Eurolanche

The Avs in Prague? There’s a chance...

Recently, the NHL officially announced the postponement of all international games scheduled for 2020. This means that we won’t get to see the Colorado Avalanche play the Columbus Blue Jackets in Finland this year. The news came as no surprise, as postponing the games was all but inevitable in light of the current COVID-19 epidemic. However, there could be a new plan, one that European NHL fans didn’t even know about up until now.

Eurolanche learned that the Avs could possibly play in Prague in the near future. “Yes, it was among the proposed plans that was being slowly set into motion, but the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions have put it on hold for the time being. The Colorado Avalanche brand is currently pretty popular, the team ranks among strong Stanley Cup contenders and would surely garner a lot of interest from hockey fans in Prague. Moreover, the core of the Eurolanche Fan Club is based in the region, which would also guarantee strong interest in such an event,” said a source from the US hockey community for Eurolanche.com.

Sadly, it’s almost impossible to tell if the current season will resume at some point, let alone if international events will be possible to organize in a year or two and, ultimately, how the sports industry will be affected in the aftermath of the current pandemic. Therefore, it wouldn’t be wise to speculate about the possible dates for Avs games in Prague. On the other hand, we can be more than happy that such an alternative was even brought up.

In regard to a possible Avs double-header in Prague, one could raise the question of a possible exhibition game in Bratislava. In 2011, HC Slovan Bratislava, the biggest local hockey team, squared off against the New York Rangers. If one of the world’s most traditional hockey teams could travel to the Slovak capital, could Colorado follow suit? For now, an exhibition game in Bratislava remains little more than pure speculation by Eurolanche, but according to our information from another hockey source, it isn’t entirely unrealistic.

Eurolanche will be closely following any developments in both scenarios involving the Avalanche playing in Europe and keep you updated.