The NHL will its first games ever in the southern hemisphere in September, with the Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings set to play in Australia.
The NHL and NHLPA announced the Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings are headed to Australia next pre-season.
The NHL Global Series is back for another year, with the two teams playing in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 23 and 24. The games are planned to be the NHL's first in the southern hemisphere.
“We are delighted to bring the excitement and passion of the National Hockey League to the dynamic city of Melbourne and the great sports fans of Australia with the 2023 Global Series games,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in a news release.
Arizona and Los Angeles will play in the Rod Laver Arena, a roughly 15,000-seat arena that hosts the Australian Open in tennis annually. It is the largest indoor arena in Melbourne.
“Securing the NHL’s first-ever games in the southern hemisphere is not only a win for fans but will deliver big benefits for tourism businesses in our city,” said Victoria state minister for tourism, sport and major events, Steve Dimopoulos. “These games will also promote Melbourne to millions of potential visitors watching through global broadcasts.”
The NHL Global Series is the league's opportunity to play outside of Canada and the United States in the fall. There have been pre-season games outside of North America since 1980, when the Washington Capitals and Minnesota North Stars played in Stockholm, Sweden. Since then, there have been exhibition games in Finland, Czechia, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Slovakia and China. There have also been 38 regular-season games outside of North America.
This will be the Kings' first game outside North America since 2017, when they played the Boston Bruins in China. For the Coyotes, it'll be their first international trip since 2010, when they played in Latvia and Czechia.
The news comes ahead of the beginning of another season in the Australian Ice Hockey League, starting on April 15. The AIHL has been around since 2000 and now has 10 teams in two conferences. Two new teams joined the league this year – the Brisbane Lightning and Erina Rhinos. Melbourne also has two teams, the Ice and the Mustangs.
Team Australia is ranked 36th in the 2022 IIHF men's rankings and 33rd in the women's rankings.