Some of the Most Successful Brown University Alumni in the NHL

Brown University has a distinguished ice hockey program with more than 100 years of history. The school’s varsity hockey team began to play in 1897-98 and won the Intercollegiate Hockey Association championship that season. Since then, Brown has recorded several top-10 finishes across multiple conferences and participated in the year-end NCAA Tournament four times. The school’s hockey program has also produced more than 20 players who went to play in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Curt Bennett was the first Brown University alumni to play in the NHL and undoubtedly the most accomplished. A native of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Bennett was selected 16th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1968 NHL Amateur Draft and made his NHL debut during the 1970-71 season, scoring a pair of goals in four regular season games.

Bennett played 31 games for the Blues the following season but was dealt to the New York Rangers in 1972. He split the 1972-73 season between the Rangers and Atlanta Flames. Bennett spent parts of six seasons during his first of two stints in Atlanta and had his most productive season in 1975-76, scoring a career-best 34 goals and adding 31 assists for 65 points. He retired following the 1979-80 season with 334 points through 580 career regular season games.

Tim Bothwell ranks second behind Bennett in terms of Brown University alumni with the most points in the NHL. A Canadian defenseman from Vancouver, British Columbia, Bothwell played 11 seasons with the Blues, Rangers, and Hartford Whalers from 1978-79 to 1988-89. He registered a career-high 26 points in 1984-85 with the Blues and concluded his career with 121 points in 501 regular season games.

Garnett Hathaway, one of three active Brown alumni in the NHL, ranks third all-time with 100 points in 373 regular season games. A 30-year-old native of Kennebunkport, Maine, Hathaway signed with the Calgary Flames as a free agent in 2015 and played four seasons with the team before signing with the Washington Capitals. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound forward recorded a career-best 26 points in 76 regular season games with the Capitals in 2021-22.

Sam Lafferty and Maxwell Willman are the other two Brown alumni in the NHL. Lafferty, a 27-year-old native of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014 and has since recorded 21 points in 94 career regular season games. He produced 11 points in 46 games in 2021-22 with the Chicago Blackhawks. Willman, meanwhile, made his NHL debut in 2021-22, seven years after he was drafted, and recorded six points in 41 regular season games for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Three former Brown University goaltenders have played in the NHL, the most notable of which is Yann Danis. The Canadian goaltender signed with the Montreal Canadiens in 2004 and played 55 NHL games with four teams from 2005-06 to 2015-16. He retired with a record of 17-22-4 to go along with a 2.79 goals-against average and .908 save percentage.

Other notable Brown University alumni to play in the NHL include Ryan Garbutt (2011-17), Todd Simpson (1995-06), Harry Zolnierczyk (2011-17), Bobby Farnham (2014-17), and Aaron Volpatti (2010-15).

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Perspectives and Issues in the Marine Salvage Industry

Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship after a shipwreck or other types of maritime accidents. Salvage may involve towing, re-floating, recovering cargo, or effecting repairs to a marine vessel. Professional salvors are the people who help to salvage a ship or its cargo. They range from large international companies with considerable capital investment to smaller businesses operating in restricted geographical areas.

In 2020, the revenue of the marine salvage services industry increased by 2.9 percent despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly because the sector is a necessary service. Revenue was expected to increase by 6.8 percent in 2021 as marine trade activity picked up. As the US economy recovers from the pandemic and the destructive impact of hurricanes continues, industry revenue is projected to continue rising to the year 2026 and beyond

Marine salvage is undertaken by a select few companies and professionals. Partly, this is explained by the fact that salvage operations are often tricky and involve highly complex technical and legal issues. The clauses governing the industry, which are intended to keep the maritime salvage field problem-free and fair, are often confusing. The legal implications make it extremely necessary for salvors to deeply understand the concepts, terms, and consequences involved in this unique domain.

In addition, salvage operations are costly not just to the ship owner but to the salvor too, as it requires highly trained staffing, expensive equipment, and a considerable investment of time. To compound matters further, a fixed time frame for the operation is necessary, as that sets a realistic expectation of the salvage duration. The goal of this clause is to protect the ship owner in case a salvage company attempts to delay the operations but still wants to claim the reward. If the salvage work is completed beyond the pre-agreed period, a fine or penalty may be levied on the salvor.

To ensure that both parties, the ship owner and salvor, are adequately covered, commercial salvage operations must be covered by a contract. This ensures the ship owner is covered against exploitation, such as unduly extending the duration of the operation and that the salvor receives adequate rewards for their service.

The open form “no cure, no pay” contract has been the most commonly used for international salvage operations. An example of this type of contract is Lloyd’s Open Form (LOF), also known as Lloyd’s Standard Salvage Agreement.

Although maritime law governing salvage has been operating for several centuries and general maritime law governs operations, for those considering venturing into the marine salvage business, it’s essential to research salvage laws applicable in the proposed area of operation. If salvage activities take place on international waters, they fall under the jurisdiction of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Each state has adopted or modified vessel salvage laws in the US to suit local needs. Salvage companies should be thoroughly familiar with them before undertaking salvage operations within the state’s waters or forming a salvage company. The Department of Motor Vehicles or respective state Department of Natural Resources are good sources of salvage law information.

With growing concerns for environmental conservation, the marine salvage industry has shifted from simply saving vessels and their cargo to preventing marine casualties from damaging the local or broader marine environment.

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Achieving the Perfect Golf Swing

With golf, form is everything; it is crucial to having a good game. However, not many people have the perfect golf swing in their skill set. Making a swing can be broken down into six sequences. There is the setup, the takeaway, backswing, downswing, impact, and the follow-through.

The first step, the setup, involves taking the correct position to make a good swing before it even starts. The golfer must stand beside the ball and rest the clubhead directly behind it. The golfer’s hands must remain free-flowing straight down from their shoulders, and their knees must be slightly bent. The golfer’s weight must be distributed evenly on the golfer’s feet.

The golfer then moves into the takeaway, the start of the swing. Ideally, the takeaway ends with the club parallel to the ground. Arms must remain straight, and wrists must not bend at this point.

The next step is the backswing. This starts at the end of the takeaway, while the club is parallel to the ground. The left arm must remain straight, and the left foot should stay on the ground at all times. At this point, the left foot should point towards the ball. The entire process is slow as it seeks to protect the integrity of the swing. When the club is parallel to the ground at the height of the backswing, it should face the ball. This will keep the swing on plane and ensure a solid hit.

After the backswing comes the downswing. Compared to the backswing, the downswing is faster. During the downswing, hinge your wrists for as long as possible to increase acceleration towards the impact. If all the preceding steps are done right, you should notice that your upper body follows the turn and swing of the lower body. Keep the dominant elbow close to the body to ensure the club stays on the right path to the ball.

And then comes impact. This is the only period when the golfer makes contact with the ball. If the steps preceding this point were followed religiously, the hands should be slightly ahead of the ball at impact, with the eyes and hips trained on the ball. When using an iron, the impact must be made during the downward motion. However, with wood, the impact should be made after the club has reached the lowest point of the downswing, just as it is rising again.

The follow-through is the last stage of the swing. The body does not stop at impact, and so the torso continues to turn after the ball has taken flight. All the weight is now on a stably planted front leg. The hands and clubhead circle around the body as the torso turns.

These are the six vital sequences of making the perfect golf swing. It is imperative to follow these steps as a golfer because not only does it lead to a good shot, it also reduces the strain on the body and helps avoid injuries sustained as a result of constant stress on parts of the body used in the swing.

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Fishing Gear And Methods

Being successful at fishing largely depends on the equipment you use, so differentiating and using the right gear in the right situation is paramount. This article seeks to explain the various types of fishing equipment and the scenarios they are best used for.

Fishing gear can be generally categorized into five: nets, hooks and lines, traps, grappling devices, and stupefying devices.

The first category, nets, can be subdivided into four: trawls, dredges, seines, and gillnets. Trawls are towed nets pulled from a boat to catch fish and other certain species. While most trawls are dragged along ocean bottoms, they can also be used in mid-water. They are used to catch animals like shrimp, rockfish, and Atlantic cod. On the other hand, Dredges are shovel-like iron frames with nets attached. They are used to scrape the bottom of the sea to catch animals like clams.

Seine nets are used to catch schools of fish and are responsible for catching about 50 percent of commercial salmon in Canada. They are weighted bottom nets placed surrounding a school of fish. Purse seines then draw the bottom of the net inwards while Danish seines are pulled behind the boat to catch fish.

Gillnets are placed in the water to catch fish that try to swim through them but instead get hooked, usually by their gills. These nets catch about 25 percent of commercial salmon in Canada.

Hook and line, the next set of fishing gear, is arguably the most popular equipment associated with fishing. They come in various forms, such as longlines, which catch fish like swordfish, tunas, rockfish, cod, and handlines, capturing the same fish as the longline category. However, due to being shorter than long lines and having one hook to one line, handlines stay in the water for less time.

Another important set of fishing equipment is traps, which are passively used in enclosed spaces and often baited for target species to enter. Examples of target species caught by traps include lobster and shrimp.

Grappling devices are commonly used to target individual fish and mammals. They include harpoons, spears, and arrows and are used to catch fish like swordfish and salmon. The primary issue with most of the gear listed above seems to be the problem of bycatch. This is the unintentional capture of non-targeted species while fishing, and this may include dolphins and seabirds. However, grappling devices have very minimal bycatch.

The final category is stupefying devices. It is the least common fishing method, as it is illegal in most parts of the world. It involves using chemicals like cyanide or explosives like dynamite to stun fish to make them easier to catch. It has potentially harmful repercussions, as using chemicals may cause the fish to become poisonous. Using explosives may destroy reefs that took hundreds, if not thousands of years, to grow, thus affecting the environment.

The ability to differentiate between fishing gear, especially those that can catch the same species of fish, and the knowledge of which to use in particular scenarios will prove invaluable to successful fishing.

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