Christian Thorsberg

Journalist & writer, rising senior at Northwestern University.

Author's Posts

Japan Cup & Yokohama Expansion Energize Uncertain Asia League

August 29th, 2020 After the 2020 Playoffs were postponed and ultimately cancelled in February due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, the Asia League’s restart and schedule for the 2020-21 season continues to face unique and rapidly changing obstacles. With the league’s member clubs hailing from three different countries –– South Korea, Russia,...

Ilya Kovalchuk: A Career Retrospective

August 27th, 2020 On January 6, 2006, late in the second period of a regular-season Pittsburgh Penguins-Atlanta Thrashers tilt, a 22-year-old Ilya Kovalchuk is left dangerously uncovered on the near-side point of the Thrashers’ power play. As the Penguins’ defense flails hopelessly to recover, the Russian scorer, receiving a cross-slot pass, wastes...

Devils Alumni Pave Way for South Korean Hockey

August 21st, 2020 When ex-New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello helped Viacheslav “Slava” Fetisov defect from the Soviet Union in 1989 and make his New Jersey debut, Lamoriello also helped lift the Iron Curtain that had hung so prominently over the league for decades. Igor Larionov, Vladimir Krutov, and Sergei Makarov –– among others...

Traded Devils Paying Dividends For New Playoff Teams

August 20th, 2020 After last summer’s marquee additions of P.K. Subban, Jack Hughes, Wayne Simmonds, and Nikita Gusev, cautious optimism surrounded a New Jersey Devils team that had reached the postseason only once in seven years. A return to the playoffs in 2019-20 seemed plausible at long last. After a slow start and lackluster winter painfully...