The NHL Global Series is now in the rear view mirror. The New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres kicked off the NHL regular season with back to back games in Prague, Czechia. Later this season we will see the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers heading over to Finland for a duo of games as well. As fun as it is to see the NHL going overseas to help grow the game of hockey worldwide, is it not getting a little old going to Finland, Sweden, and Czechia?
Since 1997, the NHL has gone to Finland six times, Sweden nine times, and Czechia five times. A lot of NHL players are from these countries. 181 players played in NHL games last season from these three countries. While the NHL players love these trips to their home countries, they should not be going to the same countries every time. The NHL should be using the Global Series to share this captivating game with countries that are trying to grow hockey in their country. With that being said, here are three countries I think the NHL should look into going to.
England
The NHL has been to England before back in 2007. When the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks took to the ice at the O2 Arena in London. They played two games with both games attendance bringing in over 17,000 fans. When the NHL had been there the pro ranks in England had really just started getting going. So for the fans to see the best of the best come over from North America would have really rejuvenated a soccer driven country to give hockey a try.
Now, the big league in England is the Elite Ice Hockey League. It has ten teams from all over the United Kingdom. While most clubs attendance is equal to a junior hokey club in Canada, the top teams in the league are bringing in seven to nine thousand fans per game. England is ready for the return of NHL hockey, as the fan base is already there and growing every year.
Which teams should go:
Japan
Japan has not had an NHL game played there since 2000, when the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins went there for a two game set. The hype of hockey in Japan is not growing as fast as other places, but there is a fan base there for their national teams. Japan currently ranks 23rd in the world according to IIHF, while the women’s team continues does quite well at international tournaments. The country does not have a hockey league in it as the Japan Hockey League shut down operations in 2003, but they do have seven teams playing in the Asia League Ice Hockey.
Japan will hopefully see a return of NHL hockey in the future as they do have the arenas/stadiums to host a couple of games. With the biggest being the Tokyo Dome that can seat 55,000, it is designed for baseball, but could be a fun venue though unlikely. The likely venue is Saitama Super Arena. It is where they played last time they were in Japan, and it can seat 22,500. Japan is setup to host the Global Series, it would be a fun event to show this amazing sport to a country that is trying to build a good hockey program.
Which teams should go:
Slovenia
Slovenia would be a great place for the NHL to visit, but it does have some logistical hurdles. The country has had seven players be drafted into the NHL, with the biggest name being two time Stanley Cup champion Anze Kopitar. While Kopitar might be on the back nine of his career, I am sure he would love to being his team over to Slovenia to play a couple of games. Slovenia has a good hockey program already there, as they compete quite well with some of the top teams in the world. They have qualified for two Olympics in 2014 and 2018.
The problem with Slovenia is that the venues they have for playing hockey do not have enough seats to make it catch the NHL’s eye. The biggest venue they would have is the Tivoli Hall, which can have 7000 seats in it. The NHL most likely would want to have a bigger venue to have the Global Series come to town, that is why it is a bit of a long shot for them to come to Slovenia.
The smallest venue the NHL has ever played in internationally was when they went to Japan and that had 10,000 seats. The Arizona Coyotes did just play two seasons in a 5000 seat college arena, so maybe there is hope for Slovenia and NHL hockey.
Teams that should go:
If the NHL goes to any of these places, they will be growing the game and showing a country how good these players are. The Global Series should be used to grow the game and to show case these players and their skills. Each of these countries have national teams, and have teams that are in professional leagues. The interest in hockey is in all these places. NHL teams traveling to these countries will just grow the excitement for this amazing game.
Area 51 will be covering the NHL all year long so follow long and keep it locked here.
