For the first time in NHL history, the league will head to Australia for preseason games between the Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings this September.

The two Western Conference teams leave for Melbourne this Friday, and will play back-to-back games at Rod Laver Arena on Sept. 23 and 24 in the 2023 iteration of the NHL Global Series.

“It’s exciting that it’s going to come to fruition,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said at the NHL North American Player Media Tour on Tuesday, per NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika.

“They’ve wanted to bring NHL teams there for a while now. We look at it as a great opportunity for the sport in Australia but also for our business in Australia. Grateful to the two teams, Arizona and Los Angeles, for agreeing to do it.”

Daly confirmed that both games in Australia were already sold out. Kings veteran captain Anze Kopitar also commented on the unique experience for he and his teammates.

“I think it’s going to be exciting,” Kopitar explained, per Cotsonika.

“I feel like the Aussie fans, sports fans, are great in general, so I feel like hockey’s going to leave a good mark down there. We’ll be spending some time together, which is great just to build the chemistry and ultimately to get down there and try to figure out everything on the ice and come back to be ready for the season.”

The NHL has travelled all around for preseason and early regular-season games, including Finland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic. But this is further than the league has ever gone to grow the game.

“We’ve been told, and we’ve known this for a long time, that Australians have a passion for sports and competitive sports and contact sports, and certainly hockey fits all those,” Daly explained.

“I think our decision ultimately to bring two teams there and play two preseason games really relates to the fact that we know that there’s a fan base in Australia.”

Hockey has been played in Australia since the early 1900s, and it’s been part of the International Ice Hockey Federation since 1938. But for the first time ever, fans in the country will get a chance to see some of the best talent the world has to offer.