Periodically, select Lightning players will offer their comments on their experiences playing abroad during the NHL lockout.
Dan Boyle
Originally Published: May 3, 2005
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[Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle is providing periodic insites while representating Canada in the World Hockey Championships in Austria this month. This is Boyle's first opportunity to represent his country in a major international tournament. Today's file comes following Canada's opening-game victory against Slovenia]:
Things are going great so far. We had a week in Calgary to get things started, followed by two
games against the United States in Halifax and Quebec, which we split. Then we were off to Riga,
Latvia and Prague, Czech Republic for two more exhibition games. We finally got into Innsbruck
three days ago and won our first game vs. Latvia on Saturday. If all goes well, we hope to be in
the final game on May 15.
Although this city isn't very big (about 120,000 people) the scenery is amazing. It is located in
the middle of the Alps. I am very lucky to be traveling and seeing parts of the world I never
thought I would see and at the same time representing my country - to which this is a major deal
by the way. I heard there is hardly any coverage of the championships back in the U.S. and that is a
shame. This is very good hockey with very proud players.
Until later, Dan
Nolan Pratt
Originally Published: March 10, 2005
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It has been one month for my family and I in Germany. My wife Deborah, my daughter Ella and I live in the German city of Duisburg, 25 minutes north of Dusseldorf. I guess I will split my diary entry into two parts, starting with hockey and then my travels.
The hockey has been a lot of fun for me this past month. I've had the opportunity to play in a lot of different situations here in Duisburg, and I can really say that I am enjoying it. We had been battling for first place until recently, and it looks as though we are going to finish second with just two games to go and then we will start playoffs. That was one of the positives in coming here, the team goal all year has been to win the second division and be promoted to the top German professional league (DEL).
The atmosphere at the games is something to see for sure. It's much the same as you would find at an English football (or as they say in North America, soccer) game. The fans stand and bang drums and cheer, chant and sing the whole game. They may not have the same size facilities as we do in the NHL, but the fans certainly make up for it in spirit. You can hardly hear yourself think when we play some games. All in all it has been fun, and the playoffs should be even better.
The schedule here is a little different than the typical NHL season. Since arriving, we have only played every Friday and Sunday and then have Mondays off, which has allowed us to see quite a bit of Northwest Germany and more. We have seen Koln, Dusseldorf, Essen, and we will be visiting Frankfurt and Berlin soon. We have ventured to Holland and seen Amsterdam's red light district and more, and a small city by the name of Venlo as well. We plan on seeing some of Belgium when we get some more time and hopefully will have the chance to see Luxembourg and Paris.
The great thing about the area we are in is that most of the places I mentioned are within an hour and 45 minutes by car. And you can fly anywhere for less than it costs to fill my car up with gas.
I have eaten so much schnitzel and french fries (they love their fries here) I may turn into one. But I have to admit I do love their schnitzel! Deborah and Ella seem to be picking up the language better than I am, but most people speak English.
We are certainly trying to make the most of our time here and are taking everything in stride. I think it has been a great experience for all of us, and I could certainly see myself returning to play somewhere in Europe in the future if I'm not playing in the NHL.
Auf wiedersehen!
Vinny Lecavalier
Originally Published: Jan. 30, 2005
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Things did not start well for myself in 2005. Coming back from Moscow after a couple of days off for New Year's, I got food poisoning and was real sick for a week. I got to spend a day in a Russian military hospital, which I don't recommend to others. It was the oldest hospital I have ever seen.
I was just starting to feel really good during games and felt like I was starting to play well, but after getting sick if felt like I had to start over because I was very weak.
With the departure of Brad Richards, things have been better than I would have thought. With all the NHL players and fellow Canadian Fred Brathwaite on the team, things have been good. We get to hang out quite a bit off the ice and pass time between games, and it has been nice getting to know some of these guys.
The team has been doing well. We beat the No. 3 seed in the league a couple of games ago, and I thought it was my best game so far. I felt very comfortable on the ice and had a lot of opportunities to score. Last game, we tied first-place Moscow Dynamo 1-1. It was a very intense game and Khaby [goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin] played like he did in the playoffs last year. He was the Bulin Wall that night for sure.
Dan Boyle
Originally Published: Jan. 27, 2005
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Things are going pretty good here now. The team is on a roll, having won four straight games and closing in on the fourth playoff spot, which would mean home-ice advantage in the playoffs (at least for the first round, anyway, and we all know how important that can be ... Game 7!!!).
The weather is pretty mild compared to the blizzards I went through in Ottawa growing up. There is a team trip planned in early February in the northern part of Sweden where we will ice fish, snowmobile and toboggan. That sounds like it could be a fun experience.
There are two things that have made it easy on me living in Sweden: One, everyone speaks English; and two, I found the greatest American-style breakfast and lunch place down the street that answers my home-style cooking cravings.
Unfortunately, it appears as if I may be here for the rest of the year. I am very sad to say I strongly believe the NHL season is over. Even if by some miracle they get something done, a 30-game schedule is not very appealing.
The thing that hurts most in all of this is that I made the mistake in going on Internet fan sites where the players are just getting trashed. I understand it is difficult to understand the amount of
money athletes make. Is it right for a doctor that saves lives to make less than a player? Probably not. Is it right for a pop singer to make 50 times what we make for doing a 30-second Pepsi commercial? Certainly not.
I want all the fans to know that we care about them and the game, and we do not want to see this happen to our crowd and our sport. We want to play!
I can't wait to be back in Tampa raising the banner in front of our great crowd. I am very fearful, however, that this may extend into next year. This ''negotiation'' needs to be just that - not a
my-way-or-the-highway approach. But enough of that. I hope everyone is well in Tampa and I hope to be back soon.
Martin St. Louis
Originally Published: Jan. 7, 2005
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Greetings from Lausanne, Switzerland! We have now been here for seven weeks. Living in a
different country definitely took some getting used to, but we have ironed out most of the
kinks.
Switzerland's landscape is beautiful. There are hills everywhere. It seems they have no
fear to build just about anything right in the middle of a mountain. Our apartment is located
on a steep hill. My wife Heather, who is now six months pregnant, is challenged each day to
take our two dogs out for walks while pushing our son Ryan in the stroller. Although our
backyard is too steep for Ryan to play out on, we have beautiful views. Although Lausanne has
been pretty foggy since we have been here, the view of Lake Geneva and the Alps across the
lake on a clear day is breathtaking.
We spent Christmas and New Year's in Davos, Switzerland, where I played in the Spengler
Cup. Davos is an absolutely beautiful place. It is a small ski village located right in the
middle of the Alps. The amount of snow there is unbelievable. There is a constant layer of
snow on the streets and sidewalks, not to mention the deep snow covering everywhere else.
We did as the natives there do and pulled Ryan around town on a sled ... he loved it! I
also took him skating. Since I don't have him bear any weight, my back starts to hurt from
holding him upright to glide on the ice. After about 15 minutes I had had it, so we headed
off. Ryan apparently wasn't done as he started to cry when I tried to take his skates off. We
decided to let him keep his skates on for the 15-minute sled ride back to the hotel. That's my
boy!!
The hockey here has certainly taken some getting used to. The ice surface is bigger and
there are no two-line passes. There is a ton of obstruction and teams set picks like in
basketball and it is rarely called.
Inside the rink there is so much smoking going on in the stands that my jersey smells like
I have been in a bar by the end of the game.
It's not the NHL, but for the time being, it will have to do. The longer I am here, the
more I have gotten used to the style of play. While in Davos, the team I was playing for, HC
Davos, won the Spengler Cup!
The regular season here ends in late February so I will then play in the playoffs or
play-outs. The play-outs are for the bottom four teams in the league. The loser of those four
then plays against the winner of the B league and could get relegated to the B league. We are
currently nine points out of a playoff spot. I still have some hope.
That's all for now. I will keep you posted on any new adventures.
Dan Boyle
Originally Published: Dec. 24, 2004
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I just got back from the NHL stars tour. It was only three days for me, but I had a great time. I played in one game in Norway and one game in Poland. The fans in Poland were amazing. It was like a scene from ''Rocky IV'' with all the music and the crowd cheering for their team. What an experience.
Spending Christmas overseas is going to be different for me. The Swedes celebrate Christmas on the 24th and I haven't received any dinner invitations from anybody yet. So I'm just planning a quiet Christmas this year. We unfortunately have practice on Saturday and a game on Sunday.
Should there not be an NHL season this year, my parents and brother are going to come over in January. It will be an exciting trip for them because they have never left North America.
I'm enjoying the scenary and the time over here, but I would love to be back in Tampa defending our title.
Until next time.
Vinny Lecavalier
Originally Published: Dec. 19, 2004
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Things are going well in Russia. The team is on a 10-day break. Well, a break from games, at least, because right now we practice two times a day with off-ice training in between. Although, with our first two days off during the break, Brad Richards and I decided to get out of Kazan and spend some time in Moscow. Moscow is a very beautiful city with a lot of action in the streets. It reminds me a lot of New York City.
In the next few days we will have a couple of exhibition games to keep us in shape.
Things are going well on the ice. I think we have a pretty good team with a great bunch of guys. Our
teammates are really helping us outside of the rink, which is really helpful. I would have a lot of trouble if I were alone in Kazan because nobody really speaks English, which would make things really difficult.
The weather here is pretty bad. Although I grew up in Canada, I forgot how cold it really got. We're definitely not in Tampa. Big warm jackets and a toque keep us warm for the walk to the rink.
Dan Boyle
Originally Published: Dec. 5, 2004
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Stockholm is an amazing city. Even though there are only about seven hours of daylight - the sun is up from about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day during the winter months - there is lots to do. It is very similar to downtown New York in the center of Manhattan with a mix of Venice, Italy, with all the water around the area.
They tell me that the summers here are supposed to be the greatest because of all the water and 20 to 22 hours of daylight ... golf at 9 p.m., anyone?
Hockey wise, I'm really just getting into things right now. I wasn't really in game shape when I first got here but I feel pretty good right now. They play a trap-style game which is different for me, but I feel I can adjust to anything. Other NHL players on the team are Nils Ekman (San Jose), Marcus Nilson (Calgary), Espen Knutsen (Columbus), Mariusz Czerkawski (New York Islanders), Daniel Tjarnqvist (Atlanta) and Marty Turco (Dallas). My former teammate in Tampa, Jimmie Olvestad, is also playing for Djurgarden.
Brad Richards
Originally Published: Dec. 2, 2004
We have played two games so far, although Lightning teammate Vinny Lecavalier and I weren't supposed to play until Dec. 2. But we have some injuries in the lineup so we had to start earlier
than expected.
Because we haven't played since the World Cup in September we were not in playing shape, so it was kind of tough getting back on the ice for a game.
We won one game and lost the other in overtime.
Nikolai Khabibulin played really well in the win. It looked like he has picked up where he left off for us last year. Me and Vinny didn't score in either game. I am playing on a line with
Montreal's Alexei Kovalev and Pittsburgh's Alexsey Morozov.
Vinny is playing with Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk and our team captain, though I'm not real sure what his name is.
I'll check in again soon.
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