• Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

Sign in to follow this  
FireCaptain

Where would you go?

Rate this topic

Recommended Posts

Various threads got me thinking.. if I were a locked out NHL player, where would I play?

Assume your country of origin is still your country of origin. If you're from the US, you're still from the US, etc..

Would you go overseas and try and cash in?

Would you play closer to home to be near family?

Would you choose a third option just to live in that place for awhile?

Personally, I think I would use the time to go somewhere I've never been. Choose a bit of a lower league overseas and try to tear it up.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Honestly, I'm not sure how the other leagues are, quality wise. I know there are talent disparities, but I would probably just stay in the US if I could play in the AHL. Seems like a pretty decent league relative to the world. I wouldn't go KHL, they strike me as too mafia-run and wouldn't be trustworthy. I'd play for some of the more respected leagues, like the Swedish elite league, but if all things (income, benefits, etc.) were similar, I'd just stay here. It'd be hard to play on a team where you don't speak the same language as your coach or teammates.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would use the opportunity to leave the country and get out of my comfort zone for a while. It could help me develop into a better player if I played a different style on a different sized rink. I could develop skills that might be less emphasized in the NHL and try to apply them when I got back. Definitely try to put a positive spin on it. My worst nightmare would be to Keith Tkachuk it through the lockout and come back completely out of shape.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This may sound like an uninformed answer, but if I was already a millionaire set for life, I wouldn't care that much that I was unemployed for a while. Hell, I've had long unemployment periods in my youth already, and I'm not a millionaire. I'd ride the lockout out and see what happens next year, when I'm assuming the new deal will break through.

Now if I was a young player trying to prove himself and start making money (assume I'm not rich yet), I'd likely play in the Czech or Swedish league (heard their girls are hot)

Oh, and if Arsenal needed a true striker, I'd consider that option as well. ;)

Edited by GMRwings1983

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Keep in mind hockey players already travel a lot and have been a lot of different places. They spend most of the year away from their families as they don't have a normal life as we know it. I think a lot of them would want to stay close to their family. We've seen that with a lot of Europeans going overseas. Dats went to Russia. Fil went to Finland. Ericsson went to Sweden. Z went kind of to Sweden. Quincy went to Denver.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would choose between swiss,finnish or swedish leagues, there is just no fkin way im crossing the russian border.

btw, Ive never heard of north american players ever complain about a language barrier in finland since most people understand and communicate in english quite well.

Some have complained about the lack of nightlife in smaller cities...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would go play in my home country for my hometown team, for a lot of reasons:

- seeing all my friends in person again not just via skype

- being around my family

- getting back into "comfort-zone"

- giving something back to the club who started and helped me to develop into an NHL player

There is no way I'd consider Russia at all. What if some of the Mafia owners decides I can't leave? Then what, what if they don't pay me? No that is too much of a risk and not worth it if you are not from Russia.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Keep in mind hockey players already travel a lot and have been a lot of different places. They spend most of the year away from their families as they don't have a normal life as we know it. I think a lot of them would want to stay close to their family. We've seen that with a lot of Europeans going overseas. Dats went to Russia. Fil went to Finland. Ericsson went to Sweden. Z went kind of to Sweden. Quincy went to Denver.

So Z kind of went to Sweden?

Like a US citizen moving to Mexico is kind of staying at home?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd rent a rink and get as many of my teammates as I could together and practice as a group. If there weren't enough to have games, we could practice PP and PK. We could be our own player-coaches.

Then at the end of the lockout, we'd be ready to go, even if it was the next year.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So Z kind of went to Sweden?

Like a US citizen moving to Mexico is kind of staying at home?

Yep. Heck, using that analogy, I bet I'm close to Mexico than I am to you.

In all honesty, I wasn't sure how close Switzerland was to Sweden. Now I see they are not neighboring in much regard at all. It's been years since Geography.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There is a fourth option being overlooked: I wouldn't play at all. I wouldn't feel right taking someone else's job, no matter how "temporary" it is.

This is a good point. If you have job security (like a Datsyuk or a Zetterberg) that person would benefit more from that spot than you would.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I can see both alternatives...wanting to stay close to family, and yet expanding your horizons by going to a different place.

I kinda envy Drew Miller playing in Scotland...I've always wanted to go there, it's a beautiful country, English speaking (if you can get past the brogue), great pubs, wonderful music, history up the ying yang...what more could you ask for?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

New Zealand.

they have an ice hockey league.

stay in shape,be a star, help grow the popularity, make a little side cash, spend some time in a beautiful country, and continue to speak engrish.

take the family on a year vacation!

now...all i need is the hockey skills to do so.

aw hell...train and play with the lacrosse and rugby teams too.

Edited by luvmnger

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yep. Heck, using that analogy, I bet I'm close to Mexico than I am to you.

In all honesty, I wasn't sure how close Switzerland was to Sweden. Now I see they are not neighboring in much regard at all. It's been years since Geography.

Probably, since I'm in Sweden.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Depends on what kind of player I was. If I were a fourth-liner just coming out of the minors, I'd probably go back to the AHL to hone my skills in an environment that's the most similar to what I'd see in the NHL. Now, if I had mad skills like Dats or Zetter and just wanted to do something new & fun, I'd consider Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, etc. I don't think I'd chance it in Russia, even though the KHL makes the most money. I'd love to visit Russia someday, and I actually speak a little of the language, but the situation's just a little too volatile for my boring self, especially over the long term.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I wouldn't play, I'd hang out in California and stay in shape there. After being in the NHL, traveling city to city in one of the lower level leagues wouldn't be fun. I wouldn't go to Europe either, you never know how safe it is to fly there.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this