: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/?p=11572322<![CDATA[NHL players ‘not going’ to Winter Olympics if ice isn’t safe: deputy commissioner]]>Wed, 10 Dec 2025 22:07:55 +0000
The 2026 Winter Olympics are less than two months away and the NHL says if the hockey rinks aren’t ready in time or are unsafe, the league’s players are “not going” to the Games.
On Tuesday, a match was played on the secondary Rho Ice Hockey Arena, one of two planned locations for hockey in February’s Milano Cortina Games.
But the question remains if the main Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena will be ready in time, despite officials saying the 16,000-seat facility will be good to play on.
The concerns surrounding the rink are not just about if the structure will be ready, but also if the ice will even be playable.
“They haven’t made ice yet,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said during a news conference on Wednesday in Winnipeg. “So we don’t know how good the ice is yet on the number one rink.”
February’s Olympics will be the first since 2014 featuring participation by NHL players.
The NHL says it has sent its own ice specialists to help with preparations, but the league says until the surface is tested with skaters and the warmth from many fans in the arena, it may not be clear if the quality will be good enough.
Canada’s best hockey players arrive in Calgary for Olympic orientation camp
“If the ice isn’t ready and it’s not safe, then we’re not going,” said NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly. “I mean, I think that’s self-evident.”
The size of the rinks are also an issue, with the NHL being caught off guard earlier this year when it became clear the dimensions of both will be slightly wider and three feet shorter than what the league and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)agreed upon.
Daly told the Associated Press that the league and NHL Players’ Association have reminded the IIHF that they expect the ice surface to be standard NHL size at the 2030 Winter Games in France.
During Tuesday’s match, Japan captain Daigo Hotta said the ice at the Rho rink firmed up by game time though had said it was a “little soft” during a pre-game skate. The dimensions were immediately noticeable, Hotta said.
“I play back in the States. The rinks are pretty small, but I think this one is one of the smallest rinks I’ve ever played in,” Hotta said. “The neutral zone’s smaller. The space between the dots and the boards. I think everything’s a little smaller than normal.”
The match was part of the Group B Under-20 world championship tournament being held this week.
Daly acknowledged the groups “did have a misunderstanding.”
The head of games operations for Milano Cortina recently dismissed questions about the rink size, noting the ice surfaces are consistent with IIHF rules. The official also said the ice has the same dimensions as the rinks used in Beijing in 2022, and in Stockholm, Sweden, where the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators played twice last month as part of the NHL’s Global Series.
“It is clear that the dimensions of the rink are different, but if you come to play in Europe, all the rinks have this type of size,” Andrea Francisi said Tuesday. “So somehow you have to adapt to this kind of dimension.”
The NHL says it is trying to put the problem in the past, saying it won’t make too much of a difference in play, but the big worry remains that no Olympic hockey venue has been this far from completion so close to puckdrop.
The first hockey game of the Olympics is Feb. 5, when the women’s tournament will begin.
—with files from Global News’ Mike Armstrong and The Associated Press
]]>: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/?p=11571761<![CDATA[Dillon Dube signs AHL tryout following world junior sexual assault acquittal]]>Wed, 10 Dec 2025 16:34:21 +0000
FILE - Calgary Flames center Dillon Dube (29) skates against the Detroit Red Wings in the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File).
PCS
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Dillon Dube, the only remaining unsigned player among the five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team who were acquitted of sexual assault in the high-profile case, has agreed to an American Hockey League professional tryout with the St. Louis Blues.
General manager Doug Armstrong announced the deal with the 27-year-old on Wednesday.
Dube, fellow forwards Michael McLeod and Alex Formenton, defenseman Cal Foote and goaltender Carter Hart were found not guilty by a judge in London, Ont., after being charged in connection to an incident there in 2018.
Hart with the Vegas Golden Knights is the only one who has played in the NHL since the trial ended last summer and all five were reinstated.
Foote signed with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves last week, while Formenton is playing in Switzerland and McLeod in the Russia-based KHL.
The Blues said Dube would report to the Springfield Thunderbirds after receiving his work visa. Dube played 42 games with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL last season. He was with the Calgary Flames from 2018-24.
St. Louis earlier this fall had signed winger Milan Lucic to an AHL PTO and released him from it.
TORONTO – It’s finally time for the Toronto Raptors to rest.
Head coach Darko Rajakovic told his players to rest as much as they can before their next practice on Friday after playing in seven games over 11 days where Toronto went 1-6. The last loss might be the most painful as Jalen Brunson had 35 points as the New York Knicks routed the undermanned Raptors 117-101 on Tuesday in an Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinal.
“Really important just to reset the mind, reset the body,” said Brandon Ingram, who led Toronto with 31 points against New York, including 17 in the first quarter.
“Look at these first 25, 26 games and see what we’ve done well, what we haven’t done so well, and just try to adjust and address it and try to be better at it.”
The Raptors’ next game will be against the Miami Heat on Monday, giving them a full five days off after that hectic 11-day stretch.
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Rest will also be critical for point guard Immanuel Quickley and swingman RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont.
Both starters missed the Raptors’ first-ever knockout game of the NBA Cup. Quickley was out with an undisclosed illness and Barrett continues to recover from a sprained right knee.
“Seven game in 11 days. We definitely need it. We need to get healthy,” said point guard Jamal Shead after a career-high 18 points starting in place of Quickley. “RJ, Quick, just our entire team, we just need our bodies to get right.”
Ingram also had seven assists and six rebounds as Toronto (15-11) dropped its fourth game in a row. Scottie Barnes added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Shead, who had been listed as questionable with a right quad contusion, had eight assists and three rebounds. Ochai Agbaji had three points in place of Barrett.
Toronto’s lack of depth was exposed by the Knicks’ defence, with several Raptors bench players left scoreless.
Rajakovic has said throughout the season that every loss is an opportunity to learn. He, Ingram and Shead all seemed to take the NBA Cup quarterfinal loss in stride when speaking with media post-game.
“It is hard (for young players to take on new roles) but that’s the job, you know,” said Rajakovic. “I think it’s a great learning opportunity for all of them.
“I thought that our spirit was great. I thought that we competed the whole game. We just played against a better team tonight.”
Ingram echoed Rajakovic’s sentiments, but looked at the season as a whole.
“One big lesson that I take away from the course of the season is we have little margin for error, especially when we have guys in and out of the lineup,” he said. “We’ve had (Jakob Poeltl) out of the lineup. We’ve had RJ out of the lineup. We had Quick out of the lineup today.
“So as guys come in and step up, we have just a little margin for error in games especially when we play really, really good teams.”
Karl-Anthony Towns, who was a game-time decision, had a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds as New York (17-7) won its fourth straight.
New York advances to Las Vegas where it will face the Orlando Magic on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2025.
]]>: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/news/11570957/quickley-out-for-raptors-in-nba-cup-quarterfinal/<![CDATA[Knicks bounce Raptors out of NBA Cup 117-101]]>Wed, 10 Dec 2025 00:16:29 +0000
TORONTO – Jalen Brunson had 35 points, including 20 in the first quarter, as the New York Knicks routed the undermanned Toronto Raptors 117-101 on Tuesday in an Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinal.
New York advances to Las Vegas where it will face the Orlando Magic on Saturday.
Karl-Anthony Towns, who was a game-time decision, had a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds as New York (17-7) won its fourth straight.
Brandon Ingram had 31 points, seven assists and six rebounds as Toronto (15-11) dropped its fourth game in a row. Scottie Barnes added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
It’s the first time the Raptors have reached the knockout stage of the in-season tournament.
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Starting point guard Immanuel Quickley missed the game with an undisclosed illness. Swingman RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., remained out after getting a platelet-rich plasma injection in his sprained right knee on Monday.
Jamal Shead, who had been listed as questionable with a right quad contusion, started in place of Quickley and Ochai Agbaji was in the lineup for Barrett.
Shead had a season-high 18 points and dished out seven assists, but Agbaji managed just three points.
TAKEAWAYS
Knicks: New York’s smothering defence harassed Toronto from the second quarter onward, taking advantage of the Raptors’ lack of depth. The Knicks D was particularly hard on Toronto’s reserves with only Ja’Kobe Walter (13 points) and Collin Murray-Boyles (four points) scoring off the bench in the first three quarters.
Raptors: Head coach Darko Rajakovic said pre-game that a fast start was critical if Toronto was going to win. Ingram delivered with 17 points in the first quarter alone as the Raptors led 39-37 after 12 minutes. Barrett and Quickley’s offence was clearly missed in the second quarter, however, as Toronto managed to score only 13 points.
Former Raptors forward OG Anunoby blocked AJ Lawson’s field goal 4:30 into the second quarter to maintain New York’s momentum in a 12-2 run that swung the game in the Knicks’ favour.
KEY STAT
Toronto was 5-for-21 (23.8 per cent) on field goals in the second, with all six Raptors reserves who played in the quarter being held scoreless.
UP NEXT
New York: Travels to Las Vegas to take on the Orlando Magic in the NBA Cup semifinal on Saturday.
Toronto: Visits the Miami Heat, who lost their quarterfinal to the Orlando Magic, on Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2025.
Barrett was shooting .50.6 per cent (120-237) from the field, including 35.6 per cent (31-87) from three-point range, and had scored 20 or more points in 10 games before his injury.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2025.
]]>: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/news/11568074/raptors-struggling-without-rj-barrett/<![CDATA[Raptors struggling without RJ Barrett]]>Mon, 08 Dec 2025 11:03:27 +0000: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/news/11567715/brown-celtics-hold-off-raptors-121-113/<![CDATA[Brown, Celtics hold off Raptors 121-113]]>Sun, 07 Dec 2025 23:05:29 +0000: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/?p=11564234<![CDATA[Montreal fans, entrepreneurs explore bringing MLB Expos back to city]]>Sat, 06 Dec 2025 11:00:47 +0000: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/news/11564758/mogbo-embracing-being-a-role-player-for-raptors/<![CDATA[Mogbo embracing being a role player for Raptors]]>Sat, 06 Dec 2025 03:52:51 +0000: Sportshttps://globalnews.ca/news/11564723/knueppel-leads-hornets-in-blowout-of-raptors/<![CDATA[Knueppel leads Hornets in blowout of Raptors]]>Sat, 06 Dec 2025 03:13:06 +0000: Sports
