Blues to open 2009-2010 season in Sweden!

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excellent! marcus, i expect lots of pics!
STLblues.com wrote: Blues to Open 2009-10 Season in Stockholm
Blues will meet Detroit Red Wings in back-to-back games Oct. 2-3, 2009

The National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), in cooperation with Live Nation Sweden, IMG Sweden and Hartwall Areena/Jokerit in Finland, announced today that the St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers will open the 2009-2010 NHL regular season in Europe.

The Blues and Red Wings will play home-and-home games at Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on Friday, Oct. 2, and Saturday, Oct. 3. On those same dates, the Blackhawks and Panthers will play a home-and-home series in Helsinki, Finland, at Hartwall Arena.

Finland and Sweden are the top ranked countries in terms of overseas visitors to NHL.com.

The roster of the Detroit Red Wings currently is comprised of numerous Swedish players – including captain Nicklas Lidstrom, 2008 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom and Niklas Kronwall. The Blues boast a dynamic Swedish player of their own in center Patrik Berglund, a first-round draft pick of the team in 2006 and participant in the 2009 NHL YoungStars Game on the rookie team.

The Chicago Blackhawks will be playing in Europe for the first time in 17 years. The franchise played a two-game exhibition series against the Montreal Canadiens at London’s Wembley Arena in September, 1992. NHL Premiere 2009 will be the first games ever played outside of North America by the Florida Panthers organization and the first regular-season NHL games played in Finland.

“The NHL Premiere games are a signature event for the League, our players and our fans,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. “Playing regular-season games overseas is an excellent way to further engage the passionate NHL fan base in Europe and encourage the growth of the game of hockey.”

“The 2009 Premiere games continue an important tradition of showcasing NHL players to an international audience,” said Paul Kelly, NHLPA Executive Director. “Our members look forward to displaying their skills in front of the knowledgeable and enthusiastic hockey fans in Finland and Sweden.”

The NHL opened the 2008-09 regular season in Europe in front of capacity crowds when the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning played two games in Prague, Czech Republic, and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators squared off in a two-game set in Stockholm. The Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings opened the 2007-08 NHL regular season in front of two sellout crowds at O2 Arena in London. Previously, the NHL hosted three successful Game One events in Japan in 1997, 1998 and 2000. A complete overseas history of the NHL is available on media.nhl.com.

More information on NHL Premiere 2009 will be released at a later date, including ticket information, broadcast information, training camp schedules and preseason schedules.
they're actually playing 3 games, the first one an exhibition on olympic-sized ice, these two games are on NHL ice.

Re: Blues to open 2009-2010 season in Sweden!

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better get your tickets fast....
NHL.com wrote:NHL teams to play in Swedish cities Linkoping and Karlstad for first time

The 2009-2010 NHL season will begin just as it did last year in Stockholm, Sweden, at the Ericsson Globe Arena when the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues face off October 2-3. Tickets to both games, about 26,000 total, have sold out.

The Blues and Red Wings will begin their visit to Sweden with exhibition games as part of the NHL Premiere Challenge. St. Louis will face Linköping Hockey Club on September 29 and Detroit will play Färjestad BK on September 30. Tickets for both games will be released tomorrow, Tuesday, March 31.

There are Swedish players on both teams. Patrik Berglund (Västerås) and Alexander Steen (Frölunda) play for St. Louis, and Jonas Junlund, a prospect currently playing for Linköping, could be skating for the Blues by the start of the 2009-10 season. Henrik Zetterberg (Timrå), Nicklas Lidström (Västerås) and Niklas Kronwall (Djurgården) are amongst the Swedes that skate for Detroit.

"Two of the best Swedish teams will challenge the mythical NHL teams. It was an easy choice to place the games in Linköping and Karlstad," says Thomas Johansson of Live Nation.

"This is for real! Something that would have been an unobtainable dream 15 years ago has become a reality. It is a dream come true to have one of the best NHL teams playing in Linköping. The audience will have one of the best times seeing our own team challenge Detroit," says Mike Helber, Director of Linköpings Hockey Club.

"This is a unique opportunity for us to meet one of the world’s best hockey teams. It will create a huge hockey feeling and party in Karlstad," says Håkan Loob, Director of Färjestad BK.

The games are being presented via cooperation between the NHL, Live Nation, IMG, Färjestad BK and Linköpings Hockey Club.

GAMES IN SWEDEN

Linköping, Cloetta Center
Tuesday, September 29, Linköpings HC vs. St. Louis Blues

Karlstad, Löfbergs Lila Arena
Wednesday, September 30, Färjestads BK vs. Detroit Red Wings

Stockholm, Ericsson Globe
Game 1: Friday, October 2, Detroit Red Wings vs. St. Louis Blues
Game 2: Saturday, October 3, St. Louis Blues vs. Detroit Red Wings

Re: Blues to open 2009-2010 season in Sweden!

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Hate to admit it, but I would be watching the game on tv if it weren't for swedish Idol being on the other channel... and the missus having the remote controll well protected...

EDIT: Game on. Blues makes a horrendous power play mistake, Maltby punishes them without mercy. Could be a good game after all ;)

Re: Blues to open 2009-2010 season in Sweden!

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Why don't they show any hockey in the UK!? :mad:

I fucked about on the ice with a stick and a puck as a kid, as well as on the streets. I always loved hockey, but I have not once in my life seen a game televised in the UK, and there is no culture for it here. I wanna go down my local, drink beer and whisky while watching a game of hockey. I'm surrounded by fucking inbred golf and tennis fans damnit.