NHL Minor League Hockey

Each and every Saturday this season I'll be taking a look at the random happenings and absurdities that occur in the world of hockey. Feel free to suggest stories, complain or otherwise babble at me via electronic mail.

You've got to love the spirit of minor league hockey. The promotional departments for the teams love to give fitting tributes to things that usually have a tenuous relation -- if any -- to their teams, sport and locales. I'm not criticizing, simply stating an observation. The latest team to host a promotional night chosen from their Wheel-O-Random Promotions (I hear all minor league teams keep one snugly in the back of the marketing office for when the mood strikes them) is the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors.

The team hosted King of Pop Tribute Night on Friday complete with Michael Jackson jerseys and players wearing one white glove. And don't worry, the media was naturally all over the clever puns.

Each and every Saturday this season I'll be taking a look at the random happenings and absurdities that occur in the world of hockey. Feel free to suggest stories, complain or otherwise babble at me via electronic mail.

This has been a banner week for Knuckle Puck, easily the wackiest and most interesting since I started this feature about a month ago. I have so much to write about that I don't even know where to start things off. Do I go with the Kingston Frontenacs wearing Don Cherry styled jerseys? Or what about the Lightning getting kinky at practice? Then there are the folks at UniWatch showing some love for the red line, and retailer River City Sports trying to trick Islanders fans into buying Rangers hats. What's a writer to do? Well, for starters, you can follow me through the jump.

Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our Weekday look at the previous night's action and some of the storylines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

Rangers 4, Capitals 3: Henrik Lundqvist is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, and even the best are entitled to an occasional mishap. That's what happened to Lundqvist on Thursday night as an innocent looking wrist shot off the stick of Nicklas Backstrom, from the neutral zone, found its way behind the All-Star goaltender early in the third period.

Video after the jump.

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It barely lasted long enough to barbecue some good pork chops, and now they're all but gone.

Last summer, the Iowa Chops were formed. The American Hockey League franchise had been affiliated with (and named after) the Dallas Stars, but switched to the Anaheim Ducks and promptly changed the team nickname. After one season, and a futile attempt to recruit Brett Favre, the Chops are in serious trouble, and could cease to exist.

While the present-day Chicago Blackhawks look to dig themselves out of a 2-0 hole in their Western Conference final with the Detroit Red Wings, they managed to lock up a piece of their future by signing 2008 first-round draft pick Kyle Beach on Wednesday afternoon.

In terms of pure talent, he has the potential to be a steal as the No. 11 overall pick, assuming he can keep his head on straight and refrain from pulling a Happy Gilmore and not attempt to stab somebody with his skate.

The life of a hockey player isn't the most glamorous in sports. And if you think NHL players toil in relative obscurity, try plugging away in the minor leagues. But the internet has proven capable of a few things; creating instant celebrities is chief among that list. With the pervasiveness of online video, it's easy to reach infamy.

Just ask Nick Lindberg. The 28-year-old forward for the Port Huron IceHawks was going about his business, helping to lead his team towards the IHL playoffs, when he scored a remarkable shootout goal against the Kalamazoo Wings on April 7 and found himself a web sensation, the subject of another YouTube video with six-figure views. We caught up with Lindberg to talk about the reaction to the goal, trash talk, and what it's like to see yourself on TSN. Read our interview after the jump.

The shootout is quite a divisive topic among hockey fans. When it comes to deciding a fair winner, it might not be the most virtuous solution. Then again, when such remarkable creativity, skill and, dare I say, hubris are on display, as they were when Nicklas Lindberg of the IHL's Port Huron Icehawks went all Harlem Globetrotters on Kalamazoo goalie Joel Martin Tuesday night, it can't be all bad.



HT: Puck Daddy

THUNDER BAY, Ontario -- Former NHL player Walt Poddubny died Saturday, the Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal reported. He was 49.

The cause of death wasn't known. The newspaper said a person close to the family said Poddubny collapsed at his sister's house, where he was living.