CannonBalls: Your Daily Barrage Of CBJ And NHL Links – 2/17/14

Cannonballs is a daily series where we will gather up links to other interesting stories from the Columbus Blue Jackets blogosphere, as well as general NHL and hockey news. While we strive to bring you the best coverage of the Columbus Blue Jackets here at the Union and Blue, there are several other CBJ blogs that do a great job as well. So with that, here is today’s edition of Union and Blue Cannonballs! 

From USA Today Sports Images

Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus Blue Jackets Russian Player Olympic Grades vs United States: Over at Rant Sports, Michael Nyeste has assigned a grade for each of the Columbus Blue Jackets players on Team Russia. [ Rant Sports ]

Olympics

Russian’s Cry “Rule USA”: Follow any CBJ game on Twitter, and at some point you will come across someone mentioning “Rule 614” when a call does not go the Jackets way. It seems Russia follows the same practice. Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Russian Duma’s foreign affairs committee took to Twitter after Fedor Tyutin’s goal was waved off in the third period against Team USA and accused the refs of favoring the United States. U.S. Ambassador, Michael McFaul said in reply, “Come on, Man”. [ Columbus Dispatch ]

Men’s Hockey Medal Round Bracket: Over at Hockey At the Forks, Keith Schultz has posted the Medal Round bracket, as well as a schedule going forward. It is well worth checking out if you want to stay on top of all of the Olympic action. [ Hockey At the Forks ]

T.J. Oshie: Why The NHL Needs the Olympics: Before Saturday’s game against Team Russia, the majority of non-hockey hockey fans had never heard of T.J. Oshie. Now, he is a household name. Overnight, the St. Louis Blues have a star player that people will want to watch. While the financial gains may not be seen by the NHL in the near term, the Olympics are an important part of the long term growth of the NHL. [ Too Many Men On The Site ]