By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – After much prep work, the NHL announced that it would officially kick off the 2023-24 season with its “Global Series” featuring a pair of games on September 24th and 25th in Melbourne, Australia between the Arizona Coyotes and the Los Angeles Kings.
The Western Conference games will be played at the Rod Laver Arena. The Rod Laver Arena, named after the Australian tennis legend, is the home of the Australian Open, international basketball events, and concerts in Victoria, Australia.
This will be the first set of NHL games played in the Southern Hemisphere.
It’s safe to expect some tie-ins with the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The AIHL is set to start its regular season play this weekend.
Expect either team to sign free-agent-to-be and the first Australian to play and score in the NHL, Nathan “Stormy” Walker, who left home at 13 with his parents’ blessing to pursue his hockey dream.
Walker played with the St. Louis Blues and spent some of last year in Springfield with the Thunderbirds.
Another current AIHL player in what will be his tenth and likely last season will be Cheshire, Connecticut native Robert “Bert” Malloy, a dual citizen playing with the expansion Central Coast (Evina, NSW-New South Wales, AUS) Rhinos.
However, next week, he will first play for the Australian National team – The Mighty Roo – in the IIHF Division II Group B play in Madrid, Spain.
The other countries in the field include; Croatia, the nation of Georgia, Iceland, Israel, and host Spain.
The AIHL plays a short season. Their championship, The Goodall Cup Final, will be held two weeks before the NHL games in Melbourne.
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