More than 150 NHLers have signed on to play hockey with European teams during the labour dispute stalling the start of the NHL season.
Leagues in Sweden, the Czech Republic and Switzerland will benefit from an infusion of talent as locked-out skaters look outside of North America for competitive hockey.
The Czech Republic's league has added 47 NHL players ? including Jaromir Jagr of the New York Rangers, Tomas Kaberle of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ziggy Palffy of the Los Angeles Kings.
Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers, Andrei Markov of the Montreal Canadiens and Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings are just a few of the 33 players joining the Russian league.
Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche and Markus Naslund of the Vancouver Canucks have joined the Swedish team, Modo. Miikka Kiprusoff of the Calgary Flames and Henrik Zetterberg of Detroit have also joined teams in Sweden.
There will be 30 NHL players skating in the Swedish league during the lockout.
"This is a great bonus that makes the local league much more attractive," said Czech league official Pavel Barta said. "The fans will finally see the big names they otherwise see only on television."
Nine players have also signed up to play in Finland.
Columbus Blue Jackets sniper Rick Nash and Boston Bruins captain Joe Thornton are two of 17 Canadian NHLers playing overseas. Both will play in Swizterland.
Many of Canada's NHL players are participating in the Original Stars Hockey League, a four-on-four exhibition series travelling Ontario and Quebec.
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Leagues in Sweden, the Czech Republic and Switzerland will benefit from an infusion of talent as locked-out skaters look outside of North America for competitive hockey.
The Czech Republic's league has added 47 NHL players ? including Jaromir Jagr of the New York Rangers, Tomas Kaberle of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ziggy Palffy of the Los Angeles Kings.
Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers, Andrei Markov of the Montreal Canadiens and Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings are just a few of the 33 players joining the Russian league.
Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche and Markus Naslund of the Vancouver Canucks have joined the Swedish team, Modo. Miikka Kiprusoff of the Calgary Flames and Henrik Zetterberg of Detroit have also joined teams in Sweden.
There will be 30 NHL players skating in the Swedish league during the lockout.
"This is a great bonus that makes the local league much more attractive," said Czech league official Pavel Barta said. "The fans will finally see the big names they otherwise see only on television."
Nine players have also signed up to play in Finland.
Columbus Blue Jackets sniper Rick Nash and Boston Bruins captain Joe Thornton are two of 17 Canadian NHLers playing overseas. Both will play in Swizterland.
Many of Canada's NHL players are participating in the Original Stars Hockey League, a four-on-four exhibition series travelling Ontario and Quebec.
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