1.   A YOUNG Welsh international hockey player has been named Wrexham Maelor District Sports Council sports personality of the year.

2.   Anatoly Tarasov, the fiery and inspirational coach who led the former Soviet Union to become a dominant world power in international hockey, died Friday in Moscow.

3.   Dallas goalie Ed Belfour is far from irrelevant, but inevitably will be overshadowed by Hasek, the international hockey hero.

4.   For so many years, the Czechs struggled behind the former Soviet Union in all the big international hockey competitions.

5.   He is familiar with international hockey systems and the development of players from Sweden to Finland, Germany to Russia.

6.   In that era, Eastern European teams trained year-round in their quest to dominate international hockey.

7.   The Nagano Cup was the first international hockey competition to be played in the new Olympic arena, as well as the first challenge for organizers.

8.   There also tends to be less forechecking in international hockey because teams fear getting caught up ice in transition.

9.   We all witnessed what robust international hockey looks like in the recent Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

10.   Brendan Shanahan and Peter Bondra have some fond memories from international hockey.