Victor Hedman excited to represent Team Sweden in 2026 Olympics
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
BELFONTI COMPANIES ANNOUNCES THE DISPLAY OF THE STANLEY CUP
National Hockey League championship trophy displayed in Northford, CT NORTHFORD, Conn., Aug. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Belfonti Companies is pleased to share that one of its portfolio assets, the Northford Ice Pavilion in Northford, CT ( was recently home to the National Hockey League's cherished "Stanley Cup." The Stanley Cup is a championship trophy awarded annually to the winner of the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs ( The Florida Panthers won the trophy in 2025. The championship trophy was on display at the Northford Ice Pavilion on August 1, 2025, courtesy of Florida Panthers' player Matthew (Mackie) Samoskevich, who skated at NIP as a young boy. Many Division I, Division II and Division III college hockey players trained at the Northford Ice Pavilion. A dozen or more of these college players have gone on to become professional hockey players in the NHL, including Matthew "Mackie" Samoskevich (Florida Panthers), Jonathan Quick (a Con Smythe trophy winner and goaltender with the Los Angeles Kings), Max Pacioretty (captain of the Montreal Candiens), Nick Bonino (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Cam Atkinson (Columbus Blue Jackets). The Northford Ice Pavilion was built by four partners – Michael Belfonti, Al Secondino, Mary Roos and John Lasher. It originally opened in 1998 as a two-surface ice facility, and a third rink was added in 2016. About Belfonti Companies: Belfonti Companies, LLC (headquartered in Hamden, Connecticut) actively pursues real estate development and investment opportunities throughout the United States and internationally. The company focuses on investment, development and management of real estate, thus playing a significant and multi-faceted role in the real estate market. Under the leadership of founder and CEO Michael Belfonti, the company has successfully owned and managed millions of square feet of real estate over the years and has completed over two billion dollars' worth of transactions. At the present time the group's portfolio contains a wide variety of assets including residential apartment communities, office buildings, retail centers and industrial parks. Belfonti Companies, LLC2319 Whitney Avenue, Suite 1AHamden, CT 06518Phone: (203) 230-1600Fax: (203) 281-3366 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Belfonti Companies, LLC Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Times
8 hours ago
- New York Times
Can Matthew and Brady Tkachuk become hockey's answer to the Kelce brothers? ‘Maybe one day'
It's been a few months since the Tkachuk brothers last faced any physical microphones, but they've already sat for three interviews on this August afternoon when they join their final Zoom call of the day. Brady, 25, appears to be at a computer in a home office, while Matthew, 27, holds a phone from a living room couch. As the conversation begins, the elder Tkachuk cautions that neither are in peak media shape. Advertisement 'We're rusty, we haven't done it in a few months,' Matthew says. 'So, (we) could only handle four today.' The brothers soon find their gear. They are laid-back, yet still excited about the mini-junket's pretext: Matthew, a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion with the Florida Panthers, has landed on the standard cover of 'EA Sports NHL 26,' the newest release of the most famous hockey video game ever. Joining him in a family photo on the front of an early-access 'Deluxe Edition' are both Brady, the Ottawa Senators' captain, and their father, former NHLer Keith Tkachuk. 'I think our 10-year-old selves would be losing their minds seeing that we're on a cover of the NHL game that we loved playing growing up,' Brady says. In a sport that sometimes shies away from promoting individual personalities, Matthew and Brady are quickly cementing themselves as two of hockey's preeminent showmen. The 'NHL 26' covers are only the latest examples. In 2023, they play-fought in a car backseat — in full hockey gear, no less — for a Hyundai commercial. Last year, Matthew starred on the first season of Prime Video's 'Faceoff: Inside the NHL,' offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life with the Tkachuk family. This fall, Brady will join him for a second season of the show that, in part, covers Team USA's round-robin matchup against Canada at February's 4 Nations Face-Off, during which both Tkachuks now-famously dropped their gloves as three fights broke out in the first nine seconds. Despite losing to Canada in the championship game, the brothers capitalized on the post-tournament buzz with several major media hits. Matthew joined 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' and Brady appeared on podcasts like 'Spittin' Chiclets' and 'Pardon My Take.' The duo then served as co-guests on the wildly popular 'New Heights' podcast hosted by NFL brothers Travis and Jason Kelce, whose YouTube simulcasts have accumulated nearly 1 billion views. Advertisement As the Tkachuks establish a more mainstream presence, it's natural to draw comparisons to the media-savvy Kelce brothers. Matthew revealed that he and Brady have even been presented with 'opportunities where we could've had our own' podcast together, leading him to ask Travis and Jason about the production process. 'I've gotten a little bit of advice via the podcast route,' Matthew says. '(But) it's way too early to know if we're going to do it or not. … It's different for them now because one of them isn't playing anymore. Compared to Brady and I would do it with (us) both playing. So, there's a lot of stuff to juggle around there. 'But maybe one day.' Of course, the Tkachuks won't win over everyone. Whether it's Brady slamming defensemen into the end boards for an on-the-rise Senators team, or Matthew mucking around the net front as the Panthers build a potential dynasty, both possess on-ice styles that rub opposing players and fan bases alike the wrong way. And their international notoriety will surely grow at next year's Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, with NHL players set to participate for the first time since 2014. Not all of their off-ice opportunities will earn universal acclaim, either: Recently Matthew was named to President Donald Trump's 'Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition' alongside NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, among others. Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley declined an invitation despite being initially listed in a White House release, while Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has also expressed confusion at his inclusion. Matthew, for his part, says it's 'a little too early' to confirm his participation on the council, declining further comment to The Athletic. Regardless, the Tkachuks' willingness to put themselves out there and desire to reach wider audiences are noteworthy for hockey players — particularly in the U.S., where the NFL and NBA rule. Advertisement 'I'm not going to tell a player that's not comfortable doing (more media),' Matthew said. 'If they just treat it as a job, like a clock-in and clock-out and just want to worry about that, hey, all to you. If that helps you play. Some guys are like that. Every team has guys like that. 'I think that if more guys could do (more), I think the better.' The Tkachuks also see their recent surge in appearances as an opportunity to grow the game and be 'good role models' for 'the next generation of kids,' Brady says. 'I think any exposure you get that can grow the game is very important to us,' Matthew adds. 'We want to be guys that leave the game in a way better place than it was when we started. Just the way the world's kind of trending, the opportunities for players are pretty seamless and easy for Brady and I. Whereas maybe other guys, they're not as comfortable as we are in it. 'We enjoy it. We think it's important to do. Hockey is not a job to us. It's never felt like a job for us. It's fun, it's life, it's what we've grown up in.' A legacy on full Brady, and Keith Tkachuk grace the #NHL26 Deluxe Edition to get 7-day early access. — EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) August 6, 2025 No matter where the Tkachuks go from here, on the ice and off, their paths are forever linked. It has been that way since they were kids and had way more free time to play the 'EA Sports NHL' video games. They used to spend hours competing on Xbox at home in the St. Louis area, with Brady often getting the better of his older brother. 'We loved playing when we turned penalties off,' Matthew says. 'It was so fun.' Now, when young gamers look at the newest version, they will see an image of Matthew hoisting his second straight Stanley Cup with the Panthers in June — or, in the case of the early-access edition, one of him flanked by Brady and Keith. Advertisement 'For me, it kind of just captures everything that I wanted in my NHL career, in two covers,' Matthew says. 'I have the standard cover where it shows my dream coming true with the Stanley Cup, and the picture is just, everything about it, is so special to me. I still pinch myself. I can't believe it. 'But then I look at the deluxe cover, and that might be more important to me, being in the middle of my brother and my dad.' (Top photo of Matthew and Brady Tkachuk: AP Photo / Charles Krupa) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Revisiting The Always Passionate Dale Hunter And His Quest For A Cup
This piece was originally published in The Hockey News magazine, vol. 51, issue 37, on Jun 19, 1998 BY MICHAEL ULMER There is grey hair where it was once jet black, no speed where there once was a little. Time has tinged every outward feature in 38-year-old Dale Hunter and left him untouched inside. Five years removed from his infamous late hit on then-New York Islander Pierre Turgeon, Hunter is in the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 18 seasons. The Washington Capitals' captain has moved from villain to sympathetic character. Hunter's nastiness, which spilled out so graphically in the Turgeon hit, has kept him in the game far longer than much more talented players. His game, once a potent cocktail of intimidation and skill, could be riveting and repellent, skillful and chilling. His shopworn features and six-word sentences are what the game was once about. 'Dale Hunter,' said teammate Bill Ranford, 'is a true-blue Canadian hockey player.' In person, Hunter is unerringly gentle natured. The gap between the on-ice persona and the off-ice demeanor is startling. 'People in the media are looking for flash. He doesn't say much, he's not interesting to the electronic media in particular,' said Washington coach Ron Wilson. 'It's like watching a Sutter brother get interviewed. But what Dale does off the ice, his work ethic, he hasn't changed a bit.' 'I don't think the passion changes as you get older,' Hunter said. 'I think as you get older, you enjoy every minute more.' Only three times has Hunter advanced as far as a division final (twice with the Quebec Nordiques, once in Washington) and each time his team was swept. Once an upper echelon star, Hunter has no false pride about his standing. 'I'm a role player,' he said without a trace of embarrassment."You do what you have to to keep playing.' 'He's still relentless and 1 think he has shown in the past, he'll do anything to win,' Wilson said, 'good or bad.' The bad happened in the 1993 playoffs when Hunter blind-sided Turgeon seconds after the Islanders' star scored a series-clinching goal. The late hit left Turgeon with an injured shoulder. Hunter was hit with a 21-game suspension the following season and there are those who will argue Turgeon, coming off a career 132-point season, has never been the same player. Hunter said the chance to hold the Stanley Cup, not a lasting repositioning of his image, made advancing to the final so memorable. 'That was in the past,' he said. 'You know to win a Stanley Cup is every kid's dream. You don't dream of losing a Stanley Cup when you're out in the yard. You dream of winning it.' Hunter worked the fringes of the first Caps' appearance in the final in the club's 24-year history, holding down an effective fourth line with Chris Simon and Craig Berube. He played between six and 11 minutes a game, most spent bashing Buffalo Sabres' defenders about in their own end. He had no goals and three assists in 17 games. Playing as hard as he can has been Hunter's hallmark since he broke in with Quebec in 1981. An incendiary competitor, he topped 200 penalty minutes for his first six years in the league and four times hit the 20-goal mark in that span. After seven seasons in Quebec, Hunter was shipped by the Nordiques to Washington. It would have been a disastrous deal, but for the first-round draft choice shipped to Quebec that the Nordiques used to draft Joe Sakic in 1987. Hunter is playing out another one-year contract, as he has the past couple of seasons, and clearly his days in the league are dwindling to a precious few. If Hunter's ability to reach trouble has slowed, his taste for it has not. 'I believe the harder the game, the tougher the situation, the better he's going to play,' Berube said. 'It's like when we work out. We'11 go ride the bike and he'll say we'll do 30 minutes, nice and easy. We get 10 minutes into it, he doesn't like it. he pushes it so hard that when you're done riding, you're cooked. That's Dale.'
