Matt Dumba wrote a blog for NHL.com when the Arizona Coyotes visited Melbourne, Australia, for the NHL's first event in the Southern Hemisphere. The Coyotes split two preseason games with the Los Angeles Kings, winning 5-3 on Saturday and losing 3-2 on Sunday at Rod Laver Arena.
Today, the defenseman, who played the second game, writes about the week in Melbourne and what he will take out of the experience.
MELBOURNE, Australia -- This week was fun. It was fun being with the guys. Not a lot of teams get to do that, to have that experience, go to another country for training camp. We still have a couple more days to go to get home, but it's been a great six days in Australia.
The team really bonded. I'm so glad I could be a part of it. You got to be with different guys and just kind of learn about them. That's the big thing I was trying to take away from this trip, just to get to know my teammates better. I definitely accomplished that. I think everyone did, so we'll take that back home and just build on that and try to keep growing our chemistry. That's a big thing in the NHL. You battle hard with your teammates. We're close because we go to war with those guys for 82 games, so to understand them and what makes them tick, it definitely helps out.
When I think back on this trip, I'll for sure think about the AFL [Australian Football League] game. I have respect for those guys, what they do out there. There were 100,000 people at that game, pretty surreal. We really had fun at that game. When I look back at this trip, I'll probably think of that.
I had never watched AFL before. We got really lucky. We had a family in front of us that kind of explained it for us the whole game, which was cool. It was just an Australian family, they were loving it. I don't think I've ever been to a sporting event with 100,000 people before. Just Minnesota Vikings games, but they get 70 or 80,000.
For the preseason games at Rod Laver, the crowd was awesome. They were definitely packed, and they were getting into the game. That was fun.
I'll try to get some sleep on the way home, that's for sure. The boys are pretty tired, so I'm sure it won't be too hard.
