1995 Never forget

18 years ago, 7th of May 1995, a Sunday afternoon and Finland was playing in the World Championships. That Friday before, my teacher at school had asked us to show our hands if we thought Finland was going to win gold. I didn’t raise my hand. I didn’t think that the team was going to do it, given the disappointment of the year before.

On that Sunday afternoon I wasn’t paying the game my full attention. Yes, Finland was in the final, but I thought that Sweden would be the winners of the game. They always beat us in hockey, especially in big games like this.

I remember that I had my friend Hannu over at our place and that we were in my room playing computer games or whatever and went to check on the score a couple of times. It was 0-0. Until we heard my mom and dad roar. Finland had scored. Ville Peltonen had put the puck in the net for the first time. That was it, maybe Finland did have a chance.

We watched the remainder of the game and saw Peltonen score two more goals and Timo Jutila add another. It was set, Finland was going to win the World Championship in ice hockey. A sport that is engrained in so many Finn’s psyche. It was a big deal. It still is a big deal.

The country went into a frenzy, just like it would do 16 years after that Sunday in May 1995. There were parades held up and down the country so that people could greet the heroes. I went to one event in Hameenlinna and saw Timo Jutila and Marko Palo with the trophy. I remember that Marko Palo signed my hockey card I had of him (which I have since lost) and that he was wearing these big Ray-Ban sunglasses to hide his blood shot eyes.

One of the relics that I still have at my parent’s house is a signed team photo of that 1995 team. It’s in a glass frame and I don’t dare fly it over to my place in case it would get damaged in transit.

Since then the saying -95 never forget has become somewhat of a joke amongst Finnish hockey fans. Today will be 18 years since the nation’s expectations were changed and we started to patiently wait for gold year after year, only to come away disappointed, until 2011.

We may only have two World titles to our name, no Olympic gold, no World Cup of Hockey honours, but those two World Championships mean so much to the Finns that it’s almost impossible to describe in words, even if the value of the World Championship event has diluted a little bit, it being an annual tournament and all.

The Lockout Threat: Elitserien Holds On To Its Contract Ruling

Having read several articles about the NHL and the players over the last few days, there seems to be a consensus among players that there will be a lockout this season. It wouldn’t really be a surprise given that talks between the NHL and the NHLPA were cancelled yesterday for undisclosed reason, suggesting that the two parties are still miles apart on reaching an agreement.

 

Many players who have been interviewed have said that they will see what the decision is and that they will make their decisions after it has been confirmed whether there is no NHL come October. Few players, including Henrik Zetterberg and the Sedin twins have said to Swedish Aftonbladet that they would remain in North America in case of a lockout and would carry on with conditioning there as opposed to seeking playing opportunities in Europe.

 

Interestingly, the Swedish Elitserien came out today to say that it would not alter its contract rules in case of an NHL lockout. Per league rules all contracts must cover the entire season and no short-term contracts are allowed. This would mean that any prospective NHLers looking to play in Sweden would need to play in the Elitserien for the entire season. In case the lockout lasts only a couple of months, it is unlikely that the league will see some of its home-grown players returning to their native until the NHL season starts. However, if the potential lockout would cover the whole season, then Swedish NHL players, and other NHLers for that matter would probably look to sign in the Elitserien. 

World Champs done and dusted

So the IIHF World Championships have concluded and the champions have been crowned in Yevgeni Malkin… I mean Russia. Russia was the dominant team throughout the tournament and perhaps no player was as dominant as Malkin. Where Russia won, I thought it’s play wasn’t harmonious and at times it was disjointed, but thanks to strong individual players who WANT to play, game-play mistakes are easy to overcome.  Apart from Russia’s championship, I think the story of the games has been Slovakia. Last year in Bratislava, the games ended in tears when the Slovakian team ended up outside the medal games. Where as a Habs fan it might sound weird me saying this, but the gesture from Zdeno Chara after the game was classy. Wearing Pavol Demitra’s jersey to the medal ceremony was a really classy move.

 

Demitra undoubtedly was the Slovaks’ sixth player on the ice in each of their games. Causes like these are great to rally behind that can carry a team a long way. Demitra, who is a legend in Slovakian hockey, lost his life in the tragic plane accident that claimed the entire Yaroslav Lokomotiv team in September.

 

First off, let’s review the tickets, that have been talked about in the press and on my blog in great extent. From that point of view, it has been one of the most embarrassing World Championships I can remember. Watching the games via YouTube (I’ll get to that later) saw empty arenas in nearly all of the games in Helsinki and it wasn’t that great across the pond in Stockholm. I honestly think that the organisers of the games failed big time. Comparing to the games hosted in Slovakia last year, the TV coverage that I saw showed that the tournament was well publicised in the host towns, but judging by what I’ve seen on videos, there hasn’t really been that much in terms of visibility in Helsinki or Stockholm. Even one of the Russian players went on to say that these were the worst World Championships that he has played in.

 

Furthermore, a bit of an embarrasement, the organisers now have to get advice from Edmonton who arranged the World U-20 championships recently. Finland and Sweden aren’t exactly new to the hockey thing so it is embarrassing to say the least that they have to get help on how to make everything work. The scary prospect is that the two countries and the same organisers are in charge of arranging next years’ tournament as well. Hooray for another year of empty arenas and overpriced… well… overpriced EVERYTHING (€7 for a “pint”).

 

I do hope that the Finnish Ice Hockey Association is true to its word and guides the profits directly to junior development. It is in the grass roots where hockey has to be nurtured and talents developed. Additionally, though I know hockey isn’t the cheapest of sports to play, the Finns need to attract kids to start playing hockey as well and the sport shouldn’t be for the privileged, neither as a hobby or as a spectator sport.

 

But anyways, what did the games leave us with? Well there were some interesting games, who would have thought that one of the best round robin games was between France and Kazakhstan. In fact during round robin, it was the ‘smaller’ countries that provided more entertainment than any other game in the schedule, except maybe apart from USA vs Canada.

 

Speaking of Canada, I know my post about the Canadian team antics was read quite a few times, but I realised that the point that didn’t come across properly in it was the fact that I don’t have a problem with players going out during the tournament, it happens and as players we’ve all been there and done it. However, it was more the outburst that caught my attention. Other teams were seen in Helsinki nightlife and conducted themselves appropriately. Granted it was only a onetime thing and I guess the reason why Getzlaf’s and Perry’s exploits were followed closely is because the Ducks have been under a magnifying glass in Finland because of one Teemu Selanne. But let by gones be by gones and all that jazz. I could say many colourful things of what I think of Getzlaf as a captain of a team, but I will only say, I feel sorry for Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne.

 

For me personally, the low point of the games was when the IIHF pulled the live YouTube broadcasts, hence why I reduced the amount of ‘ink’ and space I gave the IIHF.

 

That is something unheard of in sports broadcasting and I’m sure the IIHF has had a huge backlash from people all over the world. I had numerous conversations on Twitter and Facebook about the decision to pull the feeds and all were equally disappointed. The common factor among the comments was this: “Shame, I’ve never watched the world championships and I was quite enjoying it.” Or “What’s the point of watching them with 30 minute delay if I can get another stream from the Internet.” There you go IIHF. Even if you tried to protect the TV broadcast deals you talked about, people will find a way to watch the games live and un-interrupted. I really do hope that the IIHF figures this out. You have a year to do it. GET IT RIGHT!

 

The one thing that I do think that the games needed and it is something that I have been saying for years when talking about it with relatives and friends. Kalervo Kummola needs to move over from the helm at Finnish ice hockey. I have nothing against Kummola personally and if anything we should all be grateful for what he has done to Finnish hockey and the way he has cultivated the sport. But it is time to move over now. I feel that Kummola is past it and ‘not with the times’ anymore and that his views of the game and the way things should be done are somewhat archaic.

 

Kummola’s hockey resume is something to envy, but right now I feel that what would be best for Finnish hockey is to get some fresh blood in and get new views and expand our horizons further. Finland has a great legacy in hockey and the sport means a lot to the nation and I think now, if ever, would be time to mix things up a bit.

 

Personally, I don’t think Kummola’s successor has to be a someone with a background in hockey, but someone who can bring an innovative new way to develop players and who is not stuck in the same mindset as the current core of the powers that be.

 

With Russia now the reigning world champion’s we are waiting for another 365 before Sweden and Finland again host the games, with this time Sweden being the lead country for hosting. Good thing the organisers have already come out and said that they’ll review the ticket prices for next year. Oh, I do hope that they mean review the prices on basis of reducing them, not hiking them up even more.

 

IIHF World Championships: Sweden Giving Away Free Tickets

Sweden brings out big guns to fill the rafters at Globen.Even after the recent price cuts at the games, the audience numbers have not improved. This has lead to the organisers giving away free tickets to Stockholm’s junior hockey teams/players.

The free tickets will be handed out for this weekend’s games and will exclude Sweden’s game and the Russia vs Czech Republic game. The aim of the initiative is to improve the atmosphere in the arena. “Naturally we want fans to come and see Sweden play, but at the same time we don’t want to have the rest of the teams to play to an empty stadium,” said the Swedish hockey association’s chairman Christer Englund.

As reported before, the ticket prices in both Finland and Sweden have raised a lot of discussion. Sweden already slashed the prices by 70% after Friday’s Sweden vs Norway game was played to a half capacity Globen.

 

 

IIHF World Championships: Sweden reduces ticket prices by 70%

After the huge backlash on the ticket prices at both Helsinki and Stockholm games, and after the embarrasement of attendance numbers in both Helsinki andStockholm, the Swedes have reacted to the critique and have slashed the ticket prices for the rest of the games by 70%.

For the remainder of the games the ticket prices at the Sockholm games are in the region of €44 (previous prices were at €145). Those fans who had purchased their tickets to the rafters at Globen for th Sweden vs Czech Republic game, will have the opportunity to move closer to the ice level.

Organiser, Christer Eglund said “We could have made more of a profit if we would’ve kept the prices as they were, as the World Championships boom would grow as the games progress. However, we have one of the greatest brands to protect and therefore we are eager to effer all supporters the opportunity to enjoy the games.”

The reaction comes after the first four games at Globen were watched only by an audience of 8,000. Seriously, 8,000 fans across four games. You do the math and the averages, but in either case it is bad!

Even Swedish superstar Henrik Zetterberg criticised the ticket prices. “It is an embarrasement and sad that only a small number of spectators turn up. The fault is not with the audience. With these prices families will not turn up at the arena to follow hockey.”

There has been no news as yet whether Finland will follow suit.

IIHF World Championships Day 1: Stream issues, empty arenas and Canadians night out in Helsinki

IIHF World Championships got underway today. The games started with a ton of media critique over the ticket prices and it showed in all of the games of the opening day. For the first game of the tournament between USA and France, the Hartwall Arena (with capacity of 13,000) in Helsinki drew 8,402 spectators (see picture below), while in Stockholm (Globen capacity is in the 10,000 region) the first game between Germany and Italy drew just over a 1,000 pairs of eyes to watch the games

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It didn’t go much better for the other games as Canada and Slovakia, with some super-star  names in their respective rosters, drew an audience of 6,400, which was depressing as under the bar stands of the Hartwall arena, there was not a single spectator watching the game (see picture below). Good on the Slovakian fans for making a lot of noise, cheering on their own. It seems that Slovakians love hockey no matter what game and at what level of play they are watching it

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The games themselves were a bit sluggish. France held on valiantly for a period and a half before the US team finally clicked and started controlling the game. Rather empathically the French kept trying but the USA team had just way too much skill and speed on its roster for the French to match it.

There’s a lot that’s been said about team Canada, with its deep roster of NHL players. However, the game against Slovakia left me unconvinced that the team was something that would send shockwaves across the world. Perhaps part of it was due to the fact that several of the key players on the Canadian roster (Tavares, Getzlaf, Perry among others) were seen in the Helsinki nightlife the night before the game. There was a lot of speculation that the teams’ moist night out lead to the cancellation of the morning skate. Canada was visibly sluggish in the first period and the Slovakian’s held on to the very end, even if the Canadian team started to find its legs. I wouldn’t say that Slovakia will be a ‘pushover’ in these games as it was in the last years world championships. Canada won the game 3-2 in the end, but again, there’s a lot to be desired for from the Canadian team looking at the names they’ve got on paper.

Let’s hope that the guys on the roster aren’t treating the World Championship tournament as a roadie with the boys and a chance to have some fun away from home and play a few games of hockey while they’re at it. It is an easy thing to have happen in the world championships. I guess all the Finns remember the rumours from the Moscow world championships a few years ago with supposed helicopter rides to Helsinki and back and not all players being fresh for game days.

The Finland vs Belarus game did draw a big-ish crowd, reported at 12,354, which still left almost a thousand empty seats at the arena. The game itself was… well… it was boring. The Finns were in control for most of the game but couldn’t really get anything going. It seemed that the audience in Helsinki woke up to a hockey game in the 3^rd period when the first full arena “Suomi” chant was heard. Finland had plenty of power play opportunities in the game but didn’t make anything of it, except maybe prove that the team can pass the puck really well. That being said there were some good things to take away from the game and I’m carefully optimistic about the teams’ chances in the tournament. We won’t know our full capability until games against the likes of Slovakia, Canada and USA. Kari Lehtonen was definitely Finland’s MVP in the game. He had two saves in the first period and was sharp throughout the game when Belarus had some good scoring opportunities.

Even Finnish D-man Anssi Salmela had his bit to say about the attendance to the games. In a post game press conference he was quoted saying “I normally don’t pay attention to the stands, but I have to admit that it was quiet today.” I guess the Finnish teams’ PR person has to have words with Salmela again, just like after this interview after last years’ world championships: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03nIcG6mXVQ

EDIT:It didn’t go that well in Sweden either, where the game between Sweden and Norway only drew a crowd of 5,985 to Globen. Across the three games played in Globen, the games have so far drawn a total of 8,000 spectators. Now on any standards that is poor, specially if it is across three games.

One can only hope that the organisers will do something, ANYTHING, to the ticket prices or hire people to come in to watch the games. Otherwise, the 2012 World Championships will forever be remembered for the low attendance. People at the top can say what they want about the cost of organising the games, but no one can ignore the rafts of empty seats at the arenas. It’s not good for hockey or for the reputation of the World Championship tournament.

However, the YouTube streams of the games are a welcome plus. I can’t commend the IIHF and its media rights holder enough for getting the games on the web, live and for free. It’s a great feat and its a great way to follow the games, even if the commentators cause some hilarity, bless them though as for most of them, English is clearly not their first language.

However, the YouTube streams did cause somewhat of a debacle in Finland. At first, like reported here yesterday, it was said that Finland would be on the geo-blocked country list, but by the time the puck dropped for the USA – France game, people could tune into watch the games on YouTube. It wasn’t until midway through the game that the feed was blocked in Finland. It appears that the MTV3, who has exclusivity for TV rights in Finland had to place numerous calls to the IIHF to get the games blocked as it went against the contract they had signed for the games.

Oh well, there are ways around it with different proxy settings and so on, so all is not lost.

Hopefully the games will pick up from here and we are in for some great hockey in the tournament and that we will see both the arenas, Hartwall Arena in Helsinki and Globen in Stockholm, filled with fans. Though with those ticket prices the sarcast in me thinks we’ll not see a sold out arena, except for the final.

IIHF Game Times in GMT

I’ve had a lot of requests from the UK for the game times. Ask and ye shall receive. Below are the Group stage games in GMT times. I will post the quarter, semi and final times once the pairings are set.

Remember you can stream all the games live and for free via: http://www.youtube.com/icehockey

Friday 4.5.2012

10.15 USA-France Helsinki
12.15Germany-Italy Stockholm
14.15 Canada-Slovakia Helsinki
15.15 Czech Republic -Denmark Stockholm
18.15 Belarus-Finland Helsinki
19.15 Sweden-Norway Stockholm

Saturday 5.5.2012

13.00 Swizerland-Kazakhstan Helsinki
15.15 Latvia-Russia Stockholm
17.00 Canada-USA Helsinki
19.15 Sweden-Czech Republic Stockholm

Sunday 6.5.2012

10.15 France-Kazakhstan Helsinki
11.15 Denmark-Italy Stockholm
14.15 Finland-Slovakia Helsinki
15.15 Russia -Norway Stockholm
18.15 Switzerland-Belarus Helsinki
19.15 Germany-Latvia Stockholm

Monday 7.5.2012

14.15 France-Canada Helsinki
15.15 Czech Republic-Norway Stockholm
18.15 USA-Slovakia Helsinki
19.15 Denmark – Sweden Stockholm

Tuesday 8.5.2012

14.15 Belarus-Kazakhstan Helsinki
15.15 Latvia-Italy Stockholm
18.15 Finland -Swizerland Helsinki
19.15 Russia-Germany Stockholm

Wednesday 9.5.2012

14.15 Slovakia-Kazakhstan Helsinki
15.15 Norway-Italy Stockholm
18.15 Canada-Switzerland Helsinki
19.15 Sweden-Germany Stockholm

Thursday10.5.2012

14.15 USA-Belarus Helsinki
15.15 Denmark-Russia Stockholm
18.15 France-Finland Helsinki
19.15 Czech Republic-Latvia Stockholm

Friday 11.5.2012

14.15 Kazakhstan-USA Helsinki
15.15 Italy-Czech Republic Stockholm
18.15 Finland-Canada Helsinki
19.15 Russia-Sweden Stockholm

Saturday 12.5.2012

10.15 Slovakia-Belarus Helsinki
11.15 Norway-Latvia Stockholm
14.15 Switzerland-France Helsinki
15.15 Germany-Denmark Stockholm
18.15 Kazakhstan-Canada Helsinki
19.15 Italy-Sweden Stockholm

Sunday13.5.2012

14.15 Finland -USA Helsinki
15.15 Russia-Czech Republic Stockholm
1815 Switzerland-Slovakia Helsinki
19.15 Germany-Norway Stockholm

Monday 14.5.2012

14.15 Belarus – France Helsinki
15.15 Latvia-Denmark Stockholm
18.15 Kazakhstan- Finland Helsinki
19.15 Italy-Russia Stockholm

Tuesday 15.5.2012

10.15 Canada-Belarus Helsinki
11.15 Norway-Denmark Stockholm
14.15 Slovakia-France Helsinki
15.15 Czech Republic-Germany Stockholm
18.15 USA-Switzerland Helsinki
19.15 Sweden-Latvia Stockholm

TV deal for Finland and Sweden

As posted previously on this blog, Finland and Sweden have an NHL deal in place carrying through till 2015-2016. In Sweden the games will be shown by Viasat and in Finland by Nelonen Pro.

In Finland, Nelonen Pro will air 150 games per season and will show the play offs and the Stanley cup finals. Viasat in turn is looking to air 15games per week.

Additionally Viasat will be airing all 1,300 regular season games live or ‘as-live’ through it’s extra channels and satellite broadcasts.

Both channels will offer North American tv broadcasts but will provide localised commentary and local insights to the games.

“This is a significant deal and will allow us to bring all the NHL games to the Nordic countries for the first time ever,” said NHL director John Collins. “This broadcast agreement ensures that NHL fans in the Nordic countries an entirely new way to approach the games and the players. This agreement is a win for both NHL hockey and our fans.”

Included in the deal is an online broadcast service of games, Viaplay, which will allow fans to stream live games through the service.

Again there is no news about the continued availability of Gamecenter live.

This deal would mean that the NHL is available on TV in nordics, uk and the Czech republic. I will report any new tv deals for other regions.

Personally I have to say that this deal is really impressive and I hope it pleases the fans in the Nordics.