Euro Hockey League

When people talk about ice hockey, they talk about the NHL

A gap exists in ice hockey in Europe at the moment. While the sport is synonymous with the NHL in the US and Canada and the rising KHL in Russia, there is currently no really big superweight league in the Eurozone, despite many of the best NHL and KHL players coming from there.

Yes, there are domestic leagues in Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland of decent quality, they are not strong enough individually to compete with the NHL and KHL.

A European league could be a way of developing the sport in Europe and providing a viable competitor to the NHL and KHL.

I am not sure the Swedes and Finns will join this league as their leagues are pretty strong, have many good clubs and the cost of travelling to play clubs in Germany and Switzerland might be too much for them over a season but a league based of German, Czech, Slovak, Swiss and Austrian teams could be commercially very successful if marketed correctly.

Ice hockey is very popular in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

While it will take at least 25 years for it to compete with the NHL, due to the time zones, it would be very watchable in the European market and provide a viable alternative to football.

Here is my Euro Hockey League (EHL) sponsored by T-Mobile.

Could Berlin's O2 Arena be home to a pan European hockey league?

NORD LIGA
Berlin Polar Bears (Germany)
Hamburg Freezers (Germany)
Hannover Scorpions (Germany)
Cologne Sharks (Germany)
Dusseldorf Reds (Germany)
Mannheim Eagles (Germany)
Kobenhavn Vikings (Denmark)
Amsterdam Orange (Netherlands)

SUD LIGA
Munich Brewers (Germany)
Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany)
Salzburg Red Bulls (Austria)
Innsbruck Tyrol (Austria)
Slavia Praha Slavs (Czech Republic)
Sparta Praha Spartans (Czech Republic)
Plzen Hammers (Czech Republic)
Brno Moravians (Czech Republic)

OST LIGA
Wien Capitals (Austria)
Klagenfurt Hawks (Austria)
Slovan Bratislava Blues (Slovakia)
Krakow Poles (Poland)
Budapest Huns (Hungary)
Ljubljana Olympic (Slovenia)
Kosice Steelers (Slovakia)
Zagreb Wolves (Croatia)

WEST LIGA 
Bern Bears (Switzerland)
Geneva Griffins (Switzerland)
Lausanne Lakers (Switzerland)
Zurich Lions (Switzerland)
Zug Kestrels (Switzerland)
Lugano Leopards (Switzerland)
Davos Daredevils (Switzerland)
London Knights (United Kingdom)

Regular Season - 
The teams in each division play each other three times and play teams in the other divisions once. In addition, they will take on all teams from one division again, i.e. one year, Nord Liga teams will take on Sud Liga teams, and Ost Liga will take on West Liga teams twice, the following year, Nord takes on Ost, Sud takes on West, etc.

Therefore, the regular season will consist of 53 games. There will also be outdoor classics at choice stadia, e.g. Olympiastadion in Munich or Berlin, etc.

Finals Series - 

Major Finals (3 games) –

A – 1 v 8

B – 2 v 7

C – 3 v 6

D – 4 v 5

Winners get bye

Elimination Finals (3 games) -

E – 9 v 16

F – 10 v 15

G – 11 v 14

H – 12 v 13

Winners progress to next round

Playoff Finals (3 games) -

I – 1^st ranked E/F/G/H winner v 4^th ranked A/B/C/D loser

J – 2^nd ranked E/F/G/H winner v 3^rd ranked A/B/C/D loser

K – 3^rd ranked E/F/G/H winner v 2^nd ranked A/B/C/D loser

L – 4^th ranked E/F/G/H winner v 1^st ranked A/B/C/D loser

Quarterfinals (5 games)-

M – 1^st ranked A/B/C/D winner v 4^th ranked I/J/K/L winner

N – 2^nd ranked A/B/C/D winner v 3^rd ranked I/J/K/L winner

O – 3^rd ranked A/B/C/D winner v 2^nd ranked I/J/K/L winner

P – 4^th ranked A/B/C/D winner v 1^st ranked I/J/K/L winner

Semifinals (5 games) -

1 – Highest winner M/N/O/P  v 4^th winner M/N/O/P                             

2 – 2^nd winner M/N/O/P v 3^rd winner M/N/O/P

Grand Finals (7 games)-  

Winner 1 v Winner 2

Trophy (something like this) - 

Innovations - 

LED advertising boards like in football 

Lighted pucks so that TV audiences can see the puck on ice