I used to live in the Adirondacks in NY, a huge hockey fan area...Lake Placid was just down the road. The skill level here is interesting for the future of the NHL and some of the names I'm definitely jotting down for future reference, but they still have to be successful hockey's minor leagues like the AHL before they get a serious chance in the bigtime. Still, it's great to watch hockey after the lockout this year in the NHL.
I don't follow the NHL during the regular season but will watch the playoff games. How much of international players make it to NHL besides the canadian?
There are many foreign nationals from northern and central europe in the NHL. Especially, Czechs, Russians, Finns, Swedes, Slovaks, Belorussians, Baltic countries, etc, not just Canadians. All teams that I know of have European players on their teams. Canadians are more numerous than Europeans, but not drastically so.
I love Sports and it is good to watch professional sports but there's just a good feeling watching non-professionals sports. It gives you the feeling that the players are playing with all they got just to win and be a team player. Something that sometimes you don't get with some professional teams. Not just in Hockey but in any sport.
