Iced Tea
9-26-07, 8:30 PM
Londoners puzzled as Ducks parade Stanley Cup
Promoting weekend season opener in U.K. arena
Peter O'Neil, CanWest News Service
Published: Wednesday, September 26, 2007
LONDON -- The Anaheim Ducks proudly toted the Stanley Cup they won last spring to various tourist sites on a double-decker bus here Wednesday to promote this weekend's National Hockey League season curtain-raiser.
But few Londoners seemed aware of who they were, or what they were carrying, as the team braved a chilly autumn wind that swept across the Thames River.
Steve Campbell, a sports fan from northern England, looked baffled as he watched playoff star Ryan Getzlaf lug the Cup across a busy street to pose with his teammates in front of Big Ben.
"I don't really know why they're here, though I do know the NFL is due here next month," he said, referring to a heavily promoted National Football League game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 28.
"Maybe it's a bit of a promotion due to that, possibly?"
Campbell isn't the only one in the dark, as shown in the blank stares and dearth of NHL coverage in the vast sports sections of London's daily papers.
There hasn't been much, if any, attention even though both games are sold out for Saturday and Sunday's games between the Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings.
The games will be held at the O2 Arena, the former Millennium Dome redeveloped and opened earlier this year by Kings owner Philip Auschultz.
Ducks veteran Chris Pronger, while acknowledging some players were initially reluctant to go on one of the longest road trips of their lives, said players hope to put on a good show to help the NHL expand its global reach.
"I think a lot of the guys who were initially skeptical are a little more excited," he told reporters after Wednesday's practice, before mostly North American journalists.
"It's a way for us to market and brand our league, and get our sport in front of some new faces and hopefully become more of a global game. Certainly in other parts of Europe the game is growing."
Pronger said he sees potential in the United Kingdom market.
"There's a lot of people over here who like the physical style of play, rugby and things like that, so hopefully it will catch on and they'll start to love some hockey."
League officials were unable Wednesday to break down details of who was buying tickets, though they acknowledged that a significant portion of ticket buyers are North Americans living in London and hockey fans who came here from other European countries or North America.
The weekend games mark the first time the NHL has had a regular-season game in Europe, though teams did open the season in Japan three times between 1997 and 2000.
The Kings, following exhibition games this week in Salzburg, Austria, arrive here tonight and hold their first practice Friday.
The Ducks have gone through a changing of the guard of their own, as they've lost defenceman Scott Niedermayer, who has been contemplating retirement, and Teemu Selanne, who has also not decided his future.
The Ducks picked up former Vancouver Canucks power forward Todd Bertuzzi, who missed most of last year with a back injury, and defenceman Mathieu Schneider, who is out with an ankle fracture.
"I really believe in what we have in the dressing room," said Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who will likely not play this weekend as he recovers from off-season surgery to repair a sports hernia.
"We have an amazing team with tons of talent, so we should be able to overcome some of those little challenges in front of us."
© The Vancouver Province 2007http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=6feaf615-6b93-4e30-8acf-3810e0cebb82&k=15850
Good to see the NHL doing things that help the league and not fulfilling the personal needs of one owner. Next year, the NHL is starting the season by playing two games inside the first Walmart opening in Australia. I'm sure there are plenty of NHL fans down under. :rolleyes:
You go, Gary. I'm knee deep in the Kool Aid you're selling. :rolleyes:
*The Avs owner is married to a daughter of Sam Walton (founder of Walmart).
Promoting weekend season opener in U.K. arena
Peter O'Neil, CanWest News Service
Published: Wednesday, September 26, 2007
LONDON -- The Anaheim Ducks proudly toted the Stanley Cup they won last spring to various tourist sites on a double-decker bus here Wednesday to promote this weekend's National Hockey League season curtain-raiser.
But few Londoners seemed aware of who they were, or what they were carrying, as the team braved a chilly autumn wind that swept across the Thames River.
Steve Campbell, a sports fan from northern England, looked baffled as he watched playoff star Ryan Getzlaf lug the Cup across a busy street to pose with his teammates in front of Big Ben.
"I don't really know why they're here, though I do know the NFL is due here next month," he said, referring to a heavily promoted National Football League game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 28.
"Maybe it's a bit of a promotion due to that, possibly?"
Campbell isn't the only one in the dark, as shown in the blank stares and dearth of NHL coverage in the vast sports sections of London's daily papers.
There hasn't been much, if any, attention even though both games are sold out for Saturday and Sunday's games between the Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings.
The games will be held at the O2 Arena, the former Millennium Dome redeveloped and opened earlier this year by Kings owner Philip Auschultz.
Ducks veteran Chris Pronger, while acknowledging some players were initially reluctant to go on one of the longest road trips of their lives, said players hope to put on a good show to help the NHL expand its global reach.
"I think a lot of the guys who were initially skeptical are a little more excited," he told reporters after Wednesday's practice, before mostly North American journalists.
"It's a way for us to market and brand our league, and get our sport in front of some new faces and hopefully become more of a global game. Certainly in other parts of Europe the game is growing."
Pronger said he sees potential in the United Kingdom market.
"There's a lot of people over here who like the physical style of play, rugby and things like that, so hopefully it will catch on and they'll start to love some hockey."
League officials were unable Wednesday to break down details of who was buying tickets, though they acknowledged that a significant portion of ticket buyers are North Americans living in London and hockey fans who came here from other European countries or North America.
The weekend games mark the first time the NHL has had a regular-season game in Europe, though teams did open the season in Japan three times between 1997 and 2000.
The Kings, following exhibition games this week in Salzburg, Austria, arrive here tonight and hold their first practice Friday.
The Ducks have gone through a changing of the guard of their own, as they've lost defenceman Scott Niedermayer, who has been contemplating retirement, and Teemu Selanne, who has also not decided his future.
The Ducks picked up former Vancouver Canucks power forward Todd Bertuzzi, who missed most of last year with a back injury, and defenceman Mathieu Schneider, who is out with an ankle fracture.
"I really believe in what we have in the dressing room," said Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who will likely not play this weekend as he recovers from off-season surgery to repair a sports hernia.
"We have an amazing team with tons of talent, so we should be able to overcome some of those little challenges in front of us."
© The Vancouver Province 2007http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=6feaf615-6b93-4e30-8acf-3810e0cebb82&k=15850
Good to see the NHL doing things that help the league and not fulfilling the personal needs of one owner. Next year, the NHL is starting the season by playing two games inside the first Walmart opening in Australia. I'm sure there are plenty of NHL fans down under. :rolleyes:
You go, Gary. I'm knee deep in the Kool Aid you're selling. :rolleyes:
*The Avs owner is married to a daughter of Sam Walton (founder of Walmart).