Global Series postcard: Prague

I spent most of my final day in Prague, Czech Republic, at O2 Arena, where the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers played their regular-season opener in the 2019 NHL Global Series. But I wanted to get one more history lesson before I left the city. So I made a quick trip to the Czech Hockey Hall of Fame, located in Rossmann, a mall adjacent to the arena.

Since I was there about an hour before the game, I was one of few people in the Hall. Admission is 180 CZK ($7.68 USD), and with only a few plaques with English translation, I could only learn so much. But I'm a sucker for great memorabilia and the Hall, which was founded in 2008, had plenty of it.
To the left in the first room was a mini-rink on which people could shoot on dummy goalies. Some cases contained memorabilia of professional teams such as Sparta Praha. Another case was dedicated to Czechoslovakia's first world championship victory in 1947, a 6-1 win against the United States, coupled with Austria's 2-1 win against Sweden. According to the description, "poor Austria was showered with presents, full wagons of various groceries or coal …."

The second room was memorabilia from various players (of Czech descent or not) from each NHL team. The Blackhawks display had the gloves the late Hall of Fame forward Stan Mikita wore when he retired in the 1979-80 season, and forward Patrick Kane's gloves from the 2009-10 season. Hanging high above the NHL team displays in that second room was the equipment Hall of Fame goalie Dominik Hasek wore when he helped win the Stanley Cup for the Detroit Red Wings in the 2007-08 season. No, it didn't include his awesome cage.
It's been a wonderful trip, full of outstanding food, beverages and history. Enjoying a full day of hockey, present and past, was a great way to close it out.