While most American hockey fans are still hopeful that there will be
an NHL season this year, ESPN will be taking
advantage of the league’s labor disputes.
According to a press release by the KHL, the Worldwide Leader has agreed to start broadcasting Russia’s national league
on their online platform, ESPN3.
It has not
been confirmed if ESPN will carry KHL coverage throughout the duration
of the lockout, nor whether it will be broadcasted in English. Though most NHL fans may not be familiar with the teams in
Russia, they may be familiar with some of the players that will be
featured in these games.
Below is the the KHL’s online schedule through Oct. 9, as well as notable NHL stars that can be seen in these games.
- Oct: 3: Dynamo Moscow (Alex Ovechkin) vs. Ak Bars Kazan
- Oct. 6: Lev Praha (Zdeno Chara, Jake Voracek, Jiri Hudler) vs. SKA St. Petersburg (Ilya Kovalchuk, Vladimir Tarasenko, Sergei Bobrovsky)
- Oct. 7: Slovan Bratislava (Lubomir Visnovsky) vs. Dynamo Moscow
- Oct. 8: CSKA Moscow (Pavel Datsyuk, Mikhail Grabovski, Ilya Bryzgalov) vs. SKA St. Petersburg
- Oct. 9: Lev Praha vs. Dynamo Moscow