Buffalo playing Adler Mannheim

According to wgrz.com the Buffalo Sabres will play a German club in their preseason.

This makes the NHL vs. European Club schedule look like this now:

NHL vs. European clubs Schedule:

• Sept 29, 2011 HC Sparta Prague vs. New York Rangers @ Prague,Czech Republic
• Sept 30, 2011 Frolunda Indians vs. New York Rangers @ Gothenburg,Sweden
• Oct. 2, 2011 HC Slovan vs. New York Rangers @ Bratislava, Slovakia
• Oct. 3, 2011 EV Zug vs. New York Rangers @ Zug, Switzerland
• Oct. 4, 2011 Hamburg Freezers vs. Los Angeles Kings @ Hamburg, Germany'
• Oct. 4, 2011 Alder Mannheim vs. Buffalo Sabres @ Mannheim, Germany

Rangers add another game vs. European clubs

According to @stevezipay on Twitter the Rangers have added a game on October 2nd in Slovakia vs. HC Slovan. This makes the NHL vs. European Clubs Schedule look like this now:

NHL vs. European clubs Schedule:

• Sept 29, 2011 HC Sparta Prague vs. New York Rangers @ Prague,Czech Republic
• Sept 30, 2011 Frolunda Indians vs. New York Rangers @ Gothenburg,Sweden
• Oct. 2, 2011 HC Slovan vs. New York Rangers @ Bratislava, Slovakia
• Oct. 3, 2011 EV Zug vs. New York Rangers @ Zug, Switzerland
• Oct. 4, 2011 Hamburg Freezers vs. Los Angeles Kings @ Hamburg, Germany'

Still waiting to find out if the LA Kings are going to add any more games against European competition before the season starts.

Rangers, Kings to play Euro Clubs in 2011 Preseason

Just like last season the NHL clubs that are opening their seasons in Europe will be playing preseason games against European Clubs from various leagues. Here is what I was able to assemble so far:
All of this from NHL.com

• The New York Rangers will play an exhibition game in Switzerland in October, the third country in which the team will take the ice during the pre-season.
• The Rangers, who will also play in the Czech Republic and Sweden, will take on EV Zug in Zug, Switzerland on Oct. 3. EV Zug is coached by former NHL centre Doug Shedden.
• As part of the Compuware NHL Premiere Challenge, the Rangers will also play HC Sparta Prague in Prague on Sept. 29, and the Frolunda Indians of the Swedish Elite League in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Sept. 30.
• The Rangers will open their season with two games in Stockholm, against the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 7 and the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 8.
• The Kings will also play one exhibition game in Germany before starting the 2011-12 NHL regular season. The Kings on October 4 will play the special exhibition game at the O2 World Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany, against the Hamburg Freezers of the German Elite League.

NHL vs. European clubs Schedule:

• Sept 29, 2011 HC Sparta Prague vs. New York Rangers Prague,Czech Republic
• Sept 30, 2011 Frolunda Indians vs. New York Rangers Gothenburg,Sweden
• Oct. 3, 2011 EV Zug vs. New York Rangers Zug, Switzerland
• Oct. 4, 2011 Hamburg Freezers vs. Los Angeles Kings Hamburg, Germany

Bill Daly on Possible World Cup

In an interview with Bill Daly of the NHL by blogger Steve Lepore of Puck The Media, Daly is asked about a possible return of the World Cup of hockey:

"BD: I do. I couldn’t tell you exactly when because I know its tied up with our relationship with the PA and our collective bargaining agreement, but yes. I think, again, historically that’s been a very valuable property for the league and the players’ association. I anticipate there will be a return of the World Cup in some form and that’s something that’s going to be discussed with, and resolved with, the players’ association. They’ve got other priorities right now. They’re working on them, and I certainly understand that." ~ Puck The Media

Thoughts:

1. As has been the focus of this blog before, we still have no way of knowing exactly what format a World Cup of hockey would follow to allow competitive games while still trying to be inclusive of as many nations as possible.

2. Some of the basis for furthering this idea in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement could come from the World Hockey Summit being Held in late August. One of the topics on the summit agenda is:

"Integrating the World Cup of Hockey into the international agenda and to consider a consistent rotation between the IIHF World Championship, the Olympics and the World Cup." ~ CHL

3. The only way the World Cup would be that different from the World Championships is if: A) More nations were included in an expanded tournament format. This is problematic because there are not really that many competitive hockey nations outside of the top 8. B) If it’s held during a time when the most players can participate. Unlike the World Championships which occurs during the Stanley Cup finals, having the World Cup in August will avoid player participation conflict. This will allow for the quality of play to be higher overall because all the top talent will be available.

NHL Teams to Play European Clubs in Preseason Exhibition (Update 1)

“The Coyotes will conclude their preseason schedule when they face off against Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) at Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia, on Oct. 6 in an exhibition game as part of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Challenge.” – NHL.com

“Columbus Blue Jackets will play an exhibition game at the new state-of-the-art Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. local time as part of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Challenge. The Blue Jackets will play a unified team comprised of two Swedish hockey teams – the Malmo Redhawks, who in 2009-10 played in HockeyAllsvenksan, and Rogle BK from Angelholm, who played the 2009-10 season in the Swedish elite league Eliteserien. The best 10 skaters and one goaltender from Rogle BK will join forces with the top 10 skaters and one goalie from Malmo to square off against the Blue Jackets. Coaches from each side will lead the team. The players will be outfitted in custom-designed red and yellow uniforms, the official colors of the province of Skane.”- bluejackets.nhl.com

“The Hurricanes will travel to Russia to face SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on Oct. 4 before opening the regular season with two games against the Minnesota Wild in Helsinki, Finland.” News Observer

“The Boston Bruins are slated to play an exhibition game at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. local time as part of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Challenge. The Bruins will play the Belfast Giants Select, a unified team comprised of an All-Star selection of the best of the UK Elite League players from each team. Ticket sales and broadcast information for this game will be released at a later date.” NHL.com Addition: "They will play one exhibition game in Lieberec, Czech Republic, on Oct. 5 against HC Liberec" - TSN

“The Wings will play nine preseason games, including one that will take them more than 3,900 miles from home against the defending Swedish Elite League champion Farjestads BK in Karlstad, Sweden.” NHL.com

It’s likely that in the coming days the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild will announce preseason exhibition games against European clubs as these teams are opening their NHL seasons in Europe.

Tournament of Non-Playoff NHL teams vs. Europe

In a previous post I discussed the timing of the World Championships in relation to the Stanley Cup Finals and proposed that the World Championships occur after the Finals in a non-Olympic year.

Another possibility emphasizing international club play could be to have a tournament using non-playoff NHL clubs and European clubs. European domestic leagues finish their playoffs before the NHL playoffs start. This would be a good time for the champions of the respective European domestic leagues to play in a tournament against non-playoff NHL clubs. An example would be, league champs from The Russian KHL, Swedish Elitserien, Finish SM-liiga, German DEL, and the Swiss Nationalliga could all play in a tournament against five other NHL teams. It could be called the Europe/NHL Challenge.

Although the timing wouldn’t be ideal (during the Stanley Cup Finals) this would be a good way to grow the game in Europe with competitive games and without the dispute over player participation that the World Championships has. The incentives of the tournament would be the draw for the clubs to participate. For NHL clubs it would be a chance at redemption for not making the Stanley Cup playoffs. It would also be an opportunity for recent signees from NCAA and CHL hockey to display their skills for their future NHL clubs. For NHL fans it would give them a chance to keep following their team. For European clubs it would be a chance to prove themselves as the best in Europe, and the best against NHL competition. For all clubs involved a monetary prize to the winner would be good motivation.

Overall, this is a broad idea centered on the possibility of increased competition between NHL and European club teams as a way to grow the game worldwide.

Blackhawks vs. HC Davos

This is a video of a Patrick Kane goal during a Victoria Cup exhibition game in 2009 between the Chicago Blackhawks and HC Davos of the Swiss league.