(ATR) Whether National Hockey League stars will play in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics remains undetermined, but elite names from the world’s premier league are bolstering interest at the 2015 IIHF World Championship.
Top NHL stars, notably Canadian Sidney Crosby, Czech legend Jaromir Jagr, Russian Evgeni Malkin and Slovenian Anze Kopitar, have attracted substantial attention at the IIHF tournament in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic, May 1 – May 17.
Crosby, who has led Canada to gold medals at the previous two Olympics in Vancouver and Sochi, is taking part in the world championship for the first time since 2006, following his NHL rookie season. That year, he had 16 points in nine games as Canada finished fourth
The Canadian star said he has enjoyed his return to the championship, a tournament which is often overshadowed by the NHL playoffs.
"You can see that they’re really excited about hockey here and all the games have been sold out, so it’s been a really good atmosphere," Crosby said about the tournament.
He added: "But we’re not here for a vacation. We’re here to work and hopefully win a tournament."
If Canada can attain its first world title since 2007, Crosby would join the exclusive "Triple Gold Club," comprised of players who have won Olympic gold, world championship gold and the NHL Stanley Cup. Only 25 players have accomplished the feat.
Defending champion Russia, who rebounded from a dismal showing at the Sochi Games to claim last year’s title in Minsk, Belarus has been less than spectacular on the ice in Ostrava, but has still managed to start the tournament at 3-1.
The Russians have won four of the previous seven championships.
The young United States team, lacking household names, upset the Russians 4-2 earlier in the week. The U.S. is seeking a 4-0 start and play Belarus on Thursday. A U.S. team hasn’t won a world title since the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics when the Games doubled as the world championship.
The Czech hosts, led by the five-time Olympian Jagr, have started the tournament a disappointing 1-2, but seeks to pick up momentum versus France on Thursday in Prague.
Contests are being played at Prague’s 02 Arena, which was constructed for the 2004 championship and has a seating capacity of more than 17,000. Two-hundred kilometers northeast is Ostrava’s CEZ Arena, which holds 8,812.
Attendance has been strong in the hockey-crazed country and IIHF president Rene Fasel advised that the 2015 championship is on pace to surpass the attendance record set last year in Minsk.
Early numbers indicated that 256,330 spectators came out to see the first 24 games in Prague and Ostrava with the attendance record being 640,444 over 64 games in Minsk.
Prior to Minsk, the same two Czech cities previously held the mark, established at the 2004 championship.
PyeongChang Delegation Visits the Golden City
PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee president Yang-Ho Cho led a delegation to observe games and meet with IIHF president Fasel during a three-day inspection visit in Prague.
The POCOG delegation experienced the World Championships firsthand, and "observed what it takes to host such a high level tournament," said a PyeongChang 2018 spokesperson.
"It was also an opportunity to observe hockey in the Czech Republic, where it is extremely popular, and plan ways to engage the Korean public in this popular sport."
"It is very important for POCOG to educate the public about the sport of ice hockey, as it is less popular in Korea and Asian countries in general.
"Hosting ice hockey championships successfully before the 2018 Games will greatly contribute to the development of sport in Asia, and this is a key task for POCOG," said the spokesperson.
While in the Czech capital, the POCOG delegation attended the opening match between Sweden and host Czech Republic on May 1, with Cho being asked by Fasel to present the player of the game award.
Sweden defeated the Czechs, 6-5, in a dramatic shootout win in front of 17,000 fans at Prague’s O2 Arena. Cho awarded Swede Olive Ekman-Larsson the honor for his role in the victory.
2020 Championship Headed to the Olympic Capital
It will be a formality when the Swiss cities of Zurich and Lausanne are awarded the 2020 IIHF men’s world championship.
The deadline for submission of Switzerland’s letter of intent was at the end of October and there is no other contestant for the 2020 tournament. The vote will be taken during the IIHF congress next week.
Switzerland has previously hosted the hockey championship ten times, including in St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948, when the Olympics doubled as the world championship.
The most recent tournament in Switzerland was in 2009 with Kloten and Bern hosting games.
Worldwide TV exposure
Infront Sports & Media, the exclusive media and marketing partner of the Championship, has ensured that the flagship hockey tournament will be broadcast to fans in close to 160 territories, supported by a contingent of 14 high profile sponsor brands.
Last year, the event in Minsk achieved a cumulative television audience of 945 million, and 2015 numbers could surpass that mark. New broadcast agreements for the Prague/Ostrava based tournament will expand media coverage to countries such as Italy, the Netherlands, Brunei, Chinese Taipei and Malaysia.
In major ice hockey markets, games are being seen in the Czech Republic on Czech TV, in Sweden on TV4, in Finland on MTV3, in Russia on Channel 1 and RTR, in Canada on TSN, RDS, and CTV, and in the U.S. on NBCSN.
Infront is also providing a high quality live video streaming service on the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship’s official YouTube channel. Highlights are available across various social media platforms.
World Championship Sponsors
Fourteen international sponsors will benefit from a comprehensive rights package and global television coverage at the 2015 tournament. Now, in its record 24th year of partnership with the IIHF, the tournament title sponsor is Czech car manufacturer Škoda.
Joining Skoda are 13 official sponsors, all headquartered in different countries: AJ (home and office furniture - Sweden), Actavis (generic pharmaceutical company – USA/Ireland), Gazprom Neft with their new brand G-Drive (energy - Russia), Henkel (detergents and adhesive technologies – Germany), Husky (Vodka – Russia), Heineken with its brand Krusovice (brewery – The Netherlands/Czech Republic), Kyocera (document solutions - Japan), Nike (sports apparel - USA), NiveaMen (men’s skin care – Germany), Raiffeisen Bank International (banking - Austria), Stadler Rail (trains and public transport solutions – Switzerland), Tissot (watches/timing - Switzerland) and Zepter (home and kitchen ware - France).
Written byBrian Pinelliin Ostrava
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