KHL’s expansion to the West: a survey of European journalists

1. What’s your opinion on KHL’s expansion to Europe?

2. What do you think of the possibility for your country’s hockey clubs to join KHL?

3. How do you see the future of the European club hockey?

Risto Pakarinen, The Hockey News, IIHF.com, MTV3, NHL.com, Finland

1. I think when the news of a KHL expansion came out the first time, it seemed like a real possibility. The credibility of the message has suffered with every new announcement that’s gone awry, especially since the rumored – and announced – teams have been lower division teams, such as Stockholm AIK. Is it possible? It’s possible if the financial muscle is there, but it won’t be easy to lure Elitserien or SM-liiga teams to break out of their leagues on their own. If we talk about rumors for Espoo to KHL – there might be something to it, as the owner didn’t dismiss it outright, but instead just said that ‘Blues will play in the SM-liiga in 2011-12’. But it’s not imminent.

2. As things are now, it seems a distant possibility – especially to get just one club to break out of the Finnish league. The biggest obstacle may be the psychological one, to find the courage to do it, and deal with the consequences later.

3. Two years ago, I was positive that the club hockey would definitely take over and make the national team tournaments practically obsolete. The pace of the development doesn’t seem to be as fast as I thought, but I think that time is on the clubs’ side. Whether it’s a European league, or a combination, or a network of the existing leagues, or parts of them, the KHL can’t be bypassed, giving it always a chance to get heard when the map gets drawn.

I’m positive that there will be a European league at one point in time. The market is there, and with the players’ current mobility, and the Internet, and the fans’ increasing awareness of the top leagues in Europe, a pan-European league makes sense. Of course, the clubs would like to see the money.

Michael Langr, iDNES.cz, Czech Republic

1. I cannot say specifically yes or no. I think KHL is beyond question the best league in Europe. I followed some KHL games at the stadiums (in Moscow and Omsk) and on TV this year and I think that KHL provides top hockey that in some cases reaches the same level of the NHL, and sometimes you could see even more skills in the game than in the NHL. We Europeans are not so crazy about hits and tough plays like the Canadians, and for us it could provide more fun watching hockey.

The problem that I have with the KHL is different (but it has more to do with the entire state of the Russian society and political questions than with hockey itself). When I see such unbelievable amount of money that flows into the KHL, when I see Russian soccer clubs getting richer and richer, Roman Abramovich buying Chelsea, etc., on one hand, and Russian villages and even towns with ugly suburbs and slowly developing infrastructure, on the other hand, I do not understand, why your local and regional authorities and big companies use the money from natural sources (oil, mines, etc.) to buy Jagr and Weinhandl instead of investing into the country’s development for the good of the Russian people. I also do not understand, why the people in Russia are willing to accept this situation.

2. I think the Czech Hockey Association is a bit scared of having a Czech club in the KHL. Czech Republic is a small hockey market and the authorities are in fear of losing sponsors of the national team and of the Czech Extraliga. Our league has a great tradition, it’s very competitive (every season about 10 of total 14 clubs have chances to win the title), and each team has a huge fanbase. Therefore, the originally Czech club HC Lev moved from Hradec Kralove to Poprad in Slovakia. And the Slovakian Association is OK with that. It is because, I think, the Slovak league has not so much to lose (the Slovak league clubs do not have such big budgets, so much quality and attendances as the Czech Extraliga).

3. I am more in favor of the current system of national leagues. It has a huge tradition that goes back to 1920s or 1930s, teams have huge fanbases and it would not be easy to build similar excitement for a newly built team like HC Lev. I also think there is not such power to build some European League across the borders like the Champions League in football. I also have to say that for, say, Sparta Prague fans a game against Pardubice, Slavia, or Kometa Brno would be more exciting than against Farjestad, Zurich, or Jokerit Helsinki. I know managers say that some form of European League in future is unavoidable, but I do not agree with that.

Mattias Ek, Hockeyexpressen, Sweden

1. So far KHL has not been very successful in its attempts to reach out to the teams in Western Europe. I know that the Stockholm based team AIK had an interest, but the Swedish ice hockey federation wouldn’t let AIK join the KHL.

2. I don’t think it will happen this year or next at least. Right now, the six Swedish teams Djurgarden, Farjestad, Frolunda, HV 71, Linkoping and Lulea have started a preseason tournament called European Trophy, and teams from Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic have joined it. I think that these six Swedish teams hope for a new European league within their own control, and not for the KHL to control them.

3. I hope that we will see a European league in the near future. Personally I felt that the Champions Hockey League was a pretty good product but the Swedish teams felt differently, because there wasn’t enough money in it for them.

Martin Galajda, Hokej.sk, Slovakia

1. The emergence of the KHL is good for hockey in Europe. Its European expansion is interesting mainly for countries like Belarus, Slovakia, Ukraine, etc. It is questionable from the point of view of the strong leagues with good marketing like the Czech Extraliga, Elitserien, SM-liiga, and NLA. They can lose their best teams and players and there can also arise problems with the leagues’ partners. Therefore, KHL should behave like a partner to European hockey, not a predator. It is really hard to develop a good model that would satisfy everybody. On the other hand, KHL means more money to the hockey.

2. Just like in the first answer before, there are two points of view. While Poprad will stay relevant partner for team in Slovak Extraliga, it would be great. Bur we lose a strong team, it is bad for our national league. Future will show the good and the bas sides of this decision. But for the fans and media it would be great. We will see a lot of hockey stars.

However, we have to think about the future, as there’s a danger of negative impact on the national team. In the KHL the teams from Slovakia will be forced to have more foreigners than Slovaks.

If everyone else would agree, we’d like to think about a Slovak division or, maybe, a Western division in the KHL with teams from Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, and maybe even one from Hungary and Austria. We could also mull over the idea of a Czecho-Slovak division, but for now it’s unrealistic.

Frankly, I don’t understand why the Russians are so interested in Poprad. We have only two teams that really meet the level of the KHL – these are Kosice and Slovan Bratislava. Maybe, also the joint team from the twin towns of Banska Bystrica and Zvolen, and also Trencin, hometown of stars like Demitra, Gaborik, Hossa, Chara, Radivojevic, and many others like Starosta, Meszaros, Sekera, etc. But both towns need new halls, which is a very difficult problem to discuss now. So if KHL wants us, it must help us.

3. We need one strong European league, but IIHF showed it cannot create it. We have to follow the example of football and basketball, and all countries must be partners in that project. But we also have to think about youth leagues and national leagues, because they’re both bringing new players for the future. From my point of view, it is a good idea to make several divisions or leagues playing together, for example Eastern, Western, Northern and Central European regions could play together. But that’s still a distant perspective.

Like I said before, KHL is strong and growing – but it has to come here as a partner, not just to do its own business. What do I think now? Of course, if KHL gets into some regions first, it would be harder for IIHF or any other body to establish some kind of a league for Western, Central, and Northern Europe. We have to collectively develop the ideas for the growth of the European hockey for the next 20-30 years. We have to think about our future.

Magnus Nystrom, Hockeyexpressen, Sweden

1. I doubt it will be a success. And I doubt it will ever happen. I think a Champions League tournament like they have in football is a much better idea.

2. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I think Swedish league can be successful as itself. But a lot of work has to be done. And it’s going to be tough.

3. Champions League tournament is the most important.

Daniele Amadasi, Tuttohockey, Italy

1. European club hockey will become more interesting with KHL involved. But I think strong national leagues don’t have much interest in this expansion.

2. Sure, we would like to see KHL games in Italy, but technically it’s almost impossible. It would be cheaper to develop our own league.

3. The future for the hockey in Europe? We do like our single national championship, but we would like see the reborn Champions Hockey League with 24 clubs taking part: one club from a little hockey nation (IIHF European ranking place 9 to 16) and two clubs from a big nation (IIHF European ranking place 1 to 8).

by Igor Eronko