That could be coming soon with the NHL looking at China as hockey's next great frontier. With the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China is eager to step up its game and the league is intrigued by the potential of a new nontraditional market with 1.4 billion people that might take to hockey like it did basketball. "It's a place that hasn't had that much of an opportunity to be introduced to what everybody acknowledges is a great game,"

Hockey, the sport that periodically pauses play to allow players to fight, is now helping foster diplomatic and business relations between Canada and China. In its preparations to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, China has asked for Canada’s assistance to help strengthen the country’s hockey culture and its hockey capabilities.

Plenty of diplomatic deals get done on the margins of global get-togethers, but one conducted on Twitter in 2014 made Prime Minister Stephen Harper a digital star among his fellow world leaders.(...) Most world leaders use the social media tool to broadcast specific messages; Harper is among many who don't generally reply when messages are sent their way.

Canada’s hockey teams twice dashed the U.S.’s Olympic dreams last month, and now they have the beer to celebrate their victory. The Canadian government confirmed on Twitter they had received the payment for the bet President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made on the gold medal match between the women’s teams and semifinal match between the men’s teams.

The National Hockey League (NHL) lockout has put a damper on the winter of most hockey fans. However, it ended up turning out pretty well for Ben Newman. The Little Falls senior met several locked-out NHL stars, visited historic landmarks and met with top-level government officials recently, all part of a sports diplomacy trip to Russia with a group from USA hockey, Oct. 4-14.

Secretary Clinton also had a chance to hold a series of bilateral meetings with her counterparts, including Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird. During their meeting, Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Baird underscored that they share a lot in common -- except for whom they are supporting in the upcoming NHL playoffs.