International veteran hockey league

[mattihp]

If this is a legitimate league, where the players get in shape and play full contact, I can see it selling if they held games in non-League cities. If Canada ever enters, I'd see non-NHL cities as potential hosts because fans would come out to see the childhood heroes they always wanted to see play play. For instance, if Wayne Gretzky were to get in shape for this league, I'd go as he was my childhood heroes, but I couldn't go and see him play live. Other Kings and NHL greats would be good to see.

But I fear this will resemble the Oldtimers Hockey Challenge far more than a serious competition. I doubt there will be much in the way of bodycontact. The goaltending will stink as 45+ year olds in no way could be spry enough to play as they did even in their 30s. I'm curious why they decided on 45+, seems like they are excluding a number of retired players they could have even if they went 40+. In fact, the game play would be better at 40+. I know that there was a baseball league in the late 80s that tried this with 40+ for all players, but pitchers and catchers could be 35+. It didn't attract the big name guys that they expected, so it didn't draw the fans it expected and folded after a couple years.

The biggest bone I have to pick though is calling this a league, when it is quite obviously a tournament. A league implies you'd play a certain number of games and then have a playoff. Instead, they appear to be playing a tournament style, which is not a league.

The goalies who kept in good shape will have lost less than the speedsters and skill guys in the same age..

 

[vorky]

english website
http://en.hockeylegends.ru/

 

[Jussi]

I remember YLE interviewing Team Finland "GM" Pentti Lindegren during the Finland-Russia game of the EHT. That's the the last time I saw any mention of this on any Finnish media, print, online or tv. I guess no one (predictably) cares.

 

[tony d]

Looks like an interesting concept to me.