The countdown is in the single digits. Less than a week away from regular-season hockey, the NHL will open the 2022-2023 campaign in Prague as part of their Global Series. The San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators will face off at O2 Arena on Oct. 7 and 8 in an effort to widen the league’s viewership to a new audience. These games are an exciting spectacle for current NHL fans too as they see their favorite players compete in a whole new setting.
The Global Series is making its first return since 2019 when the Philadelphia Flyers took on the Chicago Blackhawks in Prague for a 4-3 win. COVID-19 kept borders closed the past three years, but the NHL has brought back the international stage — or a homecoming for some players.
San Jose’s Tomáš Hertl is a Prague native and will get the chance to play in front of friends and family after making it big in the NHL. The center had second most points on the Shark’s roster last season with 30 goals and 34 assists and is one of many success stories for European players. Over a quarter of the NHL’s athletes are from Europe.
The Sharks will be led by new head coach David Quinn. The former Terrier played on Comm. Ave. from 1984 to 1988, and was the bench boss at BU starting in 2013. Quinn made his break to the NHL as the head coach of the New York Rangers in 2018 and was subsequently fired three years later. He was given his second shot at the big leagues by Mike Grier — another former Terrier and now general manager of the Sharks — in July.
Obligatory BU shoutout aside, the two-game set up represents a certain return to normalcy in not only the sport, but the world. While our favorite players wear our hometown’s jerseys, we sometimes forget how far away from their own home they actually are. Not only does the Global Series bring new eyes to hockey, it allows players to skate back to their roots.
Leading up to opening night in Prague, the Predators played a preseason game against SC Bern in the Swiss National League. This matchup was especially special to Nashville captain Roman Josi who is from Bern and used to play for SC Bern before making the leap to the NHL. The defenseman scored two goals in his squad’s 4-3 victory on Monday in the PostFinance Arena –– a rink that Josi spent most of his childhood learning to love the sport of hockey at.
These personal connections make the storyline that much sweeter, but it will be equally important that the NHL continues their international efforts in growing the game. While some of us can’t go more than five minutes without thinking about the build of our team’s top-six, others have never watched a hockey game before. Bringing the league’s talents overseas not only increases viewership but shows young players around the world the heights they can bring their hockey careers to.
Later in the year, the NHL will return to Europe for the second part of the 2022 Global Series. Nokia Arena, in Tampere, Finland, is set to host the Columbus Blue Jackets and the reigning Stanley Cup champions, Colorado Avalanche, on Nov. 4 and 5. At this point, I’ll take a hockey game anytime, anywhere, but am no doubt looking forward to the NHL’s re-entry to the global community.
