LNN: Western Teams, PHWL Ottawa, and Miscellanea

Greetums, all! Do you like links? How about news? May I interest thee in some notes? Well we've got all three of those things in varying capacities (and lots of other cool crap) here at SilverSeven so buckle up and enjoy the ride!

• In your more conventional variety of NHL news, Cory Schneider has officially hung up his skates after a decent career that, despite some tantalizing moments, somehow never seemed to fully get into gear. It feels like just yesterday the Canucks traded Schneider who couldn't quite leapfrog Roberto Luongo on the depth chart (see: payroll) to the Devils who also had a hall-of-famer already holding down the crease. Funny how the Canucks used that first-round pick to draft Bo Horvat who ended up with the Islanders who had Schneider in the minors (naturally well below Ilya Sorokin in that system)--always a bridesmaid, am I right?!
• Speaking of Roberto Luongo, the Canucks will enshrine said hall-of-famer into their Ring of honour this season. While the roster has all but turned over since the Luongo years in Vancouver, the vibes still kinda feel the same--expensive, mediocre, and always noteworthy.
• Pivoting to the PWHL, Ian Kennedy over at the hockey news breaks down the unnamded Ottawa PWHL franchise's forwards heading into camp. His coverage can't rival Beata's but I would consider it in poor taste to exclusively use SilverSeven content for the LNN.
• Kennedy also provided an update on the PHWL's arena locations with Minnesota notably using the very same Excel Energy Center where the Wild things are play. Toronto's team will share a venue with the Marlies, Ottawa with the 67s at Landsdowne, and Boston with BU's women's team. We still don't know beyond a doubt about New York or Montreal.
• In some very sombre news, Flames assistant GM Christopher Snow has suffered a severe brain injury. Snow has very publicly discussed his ALS diagnosis in an effort to educate and spread awareness. The whole community sends support to Snow and his family.
• Also of note in Calgary, Jakob Pelletier, a first-round pick from the stacked 2020 draft, will miss an indefinite amount of time due to a shoulder injury that will require surgery.
• The Flames have also extended Mikael Backlund and named him captain as he quickly approaches 1,000 games played for Calgary.
• Closer to home, Bruce Garrioch provided some thoughts on the return of Cyril Leeder to the Ottawa Senators organization. I feel inclined to agree with Leeder that the idea of the Sens winning the cup seems totally sweet and I would also like to see it happen in the near future.
• For my fellow prospect-heads out there, Ryan Pyette over at the London Free Press has provided a quick and dirty team-by-team OHL season preview. He doesn't get too deep into Tomas Hamara's Rangers or Jorian Donovan's Bulldogs but it serves as a good cheat sheet for those of us who try to keep tabs on more leagues than any human reasonably should.
• For those looking for more non-NHL hockey reading, William Douglas wrote this cool article about growing the game among Colorado's Hispanic community.
• And if you need a longform for this afternoon then I would recommend this New York Times article about Chris Nilan and his participation with Boston University's research into traumatic brain injuries. We have discussed TBIs in hockey a lot over the past few years and former enforcers like Nilan can provide a lot of insight into the longterm effects of the violent aspects of the game. Interestingly enough, Nilan doesn't exhibit a lot of the early symptoms that other former enforcers have suffered from and could provide some unique data. Nilan has nonetheless had a tumultuous experience since retiring from hockey. Now sober and stable, Nilan hopes to do his part.
• And finally, if you'll indulge this romantic Orioles fan, the world lost one of the greatest third-basemen of all time this week as Brooks Robinson passed away at the age of 86. For non-baseball fans, Robinson's accolades include 16 (!) gold gloves, American league MVP, all-star MVP, World Series champion (and MVP), and first-ballot hall-of-famer. Rest in peace, king.