NEWARK, N.J. -- Ondrej Palat never thought there would come a day when becoming an NHL player 12 years ago would take a back seat to something even more unbelievable.
Playing an NHL game in his native Czechia? Now that's a whole different story for the New Jersey Devils forward.
The 33-year-old will get that chance when the Devils play the Buffalo Sabres to open the NHL regular season at O2 Arena in Prague on Oct. 4 and 5 as part of the 2024 NHL Global Series presented by Fastenal. The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will play the Dallas Stars at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland, on Nov. 1 and 2.
It’s not the first time Palat is traveling outside North America to play an NHL game. He was a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning when they defeated the Sabres 5-3 at the 2019 NHL Global Series at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden.
"I saw how much it meant to (Lightning defenseman) Victor Hedman, my good friend," Palat said. "So, I was always thinking it would be cool to play an NHL game in [the] Czech Republic, where my family can see me, my friends, and just to get that feeling of playing an NHL game in Prague."
It will be the sixth time the NHL will open the regular season with at least one game played outside North America. Prague will have hosted nine NHL games following the conclusion of Global Series, which will rank second behind Stockholm (16).
"It's a little work for the players (with a short training camp) but we're all ready to take a little hit for it because we want to grow the game all across the world," Slovakia-born Devils forward Tomas Tatar said. "We want to get as many people to watch it and then become fans to all the different teams, whoever you choose to cheer for, and this is one way of doing it.
"We have a lot of European players, and players from different continents and countries, so this is how to grow the game. I'm very looking forward to it and hopefully we can show some good stuff to the people of Czechia and whoever else comes."
Palat owns a home in Prague and spends part of his offseason there. He grew up about 3 1/2 hours away in Frydek-Mistek.
"If we're talking just about the city of Prague, it's beautiful, very historical," Palat said. "Not too big, not too small, so visitors and tourists can walk around. It's a beautiful city. A lot of cool restaurants, pubs and good beer."
Palat said he hasn't been inundated with ticket requests, around 20 for each game. He was in Prague four months ago when he helped Czechia to a gold medal at the 2024 IIHF World Championship.
"At Worlds, it was a little bit different because everyone was cheering for Czech," Palat said. "Now it'll be two teams but hopefully there will be more Devils fans, but everybody wants to have fun. There's going to be a lot of jumping, a lot of screaming, so it's a little bit different, but everybody will enjoy it.
"We're going to have an off day there, so I can take the guys somewhere and have some fun."
Nico Hischier, the Devils captain who represented Switzerland at the World Championship and lost 2-0 to Czechia in the gold medal game, is excited to return to Prague.
"I feel like we have some new guys here, so it'll definitely bring everyone together," Hischier said. "I think that will help us on the ice if we get the group together as much as we can off it. If you're away in Prague, far away from [New Jersey], then I think you got to come together. I don't think anybody has too much stuff going on over there, so we can hang out together, get to know each other better and that'll help on the ice as well."
Jesper Bratt, who has been to Prague to represent Sweden in several international events, said the country loves hockey.
"I've been there a few times and it's a lovely city, great place to be," Bratt said. "The hockey culture there is amazing. I spent some time there during World Championships and with the Sweden National Junior Team and the crowds and fans were always crazy over there. It's going to be an exciting couple games. I'm hoping for the same type of crowd, as I always remembered when I played there."
Timo Meier knows starting the regular season overseas could benefit a team with several new faces in the lineup, including goalie Jacob Markstrom and defensemen Brenden Dillon, Brett Pesce and Johnathan Kovacevic. He also knows it's a business trip.
"You've got to use it the right way when going to Europe because there's also a lot of distractions," the 27-year-old forward said. "It's a special experience for everybody but you got to stay focused and know there's a task of two first-season games that have to be played. We have to use it the right way and make sure we use the time away from [New Jersey] in Prague wisely.
"It's great to have the chemistry build early, so I think it's important we find the right mix of creating that great chemistry but also know that there's a big task for us starting the season in Prague."
