We Finns are enthusiastic about winter sports being a nation all the way up at the Northern edge of Europe. And above all, we are an ice hockey nation. There is no other sport that connects the nation like the good old hockey game. The Finnish hockey league is also a success story of its own. From its establishment in 1928 from a cup-based amateur championship to the country’s only fully professional sports league has given generations of fans unforgettable moments and teams have become inseparable elements of local communities.
Ice hockey at the 2012 Winter Classic at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium drew a 34 000-strong crowd.
In the 21st century the league and Finnish hockey in general are however facing a new era. This ongoing season (2013-2014) is likely to be the last one of the local hockey scene as we’ve learned to know it. Not that anything special has happened on the ice. But even more so off it.
Just like the Finnish league has evolved throughout the years, so has the world around it. The European Union and globalization have torn down national borders, affecting an increasing number of activities. Ice hockey as the corporate business it is today is by no means unaffected by these processes.
As hockey has become more popular in countries like Switzerland and economic growth has brought more money to the Eastern leagues, traditional hockey powers like the Finnish ice hockey league cannot compete in terms of player salaries. And even more clearly, none of the traditional national European leagues can compete with the North American National Hockey League (NHL). Simultaneously, larger clubs in big cities all around Europe have reached the peak of their growth potential within their national context.
The number retirement ceremony for Janne Ojanen back in 2010, a hockey legend from my team Tappara
In order to remain competitive, leagues and individual clubs have started to explore possibilities of taking their business to the European level – to try and create larger market areas.
The big Finnish clubs started their European integration in 2006 together with their Swedish counterparts with the establishment of Nordic Trophy, a bilateral preseason tournament. The project has since evolved to a pan-European tournament with 32 top clubs from 7 countries and changed its name to European Trophy. This year the clubs and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) agreed that starting as of next season (2014-2015) the tournament will take a firm step towards a European-wide league as the tournament will take a more established shape and be played alongside the national championships.
The two rivals for the European hockey market. Sources: European Trophy & KHL.
On the Eastern front, also Russian hockey advocates have discovered the growth potential of supranational leagues. The Russia-based supra-national Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) is the successor of the Russian Superleague (RSL), which it replaced after the 2007-2008 season. The launch of the KHL was preceded by Russia’s fast economic growth and the settling of Gazprom as the main sponsor.
The goal of the KHL from the very beginning has been to expand the scope of the league beyond the borders of Russia. Then inaugural season of the KHL already saw teams from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Latvia. Later on, the people behind the KHL have officially suggested expanding the league further to include other European countries. In September 2009 Alexander Medvedev, the head of the KHL, shared his dream of future developments within European hockey in a speech held at an International Ice Hockey Federation congress. He proposed to expand the KHL as a pan-European Hockey League and thereby create a new league. The league would follow the structure of the NHL and would cover all major European hockey nations.
The ice hockey associations in many countries didn’t at first take Medvedev’s ideas seriously, but a number of individual teams started to realize that going global might help them grow. For example AIK from Sweden made an open bid to join the KHL in late 2009. The Swedish Ice Hockey Association, however, blocked the move. Slowly the KHL has however expanded to Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine. The newest addition to the KHL clubs is Jokerit, a Helsinki-based hockey powerhouse, which decided to join this summer and thereby exit the Finnish ice hockey league.
I find these off-ice developments in the hockey world an extremely interesting subject to follow. Many people might not have noticed, but the processes are changing our perceptions of the world. While European-Russian relations are generally perceived to be somewhat successful only in the field of energy business, the KHL might be able to change this view in the near future. Sports - and ice hockey in particular - have an enormous potential to bring people together from the East and the West.
Finland for example has had a traumatic relationship with Russia due to historic events and for decades we’ve turned our back to our Eastern neighbor. Since the inauguration of the KHL, elite Finnish players and coaches have however increasingly opted to go test their wings on a ruble payroll as the KHL offers a highly competitive game and an even more competitive salary compared to the Finnish league. While doing so, the ice hockey professionals have unintentionally opened a door for cultural communication between our two nations. Media coverage, the players’ and staff members’ experiences and a clearly increased curiosity towards the East are constantly painting an updated picture of contemporary Russia. Suddenly hockey fans and other sports buffs are able to name Russian clubs, can compare cities and regions, and discuss cultural differences. The vast gray zone to the East of us is becoming a real-world place for an increasing number of people.
Jokerit announcing their new partnership agreement with the KHL and Russian investors. Picture Jenni Gästgivar/Iltalehti.
With Jokerit joining the league next season, this cultural exchange will be taken to an entirely new level. And more broadly, from the standpoint of European-Russian relations, the hockey business might turn out to be a prime example of how to create successful partnerships.
One thing is for sure with the upcoming transformations: 2014 will become a landmark year in Finnish ice hockey history. Hopefully also for a more tolerant, diverse and open European continent.