NHL set to celebrate ‘Hockey Day’ in Sweden, Germany, Czechia, Finland
The NHL has played 48 regular season games outside of North America, and more preseason and exhibition games, with most of the contests in Europe taking place in large cities like Stockholm, Helsinki, Prague and Berlin.
This season’s Hockey Day celebrations are being held under large tents at main squares in the smaller cities of Gothenburg, Sweden; Pardubice, Czechia; Dusseldorf, Germany; and Kuopio, Finland to better reach fans beyond the metropolises.
“I think it’s our way of giving back, proverbially, saying that fans are important to us and knowing that there’s restrictions on certain things like games and where we can play those (in Europe), but there’s other things that we can do to give back and show that those fans are important,” said Mark Black, NHL Vice President, International Operations. “I think hosting a free event of the scale of what we do is really important to showcase the fact that we appreciate the hockey ecosystem. The players often come from smaller communities so it’s a great way to say, ‘We recognize you, we appreciate all the efforts you do.’”
The fun kicks off with “Hockey Day in Sweden” on Friday and Saturday in Gothenburg at Baltesspannarparken. The viewing party will watch Viaplay’s NHL Saturday presented by Fastenal broadcast featuring Erik Karlsson and the Pittsburgh Penguins facing off against Mika Zibanejad and the New York Rangers (12:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m CET; ABC, SNW, TVAS).
