Australia making most of ‘massive opportunity’ at NHL Global Series -- Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Australia -- This is Australia? The land Down Under? Half a world away? The Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings played the first NHL game in the Southern Hemisphere on Saturday, but it didn’t feel like the first time.

A sellout crowd of 13,097 saw the Coyotes open the preseason with a 5-3 win at Rod Laver Arena in the 2023 NHL Global Series -- Melbourne.

For the most part, these were not novice fans. These were hockey fans.

They wore gear representing each of the NHL’s 32 teams. We know, because we checked off each NHL team to be sure. They wore gear representing former NHL teams, too, plus Australian Ice Hockey League teams, national teams and local teams.

They “oohed” when they were supposed to “ooh,” and they “aahed” when they were supposed to “aah.” They roared for scraps, cheered for goals and clapped to the music.

“The fans were definitely involved and cheering all game and kind of cheering after both teams scored, so it was fun to jump right into that NHL feel and atmosphere,” Coyotes forward Clayton Keller said.

Arizona and Los Angeles will play again at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday. The game will start at 12 a.m. ET and air on NHL Network and ESPN+ in the United States; Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ in Canada; and 9Go, 9Now, ESPN and the ESPN App in Australia.

“I thought the fans were outstanding,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “It was a real good experience. I’m glad we got to go through it.”

Though this is just the start of training camp for the Coyotes and Kings, this is a special event here. Hockey has a history in Australia that dates to the early 1900s, and it has a small but passionate fan base the NHL hopes to grow.

Steve Dimopoulous, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events for Victoria, said 40 percent of the tickets for the 2023 NHL Global Series -- Melbourne were purchased outside the state, meaning fans came from all over the country.

“It’s a really good economic boost for us,” Dimopoulous said.

You could see NHL gear all over the city Saturday, from Queen Victoria Market to the Central Business District to Melbourne Park, where fans participated in activities at the NHL Global Fan Tour outside Rod Laver Arena.

It was an interesting mix of expats and Aussies.

Kyle Webb came from the northwest coast of Tasmania. No, he isn’t a New Jersey Devils fan. He’s a Kings fan. He went from playing field hockey to loving ice hockey, and he had been to Los Angeles to see the Kings play the Carolina Hurricanes in 2015 and the Anaheim Ducks in 2019.

What did it mean to him to see the Kings in his home country?

“It’s a massive opportunity,” he said. “It really is. I see it now an area where the game will grow as well, because little kids now are going into street hockey as well. A lot of people that play field hockey are getting more interested as well.”

Seamus Jones came from Canberra, the capital of Australia. He got into the NHL from playing video games.

“I’ve played ice hockey -- not very well,” he said with a laugh. “We’re in a country where it’s mainly desert.”

Because he is a fan of the Carlton Blues of the Australian Football League, he adopted the St. Louis Blues as his NHL team. He combined a Carlton Blues hat and a St. Louis Blues jersey Saturday.

“It’s sort of a once-in-a-lifetime for me,” he said. “I’ve never even been overseas before, so the fact that the NHL has come down here, like, I had pretty much no choice but to buy a ticket. Like, I had to go and watch it.”

John Horsnel wore an Australia jersey and pointed to a patch on his left shoulder. It had a kangaroo, and it said, “WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, 1979, ICE HOCKEY, BARCELONA.” He began playing ice hockey in Australia at age 8 and wore that jersey when he competed for the national team in that lower-level tournament 44 years ago.

“Oh, we got our backsides kicked, but it was good,” he said with a laugh.

He hadn’t seen an NHL game live in about 15 years, since he traveled to Madison Square Garden to see the Coyotes face the New York Rangers.

“It’s sensational,” he said. “It’s a breath of fresh air from the other sports that are here. Anybody that sees it cannot help but be enticed to watch it and follow it. It’s got speed. It’s got skill. It’s got aggression. What else can you want from a sport apart from that?”

What else could you want from the first NHL game in the Southern Hemisphere?

“That was cool,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. “It’s amazing to see how many fans the NHL has.”