Tag Archives: hockey

Posts from the road

Hockey Night in Malmö

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(Malmö, Sweden)

One of my goals on this trip was to see a professional (ice) hockey game.  This proved to be difficult in Denmark, as there does not appear to be a professional team based close to downtown Copenhagen. However, with Malmö, Sweden, now easily accessible by bridge (you used to have to take a boat), I had another option.

The Swedish Hockey League (SHL) is one of the top professional leagues in the world. While it is a notch below the NHL and Russia’s KHL, it nonetheless features some premier hockey talent and a very dedicated (and knowledgeable) fan base. On November 24, I was able to watch a regular season SHL game between the Malmö Redhawks and Brynäs IF.

Malmo Arena - shortly before gametime
Malmö Arena – shortly before game time

As with European soccer, the crowd was enthusiastic and did not rely on gimmicks to get into the spirit of the game.  The hardcore Malmö supporters were in a standing area at one end of the ice, complete with drums!   Actually, I suppose there was one gimmick:  the Redhawks came on the ice at the beginning of the game through the mouth of a giant inflatable hawk:  lasers and explosions were in abundance.

Here come the Malmö Redhawks!
Here come the Malmö Redhawks!

Malmö started off the season strong but had been faltering of late.  Against Brynäs, they definitely controlled most of the game but had a very hard time scoring on David Rautio, the talented Brynäs goalkeeper.  In the second period,  Brynäs took the lead on a goal that the goal judge missed because it went in so quickly.  A look at the video replay confirmed that the puck did in fact go into the net.

The opening faceoff
The opening faceoff

Going into the third period, Brynäs was holding on to a slim 1-0 lead.  Things looked even worse for the home team when Malmö took a five-minute major penalty for a check to the head in the third period. However, they managed to kill off the major penalty and take one last run at solving the Rautio mystery.

The diehard Malmö fans in the standing room section
The diehard Malmö fans in the standing room section

With four minutes left in the game, Malmö finally scored on a rebound to tie the game.  Brynäs took a penalty shortly afterwards, on a scary play that saw a Malmö player crash into the Brynäs goalkeeper (and net) at high speed.  On the resulting power play, Malmö scored on another rebound with just two minutes remaining and the home crowd was rewarded with a narrow victory.

Malmö on the attack!
Malmö (in red) on the attack!

While the skill level was very high, I thought that the players had a tendency to forego shooting opportunities when they were close to the opponent’s goal.  There might have been more goals in this game if the forwards had shot the puck more often rather than trying to make that one final pass close to the net.  If you want to see the highlights, they are currently located at this link.

Malmö Redhawks celebrate their dramatic victory
Malmö Redhawks celebrate their dramatic victory

It was great fun to see the game and I will definitely try to catch another one if I am ever in Europe during the winter months.  I went to a Swiss League game about 10 years ago and that was a little crazier (probably because thousands of spectators from the visiting team made the trip by train and were not feeling much pain by the time they arrived in Zürich).

Stay tuned for more on the actual city of Malmö!

Posts from Base Camp

Perceptions of Canada

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

On most of my trips to Europe, I try to disappear into the crowd and am probably not easily identifiable as coming from Canada (or perhaps anywhere in particular).  Generally, the only people who know I’m Canadian are hotel proprietors…for whom Canadians are not too much of a novelty.  As a result, I don’t hear too much about Canada from the perspective of Europeans outside the tourist industry.

My hockey tour of Eastern Europe* was different.  Not only was I travelling with a lot of other Canadians, we were unequivocally members of “Team Canada” and made no attempt to hide it.  The fact that we were Canadian hockey players was, in fact, a big part of this tour.

Looking intense against our very strong Czech opponents in Prague
Looking intense against our very strong Czech opponents in Prague

As Canadians, we tend to fret about our performance at international hockey events.  We greatly enjoyed our Olympic successes at both Vancouver and Sochi but have also had a number of recent disappointments.  If this tour was any indication, however, other hockey nations still have an immense amount of respect for Canadian hockey.  Some of them found it hard to believe that not all Canadian hockey players were world-class!  As I mentioned in my “Hockey Night in Budapest” post, the minor hockey program in Budapest was even named after Canada and had a maple leaf logo. The local kids watching our game gave us high-fives as we left the ice.

On the shore of the Danube in Budapest, Hungary
On the shore of the Danube in Budapest, Hungary

While the hockey perceptions were not completely unexpected, the non-hockey perceptions of Canada came as more of a surprise.  After all, these countries were on the other side of the Cold War (at the political leadership level, at least).

We constantly heard positive references to our country from the people we met.  But there were also reminders that this part of the world has had a long-standing respect for Canada.  In the otherwise miserable environment of Auschwitz, we learned that the concentration camp area used to sort the belongings of prisoners had been named “Canada”.  This was because Canada was seen, even then, as a land of wealth and prosperity.

View of the Buda Castle (Budapest, Hungary)
View of the Buda Castle (Budapest, Hungary)

At the Wawel castle in Krakow, we saw a commemorative plaque with respect to the castle treasures.  The plaque acknowledged Canada’s storage of the treasures during the Second World War:  this saved them from being looted by the Nazis during the occupation.  The plaque also acknowledged that Canada returned the treasures to the castle too!

Many people originally from this part of Europe escaped oppressive totalitarian regimes for a new life in Canada.  These ranged from the famous (the hockey-playing Stastny brothers, for example) to the not-so-famous…but Canada’s acceptance of them has never been forgotten by the immigrants or their family members who stayed behind.

Off the tourist trail in Budapest, Hungary
Off the tourist trail in Budapest, Hungary

This ties in with one of the most obvious benefits of travel:  no matter how wonderful your trip is, you also appreciate what a good life you have back home.  Of course, there are aspects of life in Canada that can be frustrating at times and there are certainly things we could learn from other countries.  On the balance, however, Canada is a pretty good place to call home…and the rest of the world recognizes it too.

At the top of the Buda Castle complex (Budapest, Hungary)
At the top of the Buda Castle complex (Budapest, Hungary)

*-I learned on this trip that Czechs, Slovaks, Poles and Hungarians often think of themselves as Central Europeans rather than Eastern Europeans.

Posts from the road

Hockey Night in Budapest

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(Budapest, Hungary)

While interest in hockey is surging in Hungary, it has not historically been a hockey power.  There are still only a couple of thousand registered players and, since 1939, it has been in the top group at the world championships only once.  As a result, we had the rare opportunity to experience “grass roots” hockey in Budapest.

Ice is at a premium here, as demand exceeds supply.  The only venue available was a relatively temporary facility – the ice was hard and fast but there were no facilities in the arena itself (see photo at top of this post).  The dressing rooms were located in a nearby building that appeared to be built in support of the surrounding track, tennis and soccer facilities.  To get to the arena, we had to walk down a sidewalk and over a bridge.  The route was padded so it was really no problem.

Happy to be playing hockey in Hungary!
Happy to be playing hockey in Hungary!

Once again, the welcome was warm.  All sorts of beverages were laid out for us in the dressing room and you could tell that the Hungarians were thrilled to have us there.   The arena was even named after Canada and the minor hockey program featured “Canada – Hungary” uniforms.

Our opponents (Szigeti Bikák Old Boys) wore Hungarian national team jerseys and warmed up with intensity.  Their top defenceman (#4) looked like he had played hockey at a very high level in the past.  As in Bratislava, the national anthems were played before the game began.  It was a bittersweet moment, as it was great to wear the Team Canada uniform and hear the national anthem one more time…but we also knew that this was the last game on our hockey tour.

Preparing for a key faceoff outside the Hungarian blue line.
Preparing for a key faceoff outside the Hungarian blue line.

Alas, any sentimental thoughts were quickly forgotten once the puck was dropped.  Hungary clearly wanted to put up a strong performance and they were playing with much more determination than the last couple of teams we faced.  Just because the arena was named after Canada didn’t mean that Hungary wanted us to win!  As facilities are limited, I also suspect that anybody who plays hockey in Hungary must necessarily be very serious about it.

The goals went back and forth all night.  While Team Canada had a full line-up for this final game, almost everybody was nursing an injury of some sort.  As a result, when Hungary took a 5-4 lead into the final minutes of the game, it looked like our flawless post-Czech Republic record was in jeopardy.

Oh no! Time to backcheck!
Oh no! Time to backcheck!

Of course, Canadians don’t like to quit either and we were determined to get the tying goal.  And so, with only 50 seconds left, we gained control of the puck in the Hungarian end.  The puck was passed to one of our injured defencemen who, due to injury, had been having trouble putting any weight on one of his skates.  While it must have been very painful for him, he took a quick snapshot from the point and found the top corner of the Hungarian net.  Goal!

The final seconds of regulation time failed to produce a winner.  It was decided that the tie would be broken by penalty shots.  This sounded good for our injured players, but there was another problem.  Our goalie, having been such a pillar of strength throughout the tour, was suffering from a groin injury and found it hard to move from side to side (or even to stand up, once he was down on the ice).  You could see him struggle to lift himself up after every save.

The play is whistled down after the Hungarian goalkeeper caught my shot from the left wing
The play is whistled down after the Hungarian goalkeeper caught my shot from the left wing

After the initial three shooters for each team, the score was still tied.  However, our fourth shooter scored and the Hungarians now had to score or lose the game.  The Hungarian shooter tried to deke our goalie but failed to lift the puck above our goalkeeper’s outstretched leg.  Victory for Canada!

There was nothing left in the tank.  The hockey portion of our tour was amazing but I don’t think we could have played another game.  I think we were all glad that no hockey had been scheduled for our final full day in Budapest.

Both teams met afterwards at a nearby restaurant for an all-you-can-eat buffet.  As it was now past 10:00 p.m. and I hadn’t eaten since the early afternoon, I was quite happy to “eat all I could”.  There were some speeches and it was clear that each team had a great amount of respect for the other.  Like every other country on  this tour, Hungary showed that Canada occupies a special place in the hockey world.  Hockey can be a fast and tough game but it is still possible to play with respect and dignity.  There is definitely something to be said for hockey diplomacy!

Posts from the road

A Great Game in Bratislava (and a little bit about Krakow)

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(Bratislava, Slovakia)

The massive hilltop Wawel Castle in Krakow is a common destination for tourists in Poland. It was originally built in the 14th century and was repeatedly expanded over the years as it hosted a long succession of Polish rulers.  Because of our extremely tight schedule, it was not possible to visit the entire complex or even all parts of the buildings that we did visit.  However, we did at least get a flavour of Polish history and the vast area covered by Poland and Lithuania in the past.

Part of the Wawel Castle complex (Krakow, Poland)
Part of the Wawel Castle complex (Krakow, Poland)

Time constraints also forced us to eat on the run…but, in this case, we happily stumbled upon a take-out restaurant that served up the kind of Polish specialties that I had been hoping to find.  The sausage looked tempting but I opted for bigos (a tasty cabbage-based hunter’s stew with all kinds of interesting ingredients) instead.

Bigos in Krakow, Poland
Bigos in Krakow, Poland

From Poland, we moved on to Bratislava, Slovakia.  I think the hockey game in Bratislava was probably my favourite of the tour, with the Budapest game (details in a future post) being an extremely close second.  Some of our players had played the Slovak team last year at a tournament in Germany but were soundly defeated and it was apparently quite discouraging.  This year’s game was only a friendly match but some of our players were very motivated to improve on the outcome from last year.

Even without that backdrop, however, this game was still something special.  We were playing at Bratislava’s impressive Zimný štadión Ondreja Nepelu, also known as the Slovnaft Arena (see photo at top of this posting).  It was completely rebuilt for the 2011 IIHF World Championships and accommodates more than 10,000 spectators.   It is state-of-the-art in every respect and is the home arena of HK Slovan Bratislava, who play in the KHL (the second best hockey league in the world).

Our hotel in Tychy, Poland
Our hotel in Tychy, Poland

We arrived at the player entrance and were astonished by the spacious and extensively equipped dressing rooms.  Our hosts also provided us with plenty of beverages and souvenirs.  On the Olympic-sized ice, the game was preceded by the Canadian and Slovakian national anthems.  It was really special to hear “O Canada” while wearing a Team Canada jersey – even though this technically wasn’t a national team, we did have players from B.C. to Newfoundland on our roster.  I now have some idea what it must feel like to appear for Canada at the Olympics or World Championships.   With music blaring between whistles and a high-tech LED scoreboard, we really felt like we were in “the big time”.

While it is hard to pinpoint the exact reason, I think I played my best game of the tour in Bratislava.  The wide-open ice, the “spectacle”, the emotion of this long-awaited rematch…everything seemed to feel right.  Time seemed to slow down just a little bit and I felt like I was in total control of my game.  Maybe, in some parallel universe, this was where I was meant to play hockey?

Nearing the top of Wawel Hill and the entrance to Wawel Castle (Krakow, Poland)
Nearing the top of Wawel Hill and the entrance to Wawel Castle (Krakow, Poland)

There were also some interesting Slovak touches to the game:  everybody who scored was immediately and ceremoniously rewarded with a shot of a blueberry beverage of unknown local origin.    As the game went on, the “rewards” were expanded to players who earned assists or just looked like they might need a “reward”.  Another great thing about the game is that I don’t recall any cheapshots or animosity between the teams.  Everybody did their best but it wasn’t at the expense of anybody else.

As for the result:  Bratislava looked formidable in the warm-up and two players in particular (#66 and #69) were clearly very strong.  We scored a couple of early goals but Bratislava roared back and the situation began to look dire as several of our players succumbed to (accidental) injuries.  It seemed like just a matter of time before Bratislava’s star players would “turn it up a notch” and ensure victory for the Slovak team.  We rose to the challenge, however, and eventually prevailed by an 8-5 margin.   More so than in any previous game, we seemed to really click as a team.  It also didn’t hurt that our goalkeeper continued his run of stellar games!

The bus that took us around Eastern Europe
The bus that took us around Eastern Europe

After the game, we didn’t feel like leaving the ice.  We wanted the moment to last just a little bit longer!  As the arena staff wasn’t too pushy about us leaving the ice, we took lots of team pictures to commemorate the game.  I hope to be able to share some of these in a future post.

While this was a great night, there is still much more to come.  Future posts will include a little bit about Bratislava itself…and the exciting end of the tour in Budapest, Hungary!

Posts from the road

Hockey in Poland (and a bit more of Prague)

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(Tychy, Poland)

After our very challenging first 3 games in Prague, we were able to take it easy on Sunday. The only organized activity was a dinner cruise on the Vltava River.

A bunch of us decided to visit the Museum of Communism, for a look at what life was like from 1948 to 1989 in the Czech Republic.  The three largest exhibit rooms were entitled “Dream”, “Reality” and “Nightmare”; the situation moved quite rapidly from “dream” to “nightmare”.  There was even an interrogation room where confessions would be obtained under extreme duress.

The Interrogation Room at the Museum of Communism in Prague, Czech Republic
The Interrogation Room at the Museum of Communism in Prague, Czech Republic

It was sobering to see how quickly Czech life became unbearably oppressive during those years.  We saw a grocery store stocked with only a couple of (not very desirable) products, the bribery necessary to get anything done,  and the sheer number of collaborators and informants who enabled the totalitarian nightmare to continue.  We also saw a movie showing the police brutality that took place just outside the front door of our hotel.   All of this reminded us of how fortunate we are in Canada.

Another view of the old town square in Prague
Another view of the old town square in Prague

The river cruise was quite mellow.  There was no commentary, just a buffet and a slow journey up and down the river.  As I found during our canal cruise in Haarlem, it’s nice to see a city from a different perspective. Given the crowds in Prague, it’s also great to have a bit more personal space while admiring the city.

View of the Charles Bridge from our boat (Prague, Czech Republic)
View of the Charles Bridge from our boat (Prague, Czech Republic)

Monday morning saw us driving to Opole, Poland for a series of games.  We had just over 2 hours of ice time, so we alternated playing against teams from Tychy and Wroclaw.  Playing 4 straight games against teams that could rest between games turned out to be quite demanding, especially as the ice was not resurfaced during that time.  However, I’m pleased to report that Canada’s hockey honour was restored with 4 straight victories over our well-rested opponents.

Our first stop in Poland: a roadside restaurant just inside the Czech/Polish border
Our first stop in Poland: a roadside restaurant just inside the Czech/Polish border

We received a very warm welcome in Opole; they seemed genuinely thrilled that we had made the journey.  Gifts were exchanged and there were many Polish beverages available before and after the game.  The Canadian spectators reported that the Polish fans were also gracious and friendly.

Our bus driver got lost on the way to our hotel in Tychy after the game, so a one-hour journey turned into a three-hour odyssey through the misty Polish night.  We finally arrived (after eating “dinner” at a 24-hour gas station) just before 1:00 a.m.  No harm was done, though, and I think everybody fell asleep quickly after arrival.  Fortunately, our hotel is right beside the arena where we play(ed) on Tuesday night!

Wenceslas Square (site of the 1989 "Velvet Revolution") in Prague, Czech Republic
Wenceslas Square (site of the 1989 “Velvet Revolution”) in Prague, Czech Republic

On Tuesday, we visited the famous city of Krakow as well as the infamous concentration camp at Auschwitz. I will be describing those visits in a separate posting.  We also played the Tychy team (in their home arena) Tuesday night and were once again victorious.  We really enjoyed the evening, as a couple of Polish and Canadian players switched teams and we had a fun night of pizza and refreshments after the game at our hotel.  Tomorrow, we once again move on!

Posts from the road

Prague and our first hockey games

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(Prague, Czech Republic)

The last time I was in Prague was in 1999. I had recently finished my law studies and I was living on a real budget. I was travelling with a friend from Toronto and we found our accommodation as we stepped off the train in Prague’s central train station. We went with a “gut feeling” that the guy who approached us was trustworthy and that our $15/night room (or was it $10?) northeast of downtown would be safe.

Prague's famous Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square)
Prague’s famous Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square)

Needless to say, it is a little different this time around.  The tour organizer has taken care of everything.  We are staying at a well known international chain hotel right in the middle of downtown on the famous Wenceslas Square. Our own bus is taking us to our hockey games and will also be shuttling us around 4 different countries.

Prague is a beautiful city and it receives a lot of tourists!
Prague is a beautiful city and it receives a lot of tourists!

As for the hockey…the first game was a real eye-opener.  Our opponents were led on the ice by Milan Novy: the Czech national team player who was apparently described by Bobby Orr in 1976 as the best player in the world at the time (after leading Czechoslovakia to a win over Canada in the first round of the Canada Cup).  Novy was also one of the few Czech players to play in the NHL before the fall of the iron curtain.

Zimní stadion in Prague: we played all of our Czech games here
Zimní stadion in Prague: we played all of our Czech games here

While Novy is now in his 60s, his teammates were various Czech ex-professionals from the much more recent past.  Our team, meanwhile, had arrived from Canada that same day and were both sleep-deprived and jet-lagged.  Our goalkeeper played a heroic game to keep the score down and we managed to score 3 goals against this Czech all-star team.  We were told that this was probably the strongest team we would face…but that our next Czech opponents were younger and “almost as good”!

The puck must be very close to me, as I look very intense here!
The puck must be very close to me, as I look very intense here!

That assessment was correct.  Our two opponents on the second day also had former professionals, although not as many as on the first team we played.  As for the outcomes:  let’s just say that our results “improved”!  None of our opponents could be classified as weak in any way…and they were all extremely motivated to win because this was actually considered a tournament (we had thought that they were all exhibition games).  The last game was especially close but some very “flexible” rules proved to be our downfall.  I won’t go into the details but the bottom line is that any penalty results in an automatic penalty shot.

Once again - the puck must be close!
Once again – the puck must be close!

All three of our games in Prague were at the Zimní stadion.  It clearly goes back to the days of communism and, surprisingly, has North American dimensions rather than the wider international ice surface.  However, the blue lines are very close together:  this means that there is a lot of room in the attacking zone and our opponents really took advantage of that.

While the on-ice results haven’t completely been what we hoped for, we still had a lot of fun playing the familiar yet different European game.  After 3 games in less than 24 hours, though, there won’t be any hockey tomorrow.  We can be tourists for a day!

Posts from the road

Hockey Tour of Eastern Europe!

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(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

I will soon be flying to Prague  in order to commence the trip of a lifetime: a hockey tour of Eastern Europe!  We will have a game every day (more or less) for the time that we are there.  There are also some special events and there will even be time for a little sightseeing along the way.

I visited Prague in 1999 and was able to watch a professional hockey game between Prague archrivals Sparta and Slavia.  However, I have not played hockey in any European country other than Switzerland and now I’ll have the chance to play in four different countries (including a couple that don’t have a very high hockey profile yet).

This trip was not part of my initial 2014 travel plan.  I was talking to one of my hockey friends a couple of months ago and he mentioned that he was going on this tour.  It sounded great and I told him that I could be a last-minute replacement if anybody had to bail out.  Within days, that’s exactly what happened!

Not only will this be an incredible experience for my team, but it will also be memorable for our opposition.   Canada still enjoys an almost mythical reputation as the birthplace of ice hockey and home of the greatest players and (national) teams.  Of course, it also means that our opponents will be thrilled with any success that they have against us.

As you can imagine, there will probably be little time for blogging or photography on this trip…but I promise to do what I can and then catch up when I get back to Canada.

Game on!