There’s nothing quite like international hockey, and it gets even better when beautiful cities act as hosts for some of the NHL’s best players.
Each year, fans and NHL teams are blessed to have the opportunity to travel to Europe and play, and now the league is looking to see more international play in the future in some noteworthy places.
During the European Player Media Tour in Prague, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said that the league currently has “a list of places we’d like to bring teams, play games, and develop markets.”
The upcoming season is set to be a thrilling one, with two pre-season games between the Buffalo Sabres and EHC Red Bull Munchen (September 27th) will take place in Germany in the 2024 NHL Global series. The Sabres and New Jersey Devils will play a pair of regular season games on October 4th and 5th in Prague, while the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers will play a pair on November 1st and 2nd in Finland.
With the six games during the 2024-25 season included, the NHL will have hosted 20 regular-season games in Europe and 13 pre-season games in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
While the majority of the 20 games so far have been played in Sweden (nine), Finland (six), and Czechia (five), the NHL and Daly confirm that the future holds the potential for new and exciting locations to host NHL games.
“To the extent we’ve kind of seemed to have settled into a Finland, [Sweden], Czechia rotation, I wouldn’t get too comfortable with that because I think it will change up probably in the short term,” said Daly
“I think everybody probably has in their minds, kind of the priority markets. I think we want to go back to London. I think the players and [NHL] Players’ Association want to go back to London and have a game there. I think Germany and Switzerland are both prime candidates for regular-season games in the future, so probably in the not-too-distant future.”
Switzerland has yet to set host to a regular season NHL game, although both Germany (2011) and London (2007) have done so in the past.
In terms of pre-season play, Daly noted that Australia could become a more frequent host in the future after the NHL hosted two sold-out exhibition games there last September against the Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings on temporary sheet ice in Melbourne.
“I think it was a positive experience. You start with the players and the teams and whether they had a positive experience, and obviously, it’s a long way to go to play two pre-season games,” Daly said.
“But I think the feedback from both clubs was good, which makes it easier to convince the next two clubs that Australia would be a worthwhile initiative.”
This is exciting news not only for fans but also for NHL players who come from outside the United States, and Canada. For instance, the Edmonton Oilers, who have quite the fan base in Germany, have yet to play a game since an exhibition game in Germany against Kölner Haie, followed by a season opener against the New Jersey Devils in Sweden in 2018.
NHL’s first female coach Jessica Campbell reflects on career
Jessica Campbell made history just a month ago as the first woman to coach an NHL team after the Seattle Kraken announced her as one of their assistant coaches for the upcoming 2024-25 season.
Everyone has dreams and goals they hope to achieve one day. In a recent interview with Kelowna Now’s Corvin Vaski, Campbell reflected on her journey of chasing her dream, reminiscing where it all began during a charity hockey match on Friday in the Okanagan.
“This is where my hockey journey really took off and catapulted to Team Canada when I moved out here in high school to attend a hockey Academy, and then I returned here as a coach when I first started,” Campbell told Vaski.
Campbell played two seasons in the Pursuit of Excellence (POE) hockey program before playing four years at Cornell University and, finally, in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League with the Calgary Inferno.
With a silver medal with Team Canada at the 2015 Women’s World Championships under her belt, Campbell decided to try looking at the game from a different perspective and began coaching at Rink Hockey Academy in Kelowna as an assistant coach for the 2017-18 season. After two seasons with the U18 female prep team, she joined the Okanagan Hockey Academy for the 2019-20 season.
Finally, after traveling to Europe and Coachella Valley to coach, Campbell received her call to the big leagues with the Kraken.
“What she’s doing for the game and women’s hockey and everything – it’s amazing,” said Hall of Famer Shea Weber, echoing the sentiments of many in the hockey community.
“She’s well deserving and earned her spot, and I think it’s such a cool thing for young girls and everyone to see how well she’s done.”
The upcoming season is approaching fast, and although her position may be new, she won’t be doing it without some familiarity with her fellow staff. During her time in Coachella Valley with the Kraken’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Firebirds, she was under the coaching staff of head coach Dan Bylsma, who recently received the call-up to the Kraken as head coach himself.
She’ll also be accompanied by some of the players who previously played with the Firebirds before moving up to the NHL with the Kraken.
“You think about all the young kids you first stepped on the ice with and showing up for them at 6 am and doing the hard work and all the people along the way that helped you get to this spot,” Campbell said.
“That’s what I think about, and that’s where my excitement’s all about right now, and kind of carrying that torch for everyone to be part of, but really looking forward to getting things going in Seattle and having the familiarity of working with Dan Bylsma again and our staff.”
However, her run-ins with NHL players at camps helped her realize her dream of one day being in the NHL herself.
“It was moments early on in skating with those guys where they were showing up and that was honestly a moment for me when I realized I want to chase this dream,” Campbell explained.
“I can coach at this level, and if they’re showing up, they’re getting value out of this. And that really inspired me to continue down my path and to be motivated to chase these goals.”
