OT: Red Wings game in Sweden
I've been expecting this:
http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2009/02/its_finally_official_as…
I guess I would have liked to see them play someone other than the Blues though.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:28 PM ^
I expect the wings to be super pumped to play that game too. what with ~10 swedes on the roster
February 19th, 2009 at 2:33 PM ^
I'm surprised one of the two overseas games isn't in Germany, which has a few NHL players and seems to be taking a liking to hockey.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:54 PM ^
I agree. Part of the point of playing games overseas is to grow your fanbase... giving up on London (where ice hockey could take off) and not looking at Germany (which is extremely receptive to American sports) in favor of two small markets that already watch the NHL is dumb.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:10 PM ^
if you are going to do this successfully, then you want to make sure there is strong fan support locally. If you have good reception in strong hockey areas, then you can branch out to fledgling hockey markets. keep in mind this is a pretty new innovation for sports leagues to start overseas. no one is really sure how well it will work out. With as many dumb things the NHL has done recently, i would definitely not count this as one of them
February 19th, 2009 at 3:15 PM ^
But they already did London for, what, 2 years? Why change it up now?
February 19th, 2009 at 3:39 PM ^
Why do you think ice hockey could take off in London? Winter sports in general have never been all that big in the UK.
February 19th, 2009 at 4:00 PM ^
Because the game has a similar style to soccer and is relatively easy to understand. Basketball and hockey could both do well here, maybe basketball more so.
Also, fun fact, hockey evolved from the games British soldiers played during the winter at Canadian garrisons.
February 19th, 2009 at 4:08 PM ^
I don't see it. Using that reasoning, hockey could be huge anywhere in Europe (since everyone there follows soccer), but it's only big in countries that have a tradition of winter sports (and not all of them - for some reason, it's not big in Norway or Iceland). People from areas that don't have cold, snowy winters (and this month aside, London's winters are pretty mild) just don't seem to relate to hockey.
February 19th, 2009 at 4:38 PM ^
I meant in terms of watching hockey, not playing it or developing a viable pro league.
February 19th, 2009 at 7:43 PM ^
I used to live in England and the one North American sport my friends were receptive to watching with me was hockey, although basketball has a strong-ish presence as well, with the NBA having a similar following there as the EPL has here. Like Brodie said, it is stylistically similar to soccer, and there are actually some VERY minor hockey leagues in England. However, there isn't enough of a wintry climate (no pond hockey) and there are no notable English hockey players I can think of.
Brodie, don't know if you're aware but there's a Canadian-themed pub in Covent Garden, just off the Strand, called The Maple Leaf that shows hockey if you need a fix.
February 19th, 2009 at 8:59 PM ^
Yes, I've been there. Really cool place... the Canadian expat community here really does come out.
I agree about basketball, it has a dedicated following and is probably the most popular American sport over here if I had to guess based on no stats.
Hockey has a similar pace to soccer as well, which makes it more watchable I've found.
February 19th, 2009 at 9:08 PM ^
Last time I checked Iceland has one of the strongest junior hockey national teams.
February 26th, 2009 at 8:56 AM ^
What source did you check, D2? ;) Iceland's U18 and U20 teams are as crummy as their national team, which is to say, on par with Israel, North Korea, and South Africa.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:12 PM ^
I am starting to come around to the widely held belief that the NHL has a conspiracy against the Wings. Maybe they are really after us, but they're just horribly bad at it.
Take this, for example:
Idea: Fly the Red Wings, just come from their second consecutive run all the way through the Stanley Cup Playoffs in two years, then make them fly to some place in Scandinavia before the next season begins. THAT'll tire the bastards out and give the rest of the league a chance for once!
Fail: Holmstrom, Lidstrom, Kronwall, Samuelsson, Franzen, Lilja, Ericsson and Zetterberg argue over whose mom's house to have the sleepover before playing to a crowd even more pro-Wings than Det roit.
Bad news for Red Wings When: Justin Abdelkader's teammates discover a certain song that's sweeping across Europe. Locker room of hockey players, plus iPod, plus iPod speakers = ardent trade request.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:16 PM ^
I know this is a joke, but it's obvious why the Wings were chosen for the Swedish game. Zetterberg is the Tom Brady of Sweden.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:18 PM ^
Okay, but what actually WAS on the other side that attracted the CHICKEN?
February 19th, 2009 at 3:18 PM ^
Zetterberg's girlfriend is hotter than Giselle.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:20 PM ^
I wouldn't go that far, but she does give me Stockholm Syndrome...
IN MY PANTS LOLLOL
February 19th, 2009 at 3:56 PM ^
whoa google (and goggle) her
February 19th, 2009 at 4:04 PM ^
Margo777, but who is?
February 19th, 2009 at 4:29 PM ^
That was funny.
February 26th, 2009 at 12:24 AM ^
tonight that they sold out both games in less than an hour.
That sounded impressive, but maybe the arenas only hold 5k fans, so who knows?