September 7, 2022
Quick Clicks
* Standings for Games Played Outside North America
The number of NHL regular-season games contested outside North America will rise to 36 following a back-to-back set between the Sharks and Predators at O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia which will mark the start of the 2022-23 regular season. These contests are part of a four-game 2022 NHL Global Series, which will continue in November when the Blue Jackets and Avalanche face off in regular-season games at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland on Friday, Nov. 4 and Saturday, Nov. 5.
* This will mark San Jose’s fifth and sixth regular-season games contested outside North America, which will tie Anaheim (6 GP) for the most by an NHL team. The Sharks are 1-1-2 in four previous appearances, splitting a two-game set with the Blue Jackets at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden during the 2010 Premiere Series (3-2 W on Oct. 8, 2010 & 3-2 OTL on Oct. 9, 2010) and contesting a pair of games against the Flames at Yoyogi Arena in Tokyo, Japan at GAME ONe Japan ’98 (3-3 T on Oct. 9, 1998 & 5-3 L on Oct. 10, 1998).
* Nashville will contest a regular-season game outside North America for the first time in 22 years and first time ever in Europe. The Predators began the 2000-01 season – their third in the NHL – with a back-to-back set against the Penguins at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan for GAME ONe Japan 2000 (3-1 W on Oct. 6, 2000 & 3-1 L on Oct. 7, 2000).
* There have been five previous regular-season games played in Czechia, all at O2 Arena in Prague. In the most recent, Travis Konecny scored twice to give the Flyers a 4-3 win on Oct. 4, 2019 in the 2019 NHL Global Series.
* Other notables from the five previous NHL regular-season games played in Prague include: the NHL debut for Steven Stamkos during the 2008 Premiere Series (Oct. 4, 2008 with TBL) and the start of a Stanley Cup-winning season for the Bruins at the 2010 Premiere Series (they split a back-to-back set against PHX on Oct. 9, 2010 and Oct. 10, 2010).
* Many Czech-born players have left their mark on the NHL over the years, including two of the League’s all-time greats: Jaromir Jagr (Kladno) and Dominik Hasek (Pardubice). Jagr, who ranks among the top five on the NHL’s all-time list for goals (4th; 766), assists (5th; 1,155) and points (2nd; 1,921), is a two-time Stanley Cup champion and five-time Art Ross Trophy winner. Hasek, who is also a two-time Stanley Cup winner (2002 & 2008 w/ DET), is the only goaltender to win the Hart Trophy twice and his six Vezina Trophy wins trail only Jacques Plante (7).
* A total of 39 Czech players appeared in an NHL regular-season game in 2021-22 (31 skaters and 8 goaltenders), including a pair of 30-goal scorers in Bruins forward David Pastrnak (40) and Sharks forward Tomas Hertl (30).
San Jose Sharks
* Four players have recorded a multi-point outing while playing for the Sharks in a regular-season game contested outside North America: Ryane Clowe (0-2—2) and Joe Pavelski (0-2—2) in Stockholm, Sweden on Oct. 8, 2010, as well as Mike Ricci (1-1—2) and Scott Hannan (0-2—2) in Tokyo, Japan on Oct. 9, 1998.
* Logan Couture and Marc-Edouard Vlasic are the only players that skated for San Jose in the 2010 Premiere Series that remain with the team entering the 2022 Global Series. Couture scored the game-winning goal in San Jose’s 3-2 win against Columbus on Oct. 8, 2010 in Stockholm, Sweden and can join Yanni Gourde (2 GWG w/ TBL in 2019 Global Series) as the second player with multiple game-winning goals in regular-season games contested outside North America.
* Three Czech-born players are currently on San Jose’s roster (as of Sept. 7, 2022): forwards Tomas Hertl (Prague), Adam Raska (Frydek-Mistek) and defenseman Radim Simek (Mlada Boleslav). Hertl enters the 2022-23 season 19 goals shy of becoming the 21st Czech-born player to reach 200 career goals and 13 points shy of becoming the 30th from his country to reach the 400-point milestone.
* The Sharks will take on Eisbaren Berlin in Berlin, Germany in a preseason game on Oct. 4. The Sharks currently have one German-born player on their roster – Nico Sturm (Augsburg), who will be skating in his first season with the franchise. Marco Sturm (no relation to Nico), who spent his first eight NHL seasons with the Sharks, ranks top-five among German born-and-trained players in career games (1st; 938), goals (2nd; 242), assists (4th; 245), points (2nd; 487) and game-winning goals (t-1st; 43). Dany Heatley and Walt Tkaczuk, who were born in Germany but listed their nationality as Canadian, are excluded from the lists noted above.
* Couture (296) sits four goals shy of becoming the third player to score 300 goals in a Sharks uniform – he would join Patrick Marleau (522) and Pavelski (355).
* Vlasic is starting his 17th season with the Sharks, trailing only Marleau (21) for the most seasons played in franchise history.
Nashville Predators
* Two players have recorded multiple points while playing for the Predators in a regular-season game contested outside North America: Scott Walker (1-1—2) and Vitali Yachmenev (1-1—2) in Saitama, Japan on Oct. 6, 2000.
* The only current Nashville player born in Czechia (as of Sept. 7, 2022) is goaltender Tomas Vomacka (Trutnov). Predators captain Roman Josi was born in Bern, Switzerland – approximately an 8.5 hour drive from Prague. The Predators will face his former team, SC Bern, in a preseason game in Bern on Oct. 3. Josi is the only Swiss player in NHL history to reach the 400-assist and 500-point milestones. Nashville forward Nino Niederreiter (Chur) is also from Switzerland. 
* Former NHL player Martin Erat (Trebic, Czechia) started his NHL career with Nashville and spent parts of 11 seasons with the franchise – he still ranks among the top five in club history for career games played among skaters (4th; 723), goals (4th; 163), assists (3rd; 318) and points (3rd; 481). Erat was traded to the Capitals as part of a package that brought current forward and franchise goals leader Filip Forsberg to Nashville.
Quick Hits:
* The most points by one player in a regular-season game contested outside North America came against the Sharks, when Flames forward Theo Fleury posted 3-2—5 on Oct. 10, 1998 in Tokyo, Japan.
* In addition to Fleury, the only other player to record a hat trick in a regular-season game contested outside North America was Patrik Laine. He scored three times for the Jets in front of his home country fans at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland on Nov. 1, 2018 as part of the 2018 NHL Global Series. He is expected to return to Finland as part of the 2022 NHL Global Series in November.
* Former Jets teammates Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien each had three assists in the aforementioned 2018 NHL Global Series game in Helsinki on Nov, 1, 2018, tied for the most assists in a regular-season game contested outside North America.
* The most saves by a goaltender in a regular-season game contested outside North America is 52, by Tomas Vokoun for the Panthers in a 4-3 shootout win against the Blackhawks at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland on Oct. 2, 2009 as part of the 2009 NHL Premiere Series. Vokoun previously was with Nashville for each of its first eight seasons in the NHL, from 1998-99 to 2006-07.
* Only two goaltenders have posted a shutout in the 34 regular-season games contested outside North America to date: Boston’s Tim Thomas in a 3-0 win against Phoenix on Oct. 10, 2010 in Prague, Czechia and Chicago’s Antti Niemi in a 4-0 win versus Florida on Oct. 3, 2009 in Helsinki, Finland.
COURTESY NHLmedia.com
