Europeans had major impact on the NHL
Europeans had major impact on the NHL throughout the years.Jan. 27, 1965: Ulf Sterner, of Sweden, becomes the first European-trained player to appear in an NHL game as his New York Rangers defeat Boston 5-2.
1980: Anders Kallur and Stefan Persson of Sweden (New York Islanders) become the first European-trained players to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup®.
Sept. 1980: The Capitals and North Stars started the season with a trip abroad for a round-robin tournament in Sweden from Sept. 22-26. The two NHL teams were joined by Swedish club teams, AIK and Djurgarden. The Capitals, who would go on to fashion a 26-36-18 regular season record, won the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record. The action was followed closely by the hockey-mad Swedish population and the final game -- Washington vs. Djurgarden -- was televised live on "Hockey Night in Sweden."
June 17, 1989: Mats Sundin (Quebec Nordiques) becomes the first European player selected first overall in the NHL Draft™.
Sept. 1989: The Capitals were at it again, holding training camp in Sweden and prior to conducting a pre-season tour of the Soviet Union with the Calgary Flames.
Sept. 1990: The Montreal Canadiens would host a part of their training camp in Sweden, before travelling to the Soviet Union with the Minnesota North Stars for an exhibition tournament.
Sept. 2000: The NHL returned to Sweden for the fourth time as Vancouver arrived to take part in the NHL Challenge. Swedish teams Djurgarden, AIK and MoDo joined the Canucks for the tournament, which took place at the Globe Arena in Stockholm.
Vancouver defeated MoDo and Djurgarden to win the tournament. The Canucks defeated Swedish champ Djurgarden in the final in a thrilling 2-1 overtime game. Swedish rookie Daniel Sedin scored the game-winning goal to cap a memorable trip.
AIK defeated MoDo to take third place in the tourney. Vancouver, which spent several days holding training camp in Sweden, beat MoDo, 5-3, in its opening game.
Sept. 2001: The Colorado Avalanche were part of the 2001 NHL Challenge Series™, and as defending Stanley Cup® champions defeated Brynas IF of the Swedish Elite League by a score of 5-3 thanks to Alex Tanguay’s hat trick.
Sept. 2003: The Toronto Maple Leafs traveled to Sweden and Finland for a three-game tour as part of the NHL Challenge Series. Swedish hero Mats Sundin lead the NHL team against Swedish powers Djurgarden and Farjestad, and Finnish club Jokerit. The Maple Leafs swept all three games.
Feb. 2006: 151 NHL players represent their countries at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin. Sweden defeats Finland in the first gold-medal game between the longtime Scandinavian rivals.
June 2008: Swedish born defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings becomes the first European-born captain to hoist the Stanley Cup®; teammate and fellow Swede Henrik Zetterberg is voted the first European-born Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP.
Sept./Oct. 2008: Four NHL teams traveled to Europe in the Fall of 2008 to play an aggressive schedule of six exhibition games and four regular-season NHL games in six different European countries over the course of eight days in the Bridgestone NHL Premiere 2008, which featured the New York Rangers taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning in two games in Prague, Czech Republic, and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators opening their seasons with two games against each other in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Penguins and Senators traded victories as the Penguins triumphed in the first game, 4-3 in overtime, and the Senators responded with a 3-1 win.
Sept./Oct. 2009: The 2009-10 season was the third consecutive the NHL hosted regular-season games overseas as the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panters and St. Louis Blues traveled to Europe in the Fall of 2009 to play six exhibition games and four regular-season NHL games in three different European countries over the course of six days.
In Stockholm, the Blues swept the Red Wings in two games played at the Ericsson Globe, 4-3 on Oct. 2 and 5-3 on Oct. 3.
Oct. 2010: An unprecedented six NHL teams – the Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, Phoenix Coyotes and San Jose Sharks – opened the 2010-11 NHL regular season by playing six games in Europe as part of 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere™ and NHL Face-Off™. It was the fourth straight year the NHL began the regular-season with games contested overseas. NHL teams participated in an additional seven exhibition games before the start of the NHL regular season.
In Stockholm, the San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets traded victories in two games played at Ericsson Globe.
Sept./Oct. 2011: Four teams traveled to Europe to start the regular-season for the 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere™, which took place in Berlin, Germany; Helsinki, Finland; and Stockholm, Sweden and featured the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers.
In Stockholm, the Kings defeated the Rangers 3-2 in overtime on Oct. 7, and on Oct. 8 the Ducks defeated the Rangers 2-1 in a shootout. Both games were played at the Ericsson Globe.
Sept. 2016: World Cup of Hockey 2016 pre-tournament games take place in Europe and North America prior to the opening of the 2016 NHL regular-season. Team Sweden opened its training camp in Gothenburg, where they hosted a pre-tournament game against Team Finland.
Nov. 2017: The 2017 SAP NHL Global Series™ will mark the fifth time the NHL® has traveled to Europe to play regular-season games as the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators are set to face off in a pair of regular-season games in Stockholm, Sweden, on Friday, Nov. 10, and Saturday, Nov. 11 at the Ericsson Globe.
Source: NHL Press Release
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10/11/2017 - 06:30
