Does London even have a hockey team?

by user Sports maniac

Why is the NHL starting in LONDON of all places? I mean does London even HAVE a team in one of those European leagues? Last time I checked on NHL 07 or the HockeyNews back pages, I never recalled seeing a London team. I am not sure if there's any die-hard Englishmen in London wanting to go see a Hockey Game.

I mean- what team are they going to cheer for? OOh I like Duck with a bit of tea, LETS GO DUCKS Or- To respect my hierarchy of the country, LETS GO KINGS

These scenarios will never happen, and the profit the NHL will make out of these set of games will be in the negative numbers. No one in London wants to see hockey. period.

ThecrookedcapAll-Star

891 days ago

Score 2

They should have gone to Stockholm, Helsinki, Moscow, or Prague - somewhere where they play hockey and may have some hometown players.

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BigPPupMajor Leaguer

891 days ago

Score 0

There's a risk they may lose a game if they venture into the Eastern Bloc not good pub for the NHL

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ThecrookedcapAll-Star

891 days ago

Score 0

It's two games between the Kings and the Ducks.

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ChristofMVP

891 days ago

Score 3

Rumor has it that they want to do a New Year's Day Game outdoors in either Pittsburgh or Buffalo. I like the idea, but to do it on 1/1 and go against colelge football IS STUPID!

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

890 days ago

Score 0

Well, don't be so rude about the idea. People do actually care about Ice Hockey in this country. It does have 10 teams in an Elite League, but it isn't very strong. There's not much home grown talent either. Theo Fleury plays for Belfast though (who play in the British Elite League).

Who will they support? The spectacle. We are capable of just viewing the sport over here without having to support one person in particular. That's why F1, Athletics, Gymnastics, Horse Racing, Snooker, Tennis, and any other "new" sports coming over here survive. British fans appreciate the spectacle. 2 million people lined the streets of the Tour de France last weekend. Yet there was only two British riders in with a chance. And you see the bikes for 10 seconds and then they're gone, never to return.

If Basingstoke for God's sake can find 10,000 people that want to go and watch Ice Hockey, then London will easily quadruple that figure.

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Cobras36Red-Shirting

890 days ago

Score 0

If I'm a season ticket holder for either team, I'm going to be more than a little angry about this.

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ArudyPee Wee

887 days ago

Score 0

london does have a hockey team- the racers. Eric Cairns played for them during the lockout.

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Defence5Waterboy

814 days ago

Score 0

The racers folded a couple of years ago :-(

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Defence5Waterboy

814 days ago

Score 0

An amazingly negative article. Hockey in the UK is not a particularly strong sport, but it's fans are some of the most loyal around. The two NHL games both sold out within days. OK, London doesn't have a team in the top league - London only has six ice pads, and only four of those are suitable for hockey! But Londoners do love hockey - it's just that no one has managed to make a team survive within the capital. BTW - The owners of the LA Kings and the owners of The O2 (the venue the hockey will be staged at) are the same company.

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