Until the late 1980’s, the National Hockey League as well as affiliated minor and junior leagues, such as the Ontario Hockey League and the American Hockey League, were considered to be solely showcases for players from Canada and the northern United States. In fact, hockey as a whole was considered to be a local sport – only appealing to certain regions and a small but loyal fan base. Soon, however, things would change. It was Wayne Gretzky’s move from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings that began the NHL’s expansion into central and southern American markets. When hockey’s biggest star came to Hollywood hockey became a nation-wide sport. Two years after Wayne Gretzky’s highly publicized trade, Sergei Fedorov, arguably the second greatest player at the time defected from the USSR in 1990 and joined the Detroit Red Wings. Fedorov had been part of the fabled CSKA Moscow line alongside Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny and became a role model for many Eastern European and Russian players who would follow his example and seek their fortune in North America.
25 years later, the NHL has become bigger and more profitable than ever before. Today the North American Hockey League is, in fact, a truly global franchise. Over the course of the last two decades the NHL has added nine new teams in markets previously considered not lucrative including Dallas, Tampa Bay, Phoenix, and Nashville. In addition, NHL teams are now playing international games in Europe and Asia at beginning of the regular season to further promote the game in international markets. While the league itself and its reach have changed significantly, the most noticeable change has been the players. During the 1990/91 season, more than 90% of all players were either Canadian or American. By that percentage has steadily fallen to 70%. Accordingly, the player pool has greatly diversified. In addition to players from other hockey nations such as Russian, Finland, and Sweden, teams now feature players from countries such as Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland, and even Japan.
Signing players from more exotic locations is, of course, not only a matter of finding the best talent but also about finding ways to market a team to new audiences. As Japanese audiences are discovering hockey as a sport, teams are looking to market their merchandise to the new fan base abroad. If you are a team or sports marketing agency looking to capture business abroad, EVS Translations can help you achieve that goal quickly and effectively. At EVS Translations we bring more than 20 years of experience in sports marketing translation and advertisement translation to the table. Paired with our experience in cooperating with globally operating sports organizations and federations, EVS Translations can help your company to stay in the game. Whether you are looking for Russian translations, Swedish translations, or multilingual translation projects, call our Atlanta office now at +1 404-523-5560 or send us an email: quoteusa(at)evs-translations.com.
