It takes a special kind of person to be a professional hockey player. It’s not enough to be physically gifted, or a quick thinker – you also need some serious testicular fortitude. Hockey is a bloodsport; even today’s family-friendly game can leave you picking splinters out of your face.

No wonder these alpha males end up dating at the deep end of the gene pool. Mike Comrie and Hilary Duff are rumored to be engaged. Jarrett Stoll and Rachel Hunter are ready to start a family. Dan Hinote and Amy McCarthy, sister of Jenny, got hitched last month.

The Stoll-Hunter romance has drawn extra attention, partly because the 38-year-old Hunter has been “romantically linked” to a long list of actors, singers (including a 16-year marriage to Rod Stewart) and, yes, fashion intern Sean Avery. So what if Hunter is 13 years older than Stoll? Alexei Yashin and Carol Alt have already blazed that trail.

There’s nothing as exciting as a good, old-fashioned hockey rivalry – unless you get the same matchup three times in a week, or worse, once every three years. The NHL brass has wisely shifted its efforts back toward a more balanced schedule – every team will play every other team at least once in 2008-09.

It’s not quite as good as having each of the other 29 teams coming to your hometown arena, but it’s a step in the right direction. If you’re up north, you will be paid at least one visit from every other Canadian club. And the league is still emphasizing division rivalries – the Montreal Canadians, for example, will face the Boston Bruins six times, down from eight last year.

The new schedule promises the rekindling of some inter-conference battles that have fallen by the wayside – like the Canadiens vs. the Detroit Red Wings in an old-fashioned Original Six matchup. They’ll play in Detroit on Nov. 26.

There’s no question the NHL wants to see more scoring. Commissioner Gary Bettman himself says he wants to shrink goaltender equipment yet again. Goalies are already 85 percent as bulky as they were before the lockout. What’s a poor netminder to do?

Organize, of course. The Goalie Equipment Working Group was formed at the end of April, with five goalies and four NHL executives (including ex-goalies Jim Rutherford and Garth Snow, the bulky one) getting together to discuss the issue. Whether the GEWG will have any real affect on the league’s decision-making process is debatable. But at least the goalies will have their say.

Hockey has seen tremendous advancements in equipment technology, enough that today’s goaltender is an entirely different animal than 30 years ago, when Rutherford was between the pipes. The rules need to keep up with the technology – but the aim should be for a more beautiful game, not necessarily more flashing red lights.

Mark Parrish is suddenly available. Any takers?

August 1 came and went with no further news on the Mats Sundin front. His agent, J.P. Barry, told the Vancouver Sun that the offers made by the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens were particularly flattering. But Barry also says there are six teams interested in Sundin, three who want to remain nameless. How intriguing.

If your favorite team doesn’t land the incumbent captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, there’s always Mark Parrish. He suddenly became available when the Minnesota wild bought out the last three years of his contract. Wild GM Doug Risebrough called it strictly a salary-cap decision, but the question is, who needs a 16-goal scorer who’s already north of 30 years old? Nashville’s name has come up.

Of course, there’s always Europe. Jaroslav Modry leaves the Philadelphia Flyers blueline a little thinner now that he’s joined HC Liberec in the Czech Republic. Modry returns to the club he played for during the 2004-05 NHL lockout.