Insider reveals which two teams will be forced to open their seasons in Australia next year
In the history of the National Hockey League, there has been a total of thirty-eight games outside of North America dating back to 1997 when the Anaheim Ducks played the Vancouver Canucks in Tokyo, Japan; to most recently 2022 as the Colorado Avalanche faced off against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Tampere, Finland.
These events which have been called anything from the Global Series, Premiere Series, and now GAME One lead us to news that Melbourne, Australia will host the Los Angeles Kings & Boston Bruins.
Although the events in Melbourne have not been formally announced, Sean Shapiro of @eprinkside reports that the league will likely speak on the event in the coming weeks.
Kevin Weekes, one of the most well-respected and on-the-ball insiders for the National Hockey League reported back in January that the league was looking into it.
While this isn't the first time the National Hockey League has brought the game to the Asia Pacific region, it's the first time they have played outside of Europe since 2000.
The National Hockey League has done very well at growing the game outside of North America and one look at their rosters shows it.
Nathan Walker who is Welsh-born, grew up in Australia and plays for the St Louis Blues.
| POLL | ||
Should the NHL try and grow the game in other countries or focus on the domestic game? | ||
| Continue to grow in other countries | 15 | 19.2 % |
| Focus on the domestic game | 63 | 80.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
