The NHL’s decision to revive the World Cup of Hockey is “just a natural progression” in the league’s search for increased global exposure, said Washington Capitals Assistant GM Don Fishman. The NHL, unlike other professional North American sports leagues such as the NFL and NBA, is not betting on playing regular-season games overseas to raise its int’l appeal. “Every league is approaching the global nature of sports in a different way,” Fishman said. “In hockey we are truly blessed that our players make it an international game. That’s the big advantage we have over football for instance. Rather than just pick one or two countries to take our game to, we’re going to have a World Cup and have an even bigger event.” The World Cup of Hockey will make a comeback this September, 12 years after its last installment in ‘04. A number of Caps players including Alex Ovechkin (Russia), Nicklas Bäckström (Sweden) and T.J. Oshie (U.S.) will represent their respective countries in the eight-team tournament at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. “Having a tournament with all the best players in the world I think brings so much awareness about hockey,” Oshie said. The 29-year-old winger previously represented Team USA in Olympic Games and IIHF World Championships.
 |
CAPITAL(IZING) ON OPPORTUNITIES: Though the NHL controls most aspects of the World Cup including sponsorships, the Capitals hope they can capitalize on the event’s global media exposure, Fishman said. “Washington is unique,” he said. “We are increasingly an international city. We have not only hundreds of embassies here, but we have the World Bank and IMF. We have a very educated, international element to this city that has really increased in the last 20 years. Hockey of course is a global sport and we have a lot of fans from Europe and Russia.” Etihad Airways is the Caps’ most prominent int’l partner and has a large presence at the Verizon Center after signing a deal with Monumental Sports & Entertainment -- owners of the Capitals, Washington Wizards (NBA) and Washington Mystics (WNBA) -- last year. The NHL also awarded two World Cup of Hockey exhibition games to D.C. “All of this does help us with international partners,” Fishman said. The Capitals are currently not doing any activations abroad. Between '08-11 the NHL opened its regular season with games in Europe. It is unlikely the league will bring back the “Premiere” series given its focus on the World Cup. But Oshie, who kicked off the ’09-10 season in Sweden as a member of the St. Louis Blues, says the league should reconsider playing games overseas. “I think it was really good for the NHL to widen our fan base,” he said. “It would be pretty cool to see the game grow and somehow reach the European market eventually.”
 |
Oshie at the 2014 Sochi Games.
|
OLYMPIC INVOLVEMENT: The NHL and its franchises might soon increase their activities in foreign markets, Fishman said, especially if the league decides to participate in the upcoming ’18 and ’22 Winter Olympics, which will both take place in Asia. The Asian market is on the radar of all sporting bodies, even if hockey faces an uphill battle compared to basketball or football in the Far East. Fishman said that participation in the Olympics is “important for the NHL.” The timing, however, with the Olympics falling right into the middle of the NHL season, makes it difficult. From a player’s perspective, Oshie said, being part of Team USA is actually more beneficial in terms of endorsement deals and brand building than simply being an NHL player. “Obviously there’s a lot more recognition in the Olympics than there is in the NHL,” he said. “In the NHL there’s a lot of recognition in the city that I play in and in my home town, home state. In the Olympics you are one of the 25 guys that’s playing for your entire country, so brand wise I think the Olympics are definitely a better stage.” NHL players have participated in the previous five Winter Olympics starting with the 1998 Nagano Games.
