin to a Gretzky, it's difficult to compare when there used to be one world championship every two years and then I got to play in one every year, and now there's more games," said Hefford, who is the executive vice president of hockey operations in the PWHL. "So it is hard to do that. But at the same time, I certainly recognize Marie-Philip Poulin may be the best player that's ever played. She may or may not beat those records. I mean, I'd put my money on her to [do it]. But if she doesn't, you can see the impact players make in the game." Wickenheiser wasn't available for an interview about her record. A changing game The women's game has grown leaps and bounds since Wickenheiser started her career with the national team in the early 1990s. There are more girls across Canada playing hockey, and players from outside North America are getting better each year. Poulin's Montreal Victoire teammate, Erin Ambrose, isn't ready to count her captain out. "That girl could probably play forever, and not just play forever but be a top-line centre forever," she said. But the depth on the national team today, and the growth of talent across the globe, could make the pursuit more challenging, the defender said. "It's no knock on Wick and what she did," Ambrose said. "It's also just where our game's gotten to. There's a lot [fewer] 12-0 games than there were before." It was a Wickenheiser goal at Knight's first world championship that was a reminder of just how high the level of skill gets when you play for your country. She remembers Wickenheiser walking over the blue line and the puck quickly finding its way under the crossbar. Knight has also played with and against Poulin, who she describes as a generational player. "She is very deceptive with where she releases the puck and the amount of power she can put behind it and delicacy at the same time," Knight, who has one of the best shots in the game herself, said about Poulin during PWHL training camp. It's that shot, along with Poulin's relentlessness, high-end hockey IQ and clutch ability, that has seen "Captain Clutch" score more goals in gold-medal games than any other player, male or female. And while Poulin is still far off from Wickenheiser's points in a Canadian jersey, another record is in striking distance at the 2026 Olympics: Poulin owns 17 Olympic goals, just one behind Wickenheiser's record 18. Passing Wickenheiser would cement Poulin as the tournament's all-time leading goal scorer from any country. The evolution of dynamic players Carla MacLeod played with Wickenheiser for several years and saw how hard she worked for each goal and assist. As coach of the PWHL's Ottawa Charge, MacLeod also sees what Poulin can do every day. With the PWHL opening up the doors to the best of the best from all over the world, the days of having a handful of dominant stars in women's hockey are fading, the coach argued. "We're seeing the evolution of just dynamic players," MacLeod said. "In our era, there's certainly dynamic players, Hayley being the pinnacle of it. But I think what's really exciting and what's really been put on the stage in this league is it's not one. It's a long list in all honesty, and they're not all from Canada, they're not all from the U.S. It's around the world." A brand-new league like the PWHL will take years to build the kind of records the NHL has compiled over more than a century. But Hefford can see a day where national-team records aren't the only pinnacle. Sitting in the stands at a PWHL pre-season game in November, Hefford was already impressed with some of the European talent the league added in the last off-season. That was one of the goals of creating the PWHL: to get the best talent from across the world under one umbrella and playing each other every day, not just at world championships and Olympics. It's left Hefford excited for a day when people are talking about PWHL records, and to see who can show up consistently at the highest level of play against the best in the world. "History is important, but I think there's so much more to write for us," she said. Regardless of where Poulin lands in the record book, Ambrose believes her captain is the best to ever play the game. There's no measurement, no number, that can accurately capture what Poulin has done for the hockey so far in her career. "I think that there's nothing that is untouchable to her because she is that great," Ambrose said. "There can't even be a Mount Rushmore of women's hockey. It's just Pou."
CBC
13-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Picking Canada's all-century women's hockey lineup
Editor's note: We recently picked an all-century lineup from Canada's Olympic men's hockey teams. Today we're doing the same for the best Canadian women's players of the last 25 years. Four straight gold medals. That's what the Canadian women's Olympic hockey team accomplished at the beginning of the century, starting with the country's historic first gold in Salt Lake City in 2002. It was a moment that changed the course of women's hockey in Canada, and inspired young players who would have their own golden moments years later. In the last 25 years, Canada has reached all six Olympic women's hockey finals and won five of them. The only loss came in a shootout to the United States in Pyeongchang in 2018. Along the way, there was gold on home ice in Vancouver, a win over the upset-minded Swedes in Italy in 2006 and a nail-biter over the archrival Americans in Russia in 2014 (with some help from the goal post). Most recently, one of the most dominant Canadian teams in history reclaimed gold inside the bubble in Beijing in 2022. When you think about the best Canadian women to wear the maple leaf at the Olympics over the last 25 years, one player comes to mind immediately. She's synonymous with gold, and my all-century lineup begins with her. Forwards: Marie-Philip Poulin, Hayley Wickenheiser, Jayna Hefford Poulin has scored more Olympic gold-medal winning goals than any other person, male or female, on the planet. They call her Captain Clutch for a reason. Poulin was the lone goal scorer in the 2-0 win over the United States in Vancouver in 2010. It was the moment she became a household name, but not the last time she'd score when it matters most. Four years later in Sochi, in perhaps the best Canada-U.S. final of all time, Poulin scored the game-tying goal with only 55 seconds remaining, then added the overtime winner. It wasn't a surprise when Poulin scored the game winner again in 2022. But this gold medal was different. Poulin was the team's captain, the player who set the standard both on and off the ice. Yes, she scores big goals. But Poulin also works harder than anyone else and cares about her teammates more than anyone else. If I could only pick one all-century player, it'd be Poulin. She's joined up front by Wickenheiser, the Hockey Hall of Famer who has more points in a Canadian jersey than any other woman. Wickenheiser won back-to-back MVP honours and was the lead scorer for Canada in 2002 and 2006. Hefford, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018, joins Wickenheiser with four Olympic gold medals on her resumé. She scored the game winner in 2002 with just one second remaining in the second period, perhaps the most memorable and meaningful goal in Canadian Olympic women's hockey history. Honourable mention: Some might argue that the third player with four gold medals to her name, Caroline Ouellette, should be on this list. Her induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023 was long overdue. Defenders: Jocelyne Larocque, Becky Kellar Larocque has been a staple on and off the ice for Team Canada for more than a decade, winning two Olympic gold medals. She's in the mix to earn a third next year in Italy. She's still a player rivals hate playing against, and teammates love having on their side. Both Colleen Sostorics and Becky Kellar anchored the blue line for three straight gold medals from 2002 to 2010. They even announced their retirement on the same day. The edge goes to Kellar for her longevity on the national team. Honourable mention: It feels weird to pick someone who has been to only one Games, but Claire Thompson's 13 points in 2022 were the most by any defender at the Olympics. After time away attending med school, Thompson is a lock for the 2026 team. Canada has had all-world goaltenders over the last 25 years, from Shannon Szabados to Charline Labonte and Ann-Renée Desbiens. You can't go wrong with any of them in this spot.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
CDC: Flu activity is high in Pennsylvania
(WHTM) – Nationwide hospitalizations, outpatient visits and even deaths from the flu are trending upwards, according to CDC data. The agency's illness activity map shows that flu activity is high in Pennsylvania. WellSpan Health says as of Feb. 9, 136 patients are being treated for the flu in hospitals across central Pennsylvania. That's up from 36 hospitalizations when the flu season peaked last winter. 'People's immune systems have been down a little bit because they haven't been exposed to this stuff in several years,' says emergency medicine physician at WellSpan York Hospital Dr. Bryan Wexler. 'There's a lot of parties around this time of year. If you have communal bowls of food and such, really make sure you're using your utensils instead of your hands.' To fight the spread it's also important to wash your hands, cover your cough and self-isolate when you're sick. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'Even when you start to feel better, they say you can be contagious up to a week or so,' says Patient First Physician Assistant Rebekah Wickenheiser. She says more patients are testing positive for the flu than COVID-19. Because the symptoms can be similar, she says patients are typically swabbed for both viruses. Flu symptoms include a fever as high as 103 degrees, gastrointestinal symptoms, cough, congestion, body aches, headache, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Health experts say it's critical to stay hydrated with these symptoms. Tamiflu is an antiviral medication that can be taken within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms. Wickenheiser says it's never too late to get your flu shot. It takes about two weeks for the vaccine to take full effect. 'How effective a flu shot is varies from year to year as well and we never know if this year the flu shot will cover the strains that are present in our region,' Wickenheiser says. 'We simply test for flu A and flu B. We're having a lot of flu A is what people are testing positive for.' Patient First accepts walk-ins for flu shots at its urgent care locations. Wexler recommends that patients make an appointment through their WellSpan portal if they have one. He says you can also call your primary care doctor. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
