European Leagues Thread

Post by **batdad** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 3:26 pm

I was in Midget hockey, and she was out at a clinic I was taking. Nothing exciting or anything..just practice ice, but yeah she can hit. And take a hit. She is a great hockey player. Just hoping someone gives her a chance to succeed in mens hockey by actually giving her the time to do what she is capable of doing. That is...ice time...to put the puck in the net.

Post by **B. Stinson** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:01 am

Kärpät 4 : 1 Espoo

Sorry Tasku.

Post by **Tasku** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:14 am

Yes well, Kärpät is good, but just like any evil power that has ever excisted, they have their moment at the top, but in the end they'll crumble...

And this will happen when Kärpät come south to Espoo, away from the polar bears and penguins, down to where humans are the majority race.

Heh... that defeat hurt, I just had to say something...

Edited the thread title -- new season is starting!

eme · Post by **eme** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 9:53 am

Surprisingly enough, injury plagued HIFK have won both of their first two games vs HPK and Jokerit. Especially the latter game was somewhat impressive, since two of our wingers, Ilkka Pikkarainen (out for 6 weeks) and Janne Pesonen (out for three bloody months -_-) were out due to injuries. So a 0-3 result from Jokerit's home arena ain't that bad.

Season has officially started. darn it feels good.

Post by **Shadd666** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:59 pm

Yoohoo! My local team won their game opener 8-5 away over Font-Romeu, a team that has been promoted from the lower division! Can't wait for saturday to go to their first home game

Post by **Tasku** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:33 am

Espoo Blues is on a 12 game winning streak!

Post by **batdad** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 4:00 am

Anyone hear about this proposed Euro league to compete with the NHL? Russia, Finland...somewhere else. I just laugh. No Stanley Cup..no competition. But hey, if kids can make money playing more hockey and it opens up more good jobs in the sport, what the heck.

Post by **Tasku** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 4:48 am

You must be talking about the Champions Hockey League (CHL). I don't think it's supposed to compete with NHL. It's an attempt to create a similar cup type competition to Europe, to which football has with their UEFA Champions Cup.

It'll start next year if I remember corretly. This time it looks like it could actually work. The earlier attempt at it was the European Hockey League, which failed due to lack of planning ahead.

Post by **B. Stinson** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:07 pm

Champions Hockey League

The only part I don't like is that it's European, so I won't be able to watch it... other than in text recaps on the net.

Post by **batdad** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:23 pm

NO there have been discussions on radio about some Russian Oil tycoon hooking up with Igor Larionov and some other dude with vast NHL experience to run a league to compete with the NHL for players. Rumours like I said, but ... definitely not the Champions League. Not IIHF stuff here.

Post by **Tasku** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:29 pm

Ah, I see. I haven't heard of it. Doubt any Finnish teams would be in on it though. We are realists.

Post by **batdad** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:44 pm

Here is the link Bob Goodenow, former NHLPA guru is involved..he was the other guy I was thinking of.

Post by **Tasku** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:59 pm

Jokerit thinking of braking off from SM-liiga to go there? Hmm... interesting. I've known Harry Harkimo (the owner) to be the type of guy who'll bravely take his chance on new opportunities, but I doubt he'll step into it blindly. Wether the fans would want to see the team play the SM-liiga teams they are familiar with or some Russian teams they've never heard of, makes you wonder, if he'll ever take that risk, and I doubt he will. He's brave, but not stupid.

Interesting nevertheless...

Post by **B. Stinson** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:15 am

Sounds pretty cool, I guess. ...More hockey in the world is always a good thing!

Though, I doubt they'll really be much competition for the NHL. They've got quite a reputation to build-up before they can really be respected as an NHL rival.

Post by **Tasku** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:25 am

Sounds more like they should just keep playing their Russian league, since most teams in this new league seem to be Russian anyway.

Russia is the only country that has any chance of competing against NHL in any form, for the fact that all the European countries that actually have interest towards hockey are quite small, teams located in small towns, and can in no way shape or form pay such salaries. We have teams coming from towns of 50 000 - 500 000 people, the bigger cities having more than one team in SM-liiga, while several others in other leagues. And Sweden is no different. In Central Europe hockey is too small to compete, they have the big cities to support big salaries, but not the fanbase.

I'm not holding my breath, but I wish them all the luck.

Post by **Shadd666** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:34 am

Euro clubs in competition with NHL teams? Let's stop the joke

If it was against AHL teams, there should be a competition, and i tend to think that European clubs would easily win. But against NHL teams? No way.

Sure, such games would allow Euro fans to see the best Euro players more often than actually. But if it's about seeing only one-sided games, i just don't buy it.

eme · Post by **eme** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 1:47 pm

I wish this idea does not succeed.

Let's say the top teams of every national league change to this euronhlsortofleague. Jokerit and Kärpät from Finland, Frölunda and HV71 from sweden, Lugano from Switrzerland etc. This will diminish the interest in the original national leagues, and it can't really be called "National Championship league" anymore, since the few best teams of the nation are playing in some other league.

Basically for SM-Liiga it would be a huge blow. All the sponsor interest will move to the new league because of much wider media coverage and exposure, meaning less money for the clubs, meaning worse players and eventually the whole league becoming some sort of division hockey league. This on the other hand will affect the crowd's opinion of the league, and fans will lose interest. Either they'll quit following hockey or they have to change the team they root for, which is never the right option.

Ofcourse this is a really pessimistic prediction with loads of generalization in it, but i still don't see how much better it might be if this new league is to succeed.

Post by **Shadd666** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 6:22 pm

Eme: Well, a euro-NHL type of league would also mean a very strong league in Europe, which would be something nice. On the other hand, like you said, it would barely kill all the national championships. Those should be converted into devellopemental leagues for the big Euro league, a bit like AHL, ECHL, or Major Juniors in North America. But then it would mean changing the whole European hockey system to build something cohesive. And this for what? To still see the best Europeans going to the NHL? Not a big gain in the end, and too big and risky changes for that... Worthless.

eme · Post by **eme** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 9:25 pm

Shadd666 wrote:Those should be converted into devellopemental leagues for the big Euro league, a bit like AHL, ECHL, or Major Juniors in North America.

This is exactly what I don't want to see. Even though Euro leagues basically are developement leagues for the NHL, I do not want to see our leagues made "officially" a developement leagues for some other leagues. If such an wannabe NHL Euro league was to be made, it should be made from non-existant teams, teams who would not gain fans, unless made in some cities which haven't got a team already.

The way I see it, the champions league sort of thingy is the best Euro hockey has seen for quite a while. If it's a succesful league, it will basically mean more money for the teams involved which will result in better players. Only flaw being that it will certainly not help the majority of the teams in Europe. None the less I consider it a far better options that a developement league.

Post by **Tasku** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:30 am

The system by which SM-liiga will be played is to change again for next season.

The other of the two most visible changes to the league is the amount of games played in the regular season: added by two to 58. Another change is, that in season 2008-09 no team will start their summer holiday after these 58 regular season games. The playoffs will be played in same way as they are played now, no changes there: six teams on top go straight into playoffs (best of seven), while teams in positions 7-10 play a series of best of five to determine which two teams make it into the top eight and the actual playoffs.

Teams in positions 11-14 will play against each other in playouts at best of five, to determine which team will have to take on relegation battle against the Mestis Champion.

In another words: the league is open for promotion/relegation again next season.

I'm liking it, just hope they would make up their minds already...

grazza · Post by **grazza** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 5:56 pm

Metallurg Magnitogorsk(Russia) are the champios of Europe after a 5-2 win over Sparta Prague (Czech Rep) in the European Champiosn Cup involving the champions of Russia, Czech, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland.

This is the final year of the current format as the competition will be changed to the European champions league next season.

It is believed that both this years finalist will join an NHL team in the Victoria cup tournament next season.

Post by **Tasku** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:43 am

Glen Hanlon to coach Jokerit Helsinki.

Once again Hanlon says, money is not the issue, he just loves international hockey, and Finland is a good place for that.

I love this guy!

Erm... or let's say, I like this guy!

Anyway, he's a good guy!

eme · Post by **eme** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 2:18 pm

So, playoff time in Europe. Any thoughts?

In SM-Liiga the so called 'pity playoffs' started yesterday with HIFK winning 5-4 over TPS and Ilves beating Lukko 4-2.

As for the HIFK game i was already sure HIFK had lost the game when the game was 4-1 after 40:53 had already been played. I had just returned from army garrison and turned on my computer and clicked myself on the sm-liiga site. For the next five minutes or so i was swearing like a madman since the score was 1-3 for TPS after two periods. I was about to leave to a pub when the third period started and the score was already 1-4 afterwich i decided to get drunk as hell. As it turns out though, i got wasted and widdled for nothing, due to the fact that HIFK actually won the game 5-4 on overtime.

Next game is tomorrow, and for the weekend Canal+ Sport channels are free \o/

Post by **B. Stinson** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 7:33 pm

when the third period started and the score was already 1-4 afterwich i decided to get drunk as hell. As it turns out though, i got wasted and p***** for nothing, due to the fact that HIFK actually won the game 5-4 on overtime.

The NHL has it's "playoff beards" for good luck...

And it looks like the SM-Liiga now has it's "playoff drunkenness".

Post by **Tasku** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:22 am

There's no such a thing as wasted and widdled for nothing