Global Series blog: Erik Haula

The New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres are set to face off in the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal, starting the regular season with two games at O2 Arena in Prague on Friday and Saturday.

Devils forward Erik Haula will be keeping a blog with NHL.com throughout the Global Series, giving fans a taste of what life is like on the ground as they go through the Global Series experience. Haula's first entry was written from the Devils locker room at O2 Arena following their second practice since arriving in Prague on Monday.

PRAGUE -- I'm happy to share a little insight from a New Jersey side of things for the next few days here.

I think the idea of playing games as part of the NHL Global Series in different countries each season is good. It's a great way to bond. It's a great way to come together with new people. But all that really matters is the result. You're going to have a great trip if you have success on the ice, but you aren't going to really remember it in the most positive way if you don't get the job done.

That's what we're here to do.

Our flight to Prague was good. The timing of it was great because we left at 9 p.m. ET (Sunday), so most guys were able to sleep on the flight. It was good to get a little skate in when we landed and we had a day and a half off.

Tuesday was an off day for us so myself, Nico Hischier and Timo Meier decided to explore the city. Obviously there's lots to see so it was a fun day. This is my first time in Prague where I actually get to enjoy it and walk around. I might have been here when I was younger, during a tournament or something, but I never spent too much time so I'm enjoying it now.

I just think it's a really beautiful city, very walkable. It just has that old culture. There's a lot to see, and I just like how people are always out and hanging out.

From a hockey standpoint, I don't think I'm surprising anyone when I say we want to have a good start to the season. But that's the same for every team. You never want to get behind the eight ball because the League is just too hard. So, you want to start racking up wins as quickly as you can to get above that .500 mark, and then you try to stay there. It's a long season, lots happening, and there's going to be ups and downs. But getting off to a good start, getting everyone feeling good, is important because it's just kind of a snowball effect.

The video and on-ice sessions with new coach Sheldon Keefe have been good. He's very detail oriented, everything has a purpose with what we're doing, and we're just trying to get everything in line with what we want to do. So details and purpose have been great on the ice and with communication. I've been impressed with that for sure.

I think we learned a lot from last year about expectations and how to manage it all and realize none of it matters. The game is played on the ice, not off of it. We know we have a good team, but putting the pieces together is most important.

I know the group we have here in Prague went 0-4-0 in the preseason; it wasn't what most wanted. But I view the preseason as a chance to get better. It's a chance to be feeling good, a chance to work on things. Do you want to win every game? Yes. Did we win seven games out of seven last year? We did. Did it help us for the season? No. When the puck drops on the ice in regular season, that's when it matters. We want to put the product in the ice Friday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSGSN, MSG-B), and we want to play at our best. There's going to be ups and downs, and you learn your growth, so hopefully we can get off to a fast start.