The Drop Pass: January 5th, 2026

Welcome to the first edition of THE DROP PASS, your week in review of everything Offside News Co. Every edition will recap hockey news, from our team-focused columns to podcasts and everything in between.

Whether you’re new here or have been an avid reader of ours for awhile, welcome and thank you for all your support! Offside is a queer-run digital culture magazine that discusses all levels of hockey, from the serious to the deeply unserious. We’re made up of a volunteer staff of over 50 hockey fans from diverse backgrounds, all dedicated to growing the game. From personal op-eds to explainer pieces, silly listicles to team columns, we aim to grow the sports journalism landscape by covering the game we love.

Vegas Golden Knights writer Lindy Nelson wrote a powerful piece when Carter Hart was signed to the Vegas Golden Knights. Hart was one of the five players on the 2018 Canada World Junior Championship team who was charged with sexual assault.

This rookie duo took The Bay — and the rest of the league — by storm in the 2024-2025 season. Managing editor Katrina Liu wrote about Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith (hockey)’s best moments on and off the ice — mostly off.

Former NHL player Ryan Kesler was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct this past October. Writer Kathryn Matheson wrote about how Kesler was one of her favourite players growing up, and how often women in hockey fandom are forced to grapple with the realities of sexual assault, through both firsthand experience and the conduct of the players we once held dear.

Editor-In-Chief Avery Beaumont wrote about how the 4 Nations Face-Off became a lightning rod for nationalism amidst a turbulent political backdrop.

Analytics aren’t just for on-ice play. Carolina Hurricanes beat reporter Rachel Robinson ranked the various goalie cuck chairs around the league using a ranking system referred to as the “cuckometer.”

A powerful personal narrative about immigration, hockey and how they intertwine. Hockey’s stories go beyond the ice, and guest writer Silvia Leija-Rosas wrote about how.

The gold medal match between Sweden and Czechia is tonight at 8:30 PM EST! Finland and Canada will be battling for the bronze at 4:30 PM EST.

As always with the World Juniors, storylines have been abundant. The United States’s attempt at a three-peat was cut short on home soil, Canada seemed to learned from their mistakes from last year (for the most part), and how about that quarter-final matchup between Sweden and Finland last night?

We’re proud to bring you this year’s World Juniors coverage, where we covered various teams and all the narratives that encompassed each of them. Read below:

We have a passionate contingent of CHL writers on staff, and they highlighted some names to watch this season from each major Canadian junior hockey league.

With the aforementioned transfer agreement, college hockey is in the spotlight more than it’s ever been. Luckily, we have a select few people on our staff who live and breathe college hockey.

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