Calling Europpos: Hockey Edition

"Patrick Nichols" (pnichols) 02/23/2017 at 07:48 • Filed to: hockey tourism

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My question is: are adult amateur hockey tournaments in Europe common? So as a recent grad (god, has it been 2 years already?) and current college hockey coach (ACHA level), I’ve been thinking of ways to finance traveling to Europe. The idea of the day is to take a group of 14-16 college/recent college players to play in a men’s league tournament somewhere in Europe and also rent a house and spend about a week touring the area.

My instincts would be that Germany, northern Italy, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, or the Czech Republic would have men’s or adult tournaments fairly often during the summer like we do here in the US. So, do any European Oppos play hockey and have experience with tournaments? Have any North American Oppos played abroad?

Am I crazy for wanting to do this?

atrombs > Patrick Nichols 02/23/2017 at 07:54

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Woah, what’s that mini zam?

Patrick Nichols > atrombs 02/23/2017 at 08:12

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Looks more like a show car since the blade/auger doesn’t go as wide as the wheels.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > atrombs 02/23/2017 at 08:19

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Looks to me like a Model K modded into a show machine.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Patrick Nichols 02/23/2017 at 09:31

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The world championships were in Prague 2 years ago I believe, so probably?

Cé hé sin > Patrick Nichols 02/23/2017 at 09:39

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People play hockey , but it may not be the game you were expecting!

Ice hockey is played more in central and northern Europe. No idea how common it is as I live in one of those places where it’s unknown.

Patrick Nichols > Cé hé sin 02/23/2017 at 10:03

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Haha yeah I’m a bit too tall for field hockey sticks (just thinking about it makes my back hurt). I’ve had a few friends take trips abroad in high school to play ice hockey against some local club teams, but as far as I can tell there aren’t a ton of US amateur men’s teams making trips to Europe.

Here it seems like every decent rink (of which there are quite a few in the northeast US) has multiple men’s leagues and at least one tournament per summer where people come from all over.

Patrick Nichols > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 02/23/2017 at 10:04

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Like amateur 21+ players or the tournament where a bunch of pros play after they finish their pro season?

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Patrick Nichols 02/23/2017 at 10:07

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No clue, just saw a massive influx of people wearing hockey jerseys.

Patrick Nichols > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 02/23/2017 at 10:11

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fair enough

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Patrick Nichols 02/23/2017 at 10:58

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Sounds like a fantastic idea though, be sure to hit up Prague if you go. It’s a beautiful city and Czechs are great people.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Patrick Nichols 02/23/2017 at 11:19

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Played with a few guys that play in Europe now, most of them play in rec leagues during the off season in Berlin too. Might want to start there.

Autophile412 - what's the world got in store? > Patrick Nichols 02/23/2017 at 12:44

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I want to come with you. I am 35 but I am a good stay at home defense man with great passing skills, a right hand shot, and a good head for the game. Still have speed and agility. Not so much on the endurance side. I am good for A level adult league play at 30 plus minutes per game. I could work a family vacation into it. The wife can take the kids around while we get some puck under our belts abroad. ;)

Patrick Nichols > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store? 02/23/2017 at 12:54

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I’ll probably make a post inviting any oppo hockey players closer to when I get this organized (probably start asking for players in the fall and get everything booked by christmas). If I fill up a team with college guys, I’ll be sure to work with tournament organizers to get free agents on somewhere. No idea where we’ll end up, but I’ll keep you posted.