Subscribe
Follow Us
Ondrej Palat and the New Jersey Devils are gearing up for the 2024-25 season. The Devils had an interesting offseason that they believe will lead them to the playoffs this year. They need to do well in the regular season, first. And their regular season starts a bit earlier than most other teams.
The Devils will play two games against the Buffalo Sabres in Prague, Czechia as part of the NHL Global Series. These games will occur on October 4 and 5. The NHL Global Series continues in November when the Florida Panthers play the Dallas Stars in Sweden.
Palat, who joined the Devils in 2022, is no stranger to playing overseas. However, this is the first time he will play NHL games in his native Czechia. He referenced his previous experience playing in Sweden with the Tampa Bay Lightning when expressing his excitement with the media.
“I saw how much it meant to (Lightning defenseman) Victor Hedman, my good friend,” Palat said, via NHL.com. “So, I was always thinking it would be cool to play an NHL game in [the] Czech Republic, where my family can see me, my friends, and just to get that feeling of playing an NHL game in Prague.”
Ondrej Palat, Devils preparing for NHL Global Series
Ondrej Palat has seen firsthand what this sort of game can mean to a player. And Hedman is not the only example. Roman Josi and Nino Niederreiter played in their native Switzerland not too long ago. Any time the NHL heads overseas, it's a special occasion for many European players.
Palat has played in his native country before. In fact, he skated in Prague just four months ago as part of the IIHF World Championships. But the 33-year-old says there is a difference between the Worlds and an actual NHL regular season contest being played in his native country.
“At Worlds, it was a little bit different because everyone was cheering for Czech,” the Devils forward said, via NHL.com. “Now it'll be two teams but hopefully there will be more Devils fans, but everybody wants to have fun. There's going to be a lot of jumping, a lot of screaming, so it's a little bit different, but everybody will enjoy it. We're going to have an off day there, so I can take the guys somewhere and have some fun.”
It's an incredible opportunity for Palat, the Devils, and the Sabres. The NHL Global Series is a fun spectacle for fans across the world. And it'll certainly be interesting to see which of these teams claim the first two points of the season in Czechia.
