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I´m also Cånädiön
Rookie
Sweden
217 Posts |
 Posted - 07/16/2008 : 05:57:37
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The Soviets are back!  ......Just kidding 
At first I didn´t take the news of this new russian league too seriously...now I do.
I guess the russians got sick of their Super League beeing treated as an inferior farm-league by the NHL getting no compensation for the players it raised. To the russians it´s all about pride, national pride.
Behold the result:
Starting this fall the KHL will replace the Super League as the highest hockey-league in russia. It´s made up of 24 teams. 20 former Super League teams, 1 Belarusian team, 1 from Latvia, 1 from Kazakhstan and 1 more russian team from the Vysshaya League (tier 2).
The ambition for the KHL is to grow to 60 teams from all over europe divided into 4 series. It seems as if the Elite league won´t be the best hockey league in europe for much longer. Take into consideration that Frölunda and Färjestad (two of the better teams in the Elite League) got invitations to play in the KHL the next season. They haven´t accepted but haven´t turned down the invitation either.
Personally I want to see an all Nordic League instead of some Elite teams joining the KHL but no matter the case it seems as if the chances for swedish hockey to remain the same as today are pretty slim 
Will the KHL be able to compete with the NHL? Given a couple of years, say around 10 I think so. If we choose to ignore some things for the moment like the fact that the russian team names are impossible to pronounce or remember, the higher status of the NHL at the moment etc and just look at the economy, things appear to be in the KHL:s favour.
The KHL is backed up by some of the richest companys in the world Gazprom etc. As we speak the russians are building pipelines to supply large parts of the EU with natural gas. And then there´s the US wich the most NHL teams are located to. The American economy isn´t exactly strong at the moment and if the Saudis would demand to get their money back the US would be bankrupt a couple of times over.
KHL Team map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=105439007883160582387.00044c9e6f1593a007c85&ll=51.835778,90&spn=107.9495,239.0625&z=2
Thoughts?
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99pickles
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
671 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2008 : 07:44:37
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| Seems like a great league - there are many well-known clubs and players in it. It would be nice to see some of the games. |
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leigh
Moderator
Canada
1755 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2008 : 10:49:40
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| I wonder if Pickuphockey should do a deal with them to support hockey pools for the KHL? |
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I´m also Cånädiön
Rookie
Sweden
217 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2008 : 12:06:00
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quote:
Originally posted by leigh
I wonder if Pickuphockey should do a deal with them to support hockey pools for the KHL?
If that was a nice way of hinting that a thread about the KHL doesn´t belong on this site, I apologize. Just thought it would be a interesting read, haven´t seen that much about the new russian league in the english news sites I visit from time to time.
quote:
Seems like a great league - there are many well-known clubs and players in it. It would be nice to see some of the games.
It shouldn´t be to hard to find streaming media on the net. A heads up, all free streaming media isn´t always that legal. Anyway I think they have some maturing to do before the broadcast and the hockey becomes enjoyable. |
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leigh
Moderator
Canada
1755 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2008 : 12:13:22
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quote:
Originally posted by I´m also Cånädiön
quote:
Originally posted by leigh
I wonder if Pickuphockey should do a deal with them to support hockey pools for the KHL?
If that was a nice way of hinting that a thread about the KHL doesn´t belong on this site, I apologize. Just thought it would be a interesting read, haven´t seen that much about the new russian league in the english news sites I visit from time to time.
quote:
Seems like a great league - there are many well-known clubs and players in it. It would be nice to see some of the games.
It shouldn´t be to hard to find streaming media on the net. A heads up, all free streaming media isn´t always that legal. Anyway I think they have some maturing to do before the broadcast and the hockey becomes enjoyable.
LOL!!! no not at all IAC. Sorry if you took it that way. I was being serious. AND KHL is a very hot topic and always welcome here as it really does impact us as fans.
Again sorry if you misunderstood.  |
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fat_elvis_rocked
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
902 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2008 : 13:07:39
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Personally I like the idea of a EurAsian professional league. It certainly makes a lot of the decisions of non-North American born players tougher, play in the most recognized competitive league in the NHL, and live through all the tribulations of being away from home, or stay close to home and still play at a high level...
I think we alI saw this coming quite a few years ago, as more and more non-North american players began playing in the NHL. There seemed to always be an inclination for most of these players to eventually return home, and sometimes they used/use it as leverage at contract times.
This may actually alleviate some of this.
I think in the future as the KHL expands and attracts more talent it would eventually be very interesting.
In my opinion, the NHL will still be the forerunner for hockey supremacy(from our perspective, anyways), but a potential "world cup" kind of series between league winners, NHL's Stanley Cup champs vs. KHL league champs, could be very cool....
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I´m also Cånädiön
Rookie
Sweden
217 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2008 : 04:14:59
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NP leigh was just checking isn´t always so easy to get nuances i guess you could call it in english.
quote:
Originally posted by fat_elvis_rocked
In my opinion, the NHL will still be the forerunner for hockey supremacy(from our perspective, anyways), but a potential "world cup" kind of series between league winners, NHL's Stanley Cup champs vs. KHL league champs, could be very cool....
No question about it the the NHL will be the best hockey league for years to come and as you said some sort of competition between the two would be cool. |
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Pasty7
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2312 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2008 : 06:55:02
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personally i just dont see how either league could be all that interesting to watch?? already the NHL is waterd down with sub par players, if we're dividing these players between two leagues espcially one with 60 teams,,???? wow i could make the nhl or the khl at that rate and im not even kidding,, and i only play junior A hockey,,, i mean come on how insanly bad it would be when people are paying big bucks to watch players of my calibre play ??????? i think this could destroy professional hockey!
Pasty |
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leigh
Moderator
Canada
1755 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2008 : 12:30:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Pasty7
...wow i could make the nhl or the khl at that rate and im not even kidding,, and i only play junior A hockey,,, i mean come on how insanly bad it would be when people are paying big bucks to watch players of my calibre play ....
Would make for some big time body checks anyway! 
I just read that Alex Radulov, Nikita Filatov, Viktor Tikhonov, Jason Krog, Tomas Mojzis and Fedor Fedorov have all been suspended by the IIHF pending an investigation to see if the transfers of their rights to the KHL are legit.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=368734&page=NewsPage&service=page |
Edited by - leigh on 07/18/2008 12:36:29 |
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Pasty7
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2312 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2008 : 16:09:39
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quote:
Originally posted by leigh
quote:
Originally posted by Pasty7
...wow i could make the nhl or the khl at that rate and im not even kidding,, and i only play junior A hockey,,, i mean come on how insanly bad it would be when people are paying big bucks to watch players of my calibre play ....
Would make for some big time body checks anyway!
I just read that Alex Radulov, Nikita Filatov, Viktor Tikhonov, Jason Krog, Tomas Mojzis and Fedor Fedorov have all been suspended by the IIHF pending an investigation to see if the transfers of their rights to the KHL are legit.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=368734&page=NewsPage&service=page
lol you mean me laying people out?? oh yeah! noone would be hitting me I play on blue ice between the pipes im gold no one can touch me! 
Pasty |
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I´m also Cånädiön
Rookie
Sweden
217 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2008 : 07:23:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Pasty7
personally i just dont see how either league could be all that interesting to watch?? already the NHL is waterd down with sub par players, if we're dividing these players between two leagues espcially one with 60 teams,,???? wow i could make the nhl or the khl at that rate and im not even kidding,, and i only play junior A hockey,,, i mean come on how insanly bad it would be when people are paying big bucks to watch players of my calibre play ??????? i think this could destroy professional hockey!
I´m just speculating now but 60 teams is probably very long term. And yeah the KHL will probably be watered down a bit when swiss and german teams joins for instance but in the long run I think it will serve to strengthen the league and hockey as a sport.
I´ve read somewhere that 1 of 20 "athletes" in germany choose to concentrate on hockey. Now imagine if KHL establish a hockey team that brings good hockey to germany now and then. If that number would increase by just a little it would mean much for german hockey and hockey everywhere.
My point beeing that for hockey to grow stronger as a sport and quality wise a little watering down could be a necessary evil.
I´m hoping the KHL turns out to be a european league where all countries who have teams participating are respected instead of turning into a russian league with some other teams participating who can take it or leave it. |
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leigh
Moderator
Canada
1755 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2008 : 10:43:08
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Admittedly I've only put about 15 minutes of thought into the KHL, but here's what I currently think....
I agree with you IAC; if hockey turns into a viable career for more Europeans then we'll see more of them focused on the sport at a younger age. Success of a sport does not happen over night, it needs to start at the grassroots level, but having a real goal will make it possible. It will likely take an entire generation to evolve but once that generation has past you'll see the quality of the players improve dramatically. Yes, 60 teams might be a little much right now but long term, why not? We are talking about a billion+ people, the gene pool is big and we should see some great players grow out if it.
Right now there is less motivation for Europeans to play the game; with the KHL on the scene this could change. For me, it's less about the nationality of the player than it is about growing the game. I want to see more Jagr's, more Nylander's, more Alfreddsson's and definitely more Sundin's!
Although I think it will raise the price of the players (sadly), I think it will be good for the NHL to have some competition. Viva la KHL! |
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Rise of the KHL 
