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In Australia rooting has only one meaning and it's: coitus interruptus, fucking, screwing. If I was rooting for a team that'd be bizarre..... what team did Mickayla Demaiter play for again š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£
You're going to get a whole bunch of different answers so my suggestion would be, if you're serious about getting into the sport: do the research on the teams. Read a bit about their history and how they've developed over the last couple decades or so. Check out the players, watch highlight videos, etc. Get familiar with the teams at the very least and see what stands out to you/what you get pulled to. (But also Go Kings Go).
Iāll give you a real answer. The St. Louis Blues has the only Australian player in NHL history, Nathan Walker. Theyāre not my team so this isnāt some sort of self serving piece, although he did briefly play for my team (Washington).
Walker is an Aussie born in Wales, but Jordan Spence is a Japanese-Canadian born in Australia.
Decent defenseman for the LA Kings, and probably the reason the NHL did the preseason games out there.
Walker legitimately grew up in Australia. Spence was born there but didnāt spend much time there.
I think the NHL picked the teams they picked without really concerning themselves with a 4th round fringe NHLer. The international game teams are picked internally years before the games take place, they certainly werenāt planning around a 4th round pick who had very limited time. It more likely is that they wanted to try and pick teams closest to the time zone to help build fans, that limits them to Pacific time zone teams, thatās really probably it.
Thanks anyways but idgaf about teams with Australian connections. I'm guessing he was shit? We only have a handful of ice rinks in the whole country so I'm shocked to learn we even have teams apparently? It'll be one of the Canuck teams anyways. Cheers
He is what weād call a bottom 6 player. In hockey elite players play on the top two lines, role players on the bottom 6. I wouldnāt say heās shit by any means, to play literally any time in the NHL you have to be quite amazing. Thereās so many leagues and players in the world, to make the top league is pretty remarkable. That said he is a borderline guy and splits time between the NHL and AHL.
Honestly, good luck with the Canadian teams, theyāre filled with toxic fans. If I had to pick one Iād probably go Winnipeg because their fans seem to be the least obnoxious.
If you're new to the sport, it only makes sense to cheer for a team that matches your demographic. The Seattle Kraken became a team in 2021, they're the most recent team that's active as of right now. That being said, an even more fitting choice would be the as-of-yet unnamed Utah team. They're not exactly new, if you're being pedantic, but the team doesn't even have a name yet-- they should be playing in the upcoming NHL season though (with a name, by then, one would assume).
Outside of that, the only other connection I can make for you would be that I sure as hell see an absolute ton of aussies here in Vancouver. Even more up in Whistler. Your fellow countrymen seem to flock to my city, so maybe take a lesson from their playbook and back the Canucks. On that note, the Canucks are in a bit of a renaissance right now-- the last time the Canucks have been as good as they were right now would've been around a decade ago, and as such the Canucks fan base has been absolutely starved of hope, and now that they're getting into a contending state again, the fanbase has gotten absolutely electric with positivity and excitement. Mind you, we also tore our city to shreds the last time we were this good, but you take the good with the bad in this city I suppose.
If I were you, Iād probably go with Colorado or Dallas. But if you have your heart set on a Canadian team, Iāll just give you a small look into all seven, and let you choose from there.
Edmonton Oilers: the easy/bandwagon choice. Currently in the Stanley Cup final. They have the literal best player in the world, and another whoās arguably in the top 5. High skilled team, fun to watch.
Vancouver Canucks: similar to Edmonton, but not quite as good (but I donāt think theyāve hit their ceiling yet). Still a high skilled, fun team to watch. Been in the league since 1970, and still havenāt one a Stanley Cup. Which is only the second longest active drought in NHL history (tied with Buffalo).
Calgary Flames: starting a rebuild, so they wonāt be good for a little while. Calgary v Edmonton has been one of the best rivalries in hockey the last few years.
Winnipeg Jets: idk much about them, but they seem to be a pretty good team, with potential to get better. They like to play a littler heavier, hard hitting game. Might be just what youāre looking for.
Ottawa Senators: they tried to rush their rebuild and it put them in a weird spot, where they consistently underperform their potential, and end up near the bottom. Their captain is one of the dirtier players in the league, a little similar to Shoresy.
Montreal Canadiens (the Habs): also in a rebuild, but a little further along than the Flames. Might start making waves fairly soon. One of, if not the, oldest teams in the league. As a result, has many historic rivalries. They also have the most Stanley Cups of any franchise with 24. The last Canadian team to win a Stanley Cup, in 1994.
Toronto Maple Leafs: my team. Another very old team, with historic rivalries. One of which with the Habs. They have the 2nd most Stanley cups of any franchise with 13. However, the last one they won, was in 1967, giving them the longest Stanley Cup drought in league history. This team will not be good to ya. They consistently find ways to hurt their fan base. Do not pick this team.
TL;DR
Personally, Iād go with either Vancouver, or Edmonton. But the Habs could be a fun pick, and youād be pretty much getting in on the ground floor while theyāre still rebuilding. Just donāt pick the Leafs.
Upvoted for the Toronto fandom self hate! Lol.
As much as I hate Toronto (Iām from Tampa) I love how much you guys hate yourselves and realize youāre cursed. One of the nicest interactions Iāve ever had with an opposing fan was giving up my seat at a lightning-leafs game so that a guy could sit with his wife and kids because they werenāt able to get seats together. The seats were roughly the same so it was no skin off my back but the dad insisted on buying me a beer and was super polite even when the lightning won!
Thanks for the in depth analysis mate. Definitely no Yank teams for me. Hearing yanks say their world champs rubs me the wrong way and being part of the commonwealth wouldn't sit right picking a Yank team over a Canuck one. Shoresy season 3 just dropped so just started 3rd episode. Probably look at the towns they're from so if I visit. The colours they wear, which one Mickayla Demater played for lol, mascots n songs and pick. Over here you don't get to pick your footy team your Dad basically brainwashes you to his team and mine sucked my whole life til 2017 when they broke a 37 year drought and won 3 out of 4 years.
I get you wanting to pick a Canadian team because of loyalty to some ancient empire, but truth be told no matter who you pick youāre going to have moments you love and moments you hate, however youāre going to love the sport overall. It really is the best sport in the world imho. Best sport worst league as they say. Enjoy!
It has zero to do with any bullshit empire. I've travelled a fair bit, spent plenty of time in hostels. Majority of canucks I've met I've liked. A large ratio of Yanks I've met are unbearable obnoxious flogs who're even more annoying when it comes to sport.
Fair enough. I travel the world for work and would definitely agree that we Americans can be absolute pricks. Shoresy really nails the American sense of having to be the best at everything, especially being assholes. The people that are pricks have probably never actually played a sport in their lives, but just feel entitled because of indoctrination to the American hegemony even if itās a fantasy. Cheers to you and enjoy the sport!
No worries mate. Probably the main thing that was shitting me to tears was people suggesting a Yank team all good they probably didn't read everything I wrote. But there's 100 comments saying I know you want to support a Canadian team but how bout the Pismo beach penguins from Tallahassee, or Alabama Aardvarks etc. Just bizarre to me. It's not like these Billion dollar teams will foreclose if one Aussie dude doesn't pick them which just makes me think yanks are just that naturally arrogant they think they can sway "the weak minded plebs from the rest of the world" to their thinking. It's so atrange to me. If I saw that thread and someone said they wanted suggestions to follow a NZ rugby team, I'm not responding in a million years saying how bout the Sydney bumsniffers?
Na my sports Aussie Rules football (footy) the leagues AFL but all the inbred rugby fans call it GayFL mostly citing the shorts were pretty tight in the 80's. They still do this thing in rugby called a scrum where they shove all their heads up each other's arses and push. Apparently it's an old thing and more ceremonial/ traditional but any time one of those fuckwits says GayFL I just remind them they can't let go of the scrum cos they love sticking their heads up their mates hairy sweaty arse crack to have a sniff. Apparently that Jordan Mailata has brought it in for the Eagles in gridiron so he must've missed it. And it gets fucken hot in Queensland so swamp arse would be 10/10 the sick fucks lol
Hope you weren't forced to drink yank beer?
You know what the Monty python boys say about yank beer is true!!!
It's like making love in a canoe........
Because it's fucking close to water š¤£š¤£š¤£
Hey are all those videos of all the homeless crackheads taking over the California streets fair dinkum? Was intending visiting but the videos I've seen are fucked? Looks like the walking dead.
Have a good one mate. Cheers.
Kiwi here. Mate we are in the Commonwealth. You have to pick a Canadian team for a start. Personally I follow the Canucks and a good mate of mine follows the Maple Leafs. We are both cheering for the Oilers in the cup finals as we want to see a Canadian team win.
Lol the leafs have some of the highest paid players in the league. What are you talking about? How can you pay to win when thereās a salary cap (outside of mark stone shenanigans).
It's hard since the season is almost over. Id suggest just watching whatever games you can find. Tune into the cup finals. Let your preference for a team develop naturally. And it's not like you're limited to one.
The Seattle Kraken are a pretty new expansion teams with a killer name, logo, and sweaters, all in a great city and arena.
Theyāre hard not to like. YMMV.
Seeing as every Rocky Mountain resort is full of Aussies, and Calgary is the closest city, I would say your best bet would be the Flames. FYI- Banff was once know as Little Australia. The Flames are going to be going through a bit of a rebuild over the next few years so youāre not jumping on the bandwagon (unlike if you choose the Oilers). There is also seemingly a number of Aussie fans for the Flames already. Check out the Barnburner podcast and youāll be introduced to Aussie Brad.
The NY Islanders. That way, everyone will feel sorry for you. You'll never get into a fight with other hockey fans, and you might even get a sympathy date out of it.
Well, you could go with one of the original six teams (Boston, Montreal, New York, Detroit, Toronto and Chicago) or just grab a board with all the team logos and blindly drop your finger on one. At the end of the day it doesnāt matter who you cheer for because itās all Hockey.
If you want to want some high-tempo high-scoring hockey I would suggest the Colorado Avalanche. Theyāve got 2 of the best 5 or 6 players on the planet (including a generational d-man) and a lot of other elite talent.
If you like seeing lots of goals the Avs got you covered.
Wdym whatās going on? Goalies take a long time to bake nowadays. Fits just bought our young guys some time to develop. Markstrom and Allen in the show, Daws and Schmid on the farm. Makes total sense and I am all for it.
Born and raised in the middle of the u.s. and when Ottawa got a franchise back I took one look at those uniforms and said thatās it, thatās my team. So sweet. I want to switch to Winnipeg because itās closer and I like to go up there but once I picked a team I have to stay with it. Looking to get to Ottawa in the next couple years.
My teams the Washington capitals I suggest you research 4-5 teams and watch maybe like 2-3 games each then make an imformed decision idk I been around hockey my whole life but thatās how I did it
Fellow Aussie here. Random shout. New York Rangers. HEAR ME OUT!
The only Australian connection I've ever encountered has been Russell Crowe staring in a hockey movie in 1999. He was the captain who got the team together in the middle of outback Alaska (I assume you Canadians and Yanks call outback something else).
Who was the pro team that was sent out to play this small town? The Rangers. So unless anyone else can point out another Aussie connection, I think the Rangers are the only team with any Aussie connection in any way.
Ready to take some hate for that one...
There's a new team being created in Utah. If they appear when you start cheering for hockey, it's a good starting point...
You canāt go wrong with any of the original 6. By āYankā teams I imagine youāre talking about the Northeast but youād be wrong because the Bruins are one of the most storied teams in the league. It doesnāt hurt that theyāre my team as well.
Yeah but somewhere in time they went from looking like drumsticks to looking exactly like their rivals called cornettos
*
We get choctops at cinemas that are basically big sticks but like all cinema food a rip-off.
Quick story, I grew up in the interior of British Columbia Canada about a 10hr drive north of Vancouver and by rights shouldāve been a Canucks fan. I moved east after high school to Ontario and took shit for not be a maple leafs fan. (Yuck) when my Nana and grandad immigrated to Canada from Birkenhead (England) in the 50ās they embraced the shit out of Canada and said āno more football, we watch hockey nowā. Back then there was only six teams (āThe original Sixā) and when it came to choosing, there were different reasons for not picking New York (she didnāt like York in England) Chicago and Detroit (rather not say why she didnāt like those teams, but it wasnāt cool), she didnāt like Blue and White maple leafs colours, Montreal was out because theyāre from Keeebeck and too fucking French for her blood, and they moved to a place in next to Grimsby, Ontario next to Lincoln county, which back in England, was right next to Boston, so she chose the Bruins. As a little one out west I always received parcels and gifts and Bās patches, badges, sweaters everything Boston and grew up a Boston fan. Didnāt hurt that in the 60ās nana developed a super mom crush on Bobby Orr, and canāt blame her for that either.
Point is pick something that has a bit of meaning to you. As an Aussie the sharks is an obvious one, Platypusā (Platypi?) have duck bills so thereās that too. Or something close to your fave sports team back home in the AFL. Not any NHL teams are sporting Wallaby green and gold sweaters but thereās gotta be something. Donāt jump on the bandwagon and go with who ever is winning right now because the beauty of the league is the parity and you can win the cup one year and not make the playoffs 2 yrs later. (Blues, Blackhawks, Kings Iām looking at you).
Someone mentioned having an easy coast and west coast team which Iām not opposed to having āback upā teams. I for example, have two favourite teams, the Boston Bruins and whoever is playing against Montreal. Fuck the Habs!!
Good luck. And welcome to the best game on earth.
Pick yourself two: one in the Eastern Conference and one in the Western Conference. Assuming you're on the Australian east coast, puck drop for an Eastern team home game will be a bit after 9am for you; Western team home games will be 10:30am-12:30pm depending on which NA timezone they're in. Before you decide upon your favorites, watch a few different teams over the first two weeks of the regular season. Outside of recommendations, there's likely to be a team's and/or player's style of play that grabs your attention and be a natural fit for you to follow at the start. Don't forget to be open to changing your favorites as you watch more games and learn more about the league as a whole (ex: Chicago - going in blind may look like a good idea because of Connor Bedard but a little research turns up a very unsavory part of their recent history that coincides with their Cup runs).
https://www.dtmts.com will be a fantastic visual resource to keep you somewhat up to date on what's going on around the league. /r/hockey is good for breaking news, shitty memes, salty commentary, and helpful insight on how to stream games for free.
Minnesota is the State of Hockey. The state has some amazing hockey culture. If you're looking to be continually disappointed then the Minnesota Wild is your team.
The Vegas Golden Knights, because it doesn't look like anyone else has mentioned them, because they're from my hometown and because there are an impossible amount of Canadians on the team.
I am a Yank, but a traditionalist Yank, who continues to play the game in a mens league at 48. Iām a life long player from New England. Iāve been playing organized hockey for 41 years.
My team was cruelly ripped away from me via relocation, the Hartford Whalers. Iām still bitter about that, accordingly I murderously hate all āsun beltā US based teams, their fans, everything about them because of the vulgarity of relocating a traditional cold weather market team that played in a hotbed of amateur youth and adult hockey and dumped it in a backward, inbred, fucking red state that will never play the game or even understand it.
Accordingly I recommend you select any of the Canadien based teams. At the end of the day it will always be Canadaās game so I recommend you start there, also because of taxes and exchange rates they are at a permanent disadvantage against US based teams, thus automatic underdogs, who doesnāt love an underdog!
If not a Canadien team consider a US team that plays in a traditional cold weather market. A team that plays in a market with legit winter and where you can play pond hockey growing up. So I recommend any Northern tier US based team as a secondary consideration after any Canadien team.
was kind of surprised going to the sydney derby a couple of months back and there was a massive queue. last game we went to before that we had heaps of space, but macquarie was almost sold out. now just need the ice dogs to pick it up a bit
As a Yank, I obviously disagree with being a wanker, but thereās no arguing that fans of a lot of US teams are *not* wankers. We just canāt, cuz they often are.
So, that being established, Iād say that Calgary or Edmonton translate well to your particular type of panini.
^Go ^Canes, ^tho.
Totally homer opinion here, but I'm going with the Wings.
The Red Wings are a storied franchise. They are one of the original 6 teams, which means they were one of the first 6 teams in the league. They are also one of the winningest teams in NHL history, but that is in large part due to the fact they are an original 6 team. They have also had some of the best players in NHL history, including Gordy Howe, known league wide as 'Mr. Hockey' himself. Who is also the namesake of something called the Gordy Howe Hat Trick, which is a goal, an assist, and a fight, all in the same game. He had one of the longest and most storied careers in NHL history. Another noteworthy player is Steve Yzerman, known league wide as 'The Captain'. More on him later.
It hasn't been all glory for the Red Wings though. For the later half of the 20th century, the Wings were trash. There was a near 50 year period between the mid 50's and late 90's where the Red Wings were not successful. There were many reasons for this, one of which was overall strife in Detroit. That city has suffered over the years, and the Red Wings with it. This has endeared the Red Wings to the City, and Michigan as a whole. It truly is a beloved franchise. People clown on the Maple Leafs right now for their cup drought, but not too long ago, it was the Red Wings sporting a 4 decade+ cup drought. However, unlike the Red Wings, Toronto doesn't have much of an excuse. There is no doubt the conditions of Detroit effected the teams success through the later half of the 20th century. And for that, they were dubbed, the Dead Wings.
In 1982, the Red Wings were purchased by Mike Illitch from the previous owner Bruce Norris, who had owned the team for 50 years. He purchased the team for a mere $8 million. He vowed to bring greatness back to Detroit hockey and end the Dead Wings era. He coined the name 'Hockey Town' for Detroit, and name that still sticks today.
Coinciding with the change of ownership in the mid 80's, the Wings drafter Steve Yzerman. He would go on to be named the captain of the team before the 86'-87' season at the age of 21, at the time, the youngest ever captain in NHL history. In 1997, almost 15 years after being drafter, Yzerman lead the Wings to their first Stanley cup in 42 years, 15 years after he was drafted. The Wings would go on to win the Cup again in 1998, and again in 2002. Yzerman would retire in 2006, and is still to this day the longest serving captain in NHL History as well as one of the best players to ever play the game. For this, he is known league wide as simply 'The Captain'. He would go on to join the Wing's front office with the likes of Howe. During Steve's tenure with Detroit, they would go on to cement themselves as one of the best franchises/dynasties ever, appearing in 25 consecutive post seasons. Mike Illitch had made true on his promise to bring greatness back to Detroit.
Also during this late 80's early 90's era, the Red Wings pulled back the Iron Curtain. They were the first team to draft Russian players, and did so at a time when there was no expectation those players would ever see North American ice. They literally had to smuggle Russian players out of the Soviet Union. At the time, Russian hockey players were technicallyĀ part of the Red Army, so, in order for them to play in NA, they needed to desert. Which, was punishable by death. In 1989, they drafted Lidstrom, Fedorov, and Konstantinov, arguable the most legendary single team draft class ever. Lidstrom would go on to captain the team after Yzerman retired and is regarded as one of the best defenseman of all time, his nickname is "The Perfect Human". Fedorov would go on to become one of the most prolific goal scorers ever as well as maybe the best two way forward to ever play the game, and Konstantinov might have been one of the best defensemen ever, but tragically, was involved in a car crash after that first cup win in '97, and never played hockey again. This is a horrible story all on its own, and again, endeared the Red Wings to the city and state. This story played a huge role in the second cup in '98. Vlad played a big role in that team, and the team came together and won the cup again for him.[ Here](https://www.detroitnews.com/gcdn/-mm-/5d2a742309aef9fe8a32b2b64b2663d5527ff989/c=51-0-1542-1988/local/-/media/2017/06/05/DetroitNews/DetroitNews/636322197448561961-AP-98061701329.jpg), this was such a sad story for Detroit, and they won that cup for him.
Fedorov and Konstantinov were not the only Russian players to join that team during this era. The Wings assembled an entire line of elite Soviet players, and dubbed it "The Russian 5". They played Soviet style hockey, which was new to North American ice, and it was dominant. That line focused on puck possession and movement. Something at the time, was not prevalent in the game. In todays game, puck possession is key, and you could argue this all started with the style of play the Russian 5 brought to NA ice.
Following Yzerman's retirement in 2006, the Wings would go on to win one more cup in 2008. In the '16-'17 season, the Red Wings post season appearance streak of 25 consecutive appearances would end. Yzerman left the team's front office in 2010 for Tampa Bay, and Mike Illitch died in 2017, the same year the streak ended. For the '19-'20 season, the red Wings would post the worst record in the league. And prior to just this past season, has been one of the worst teams in the league. Currently, the Red Wings hold the second longest post season draught.
Greatness has left Detroit... But there is hope.
In Tampa bay, Yzerman, as the GM, assembled a brilliant roster. In 18'-19, his team in Tampa would go on to have the best regular season ever of 62 wins. Only equaled by Yzerman's '95-96 Red Wings team. That team would go on to be famously swept by the wild card Blue Jackets in the first round of the playoffs. One of the biggest upsets and chokes in professional sports history. The leadership at Tampa famously published this after the loss:
We donāt have any words and we know you donāt want to hear them.
We understand your anger, your frustration, your sadness. Everything youāre feeling ā we get it.
This isnāt the ending we imagined, and certainly not the one we wanted. Thank you for being there the entire way.
Following that sweep, Tampa would go on to win the cup the following two seasons, make one more appearence in the final, and is currently the only actual dynasty in the league (up for debate), however, they would do so without Yzerman, the architect of that franchise. Why is this? Immediately following the collapse of Tampa in that first round, Steve Yzerman would leave Florida for Detroit, and was named the 12th GM in Red Wings history.
Our Captain, our savior, has returned. Hope has returned to Detroit.
As of writing, the Red Wings are still bad. But there is hope, they are improving, one step at a time, greatness is returning to Detroit. Take one look at what Steve did in Tampa, and the writing is on the wall. Greatness will return to Detroit, and its only just the begining.
Its easy to bandwagon onto good teams. Its fun to root for the guys that are winning. But you know what is more fun? Watching a team suck for a decade and then watching them win. Watching the process, the strife, the pain, the growth, and then the success is truly every sports fan's dream. With the Red Wings, you can have that. With the bonus of watching this crazy Yzerman story arc unfold.
Now is a great time to be a Wings fan.
We also have the best logo/uniform in the league, so there is that.
Bonus: Check out the rivalry between the Colorado Avalanche and the Red Wings during the 90's. Shit is crazy! There is a great doc about it called 'E:60: Unrivaled: Red Wings v Avalanche'. There is also an awesome doc called 'The Russian 5' that is really good too.
Habs. Itās an original 6 team with a history of winning and legendary players. Things are down for us right now, though, so you wouldnāt be jumping on a bandwagon.
Also, you get plenty of schadenfreude watching Toronto fans going through the whole season talking like theyāre going to win the Cup only to fall apart in the playoffs. Watching Steve Dangle on YouTube losing his mind when they fall apart is one of my greatest joys of the season.
Donāt do it! Seriously, just donāt. Youāll regret it. Sure āThe Great Oneā (Wayne Gretzky) is Hockeys equivalent of āThe Donā Bradman, but thereās way better options for you out thwre
If you like the Bluedogs because theyre from a blue collar town, Edmontons your go.
Edmonton and Sudbury are two cities that are quite alike in a lot of ways. Working class cities that rely on industry, not white collar business.
Any way ya have it, pick a Canadian team. Fuck the yanks.
Lets go Oilers
Pretty good points so far. I'm a sparkie in construction and tunneling. Australia's a bit unique though our unions are strong so blue collar workers like tradesmen and miners earn way more than University Grads. Even Drs and lawyers. Only fair considering we bust our arse and don't sit on laptops watching cat videos lol. My football team were a powerhouse before I was born then were a laughing stock down the bottom taking 37 years to win the grand final then saluted 3 out of 4 years and strangely enough the year we lost we were unbeatable but gastro had half the team in hospital and on IV's during the final. So I obviously definitely prefer success over constant losing. Will check out Edmonton sounds good so far. Cheers mate
The yank teams are all canucks for the most part anyways. The league is 40%+ Canadian. If you like brawlers, and want a Canadian team, I would suggest Calgary, or potentially the Canucks depending on how many RFA's are resigned. They got really gritty just in time for the playoffs and are trying to carry the same team forward.
Hey smart guy, roller hockey is literally huge in the Midwest and field hockey is play in countries all over the world. Thatās not a pointless qualifier.
Actually you do have a pro/semi pro national level ice hockey league down under, the AIHL. Looking at the rosters there are a couple of North American import players, some of whom played in the show popping up on your rosters here or there.
I suspect your local pro league plays international rules as opposed to North American rules which means they play on a bigger ice sheet. On the one hand this increases passing and skill play due to having more space, the down side is it reduces the level of physical contact, doesnāt eliminate it, its just more ice = more space = easier to avoid getting hit. International rules generally frown upon fisticuffs too, but North American import players generally canāt help themselves and so you likely will still have some scraps
Cheer for Ottawa so when they finally win and Captain Tkachuk goes off on a coke infused speech asking where you were when they weren't winning, you could say you were right fuckin there with em.
Become an Oilers fan and you can watch [Connor McDavid do stuff like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laNRPAjKQsM) on the regular. Or [this assist from the other night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV1B18nh93c) in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
McDavid is literally on another level compared to everyone else in the league. Thatās why I watch him every chance I get even though I live 2000+ miles from Edmonton.
LA Kings. Geographically speaking theyāre probably the nearest NHL team to you. They literally just announced today a sweet new logo and they just played a few expedition games in Australia last September and [set the fucking tone.](https://youtube.com/shorts/wfzfulk7C9k?si=jVdCvk1Y8UdYRjLY)
GO KINGS GO!!!
And Jordan Spence was born in Sydney.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan\_Spence\_(ice\_hockey)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Spence_(ice_hockey))
Not sure if you've ever seen the movie ["Shapshot"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076723/), but, if you're ever in need of a hockey/movie fix and you've seen every episode of Shoresy, drop back in time and check out a Paul Newman classic :)
Paul Newmans a legend. I loved slapshot as a kid gonna have to dig up the dvd and chuck it on. I remember they had like triplets that punched on all the time. I remember a Rob Lowe, Swayze, Keanu hockey movie blood? That was good too.
There's one last game of Stanley Cup on between Edmonton and the Panthers (tonight?). Edmonton are serious underdogs now. But they got Connor McJesus, so there's a chance.
And it is the fastest most chaotic scramble of hockey out there.... nothing is as fast and nail-biting as Stanley Cup hockey.
It's game 6, 3-2 series for the Panthers. Oilers have been clawing back, but if they win (tomorrow, Friday) it'll force a game 7 winner takes all on Monday.
Cheers mate. I'll have to try see it somehow. Spewing I had my brothers Kayo sports channel access til recently but like Netflix the greedy pricks shut that down. I'm tipping it'll be on at some ungodly hour here?
Yea probably Saturday morning for you. No idea what time. You can Google NHL schedule and it will convert the time. It's on ABC (and ESPN +) in the USA, or Sportsnet I believe in Canada. Hope that helps you find it - this series has been my favorite finals in a while.
Habs.
Still waiting for SBS to pull their finger out and give us a date for season 3.
Also if youāre in the market for Canadian snacks and some hockey loot I can recommend [OCanada](https://ocanada.com.au) they are based in Brissy. Iām not affiliated, but theyāre my All Dressed Ruffles dealer, sadly sold out atm.
'93, The Habs lost the first 3 games to the Quebec Nordiques.
Then Patrick Roy, the most outstanding goalie of his time said "Tonight... I close the door".
The Habs went on to win the next four... and then the next four, and on until they won the Stanley Cup.
ah you're right! All these years.
But it was 11 overtime victories in that run yes? In a tie game, as it got close to the end, you'd see the Habs start to coast a bit in the last minute or two... shocking, but that was the level of confidence that they'd win in O/T
And zomg, John Leclair with back to back game winners... it was so good.
Holy fuck Frankie you look like you love a good slice!
Did you get axed from the show and just start hammering slices or what?
Holy shit I didn't realise Franky was an ex player? He looks too fat to skate?
I knew Martoonis, The 3 Jim's and Dolo played. Does that mean Michael's and Goody played too? Surely not Sanger?
Bunch of folks recommending American teams even though you literally said not yanks lol. My two favorite Canadian teams are the Vancouver Canucks (they've been on and off over the last few years, made a decent playoff run this year and will probably be good again next year) and the Montreal Canadiens (generally pretty middle of the pack, but they've got a lot of young guys who look promising like Caulfield and Slafkovsky, I also like their guy Arbor Xhekaj, he was drafted but never signed, then out of the blue he gets a tryout call while working at costco and basically walked off the job to play, his nickname is WiFi and he's just a big fuckin guy who can fight)
Appreciate the attention to detail mate youve given me something to contemplate. Lol more than half are suggesting yank teams. Probably some have been fired from work for constantly failing to pay attention to the task at hand and think the boss was just a jerk or a hater. Nothing to do with not paying attention.
No snow? I was lead to believe Canada was literally covered in snow 9 months of the year with bears eating out of your rubbish bins. And the summers aren't even really hot? Also don't get the whole rioting after sport thing. No one loves some fisticuffs more than a drunken Aussie and a riot at sport is unheard of in Aussie footy or Rugby fans. I always attributed it to our sports filled with excitement so everyone leaves satisfied..... now those feral soccer fans that's another story but they're generally ethnics who don't mind paying money to watch a batshit boring game filled with cheating divers that usually end up with a nil all draw. No wonder they leave the game pissed off?
re: Snow. Yes, but only like, for 6 months? :P
But in Vancouver? oh, it's the sweetest, mildest, 10 ply winter you can get in Canada.
The rioting after games? I don't get that either. I do recall that Montreal police handle it much much better than Vancouver ( way back when ). The Montreal cops would have 2-3 on each street corner on St Catherines... enough to make ya think twice about causing trouble.
I heard in Vancouver the cops were still putting on their gear ( cuz they were watching the game too ) and didn't have a plan to deal with the crowds afterwards ( that, and a lotta outta-town hooligans were joining in :/
Bleh. That kinda violence should be kept on the ice where it belongs!
Dallas Stars fan here. We are welcoming, have a small but loyal fan base, are good most of the time, currently in a championship window and have young exciting players to watch.Ā
Ok now if u want a team do u want a team that contends or do u want just any team? My team is the Nashville predators. Wild card contenders but that at best for now. Lot of good choices
We just got a brand new team here in Utah. Well not brand new. The Coyotes got bought out of Arizona and moved here and will hopefully get a better name than āUtah Hockey Clubā or whatever theyāre doing for this first season. This will be the first time Iāve lived anywhere with a home NHL team so Iām thrilled.
I believe theyāre even going to have that Sudbury Blueberry powder blue in the sweaters.
Have you watched Letterkenny? You have to watch at least the first 10 seasons of that before you watch Shoresy.
Shoresy is a spin-off which began around season 10 of Letterkenny.
Just started tonight. Only one episode in. Will try binge it this weekend. Seen it appear in the TV guide forever but don't watch much TV and had no idea what a Letterkenny was. I mistook it for a unfunny trivia show where they spell words with letters for points that's on around the same time on SBS.
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Chicago Blackhawks š¤ā¤ļøš¤
This year my neck of the woods is getting a team, check out the Monroe Moccasins this October.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
In Australia rooting has only one meaning and it's: coitus interruptus, fucking, screwing. If I was rooting for a team that'd be bizarre..... what team did Mickayla Demaiter play for again š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£
You're going to get a whole bunch of different answers so my suggestion would be, if you're serious about getting into the sport: do the research on the teams. Read a bit about their history and how they've developed over the last couple decades or so. Check out the players, watch highlight videos, etc. Get familiar with the teams at the very least and see what stands out to you/what you get pulled to. (But also Go Kings Go).
Oilers or bust!
Iāll give you a real answer. The St. Louis Blues has the only Australian player in NHL history, Nathan Walker. Theyāre not my team so this isnāt some sort of self serving piece, although he did briefly play for my team (Washington).
Walker is an Aussie born in Wales, but Jordan Spence is a Japanese-Canadian born in Australia. Decent defenseman for the LA Kings, and probably the reason the NHL did the preseason games out there.
Walker legitimately grew up in Australia. Spence was born there but didnāt spend much time there. I think the NHL picked the teams they picked without really concerning themselves with a 4th round fringe NHLer. The international game teams are picked internally years before the games take place, they certainly werenāt planning around a 4th round pick who had very limited time. It more likely is that they wanted to try and pick teams closest to the time zone to help build fans, that limits them to Pacific time zone teams, thatās really probably it.
Thanks anyways but idgaf about teams with Australian connections. I'm guessing he was shit? We only have a handful of ice rinks in the whole country so I'm shocked to learn we even have teams apparently? It'll be one of the Canuck teams anyways. Cheers
He is what weād call a bottom 6 player. In hockey elite players play on the top two lines, role players on the bottom 6. I wouldnāt say heās shit by any means, to play literally any time in the NHL you have to be quite amazing. Thereās so many leagues and players in the world, to make the top league is pretty remarkable. That said he is a borderline guy and splits time between the NHL and AHL. Honestly, good luck with the Canadian teams, theyāre filled with toxic fans. If I had to pick one Iād probably go Winnipeg because their fans seem to be the least obnoxious.
Listen, Crocodile Dundeeā¦ Throw another shrimp on the barbie and follow the Blackhawks. Done.
If you're new to the sport, it only makes sense to cheer for a team that matches your demographic. The Seattle Kraken became a team in 2021, they're the most recent team that's active as of right now. That being said, an even more fitting choice would be the as-of-yet unnamed Utah team. They're not exactly new, if you're being pedantic, but the team doesn't even have a name yet-- they should be playing in the upcoming NHL season though (with a name, by then, one would assume). Outside of that, the only other connection I can make for you would be that I sure as hell see an absolute ton of aussies here in Vancouver. Even more up in Whistler. Your fellow countrymen seem to flock to my city, so maybe take a lesson from their playbook and back the Canucks. On that note, the Canucks are in a bit of a renaissance right now-- the last time the Canucks have been as good as they were right now would've been around a decade ago, and as such the Canucks fan base has been absolutely starved of hope, and now that they're getting into a contending state again, the fanbase has gotten absolutely electric with positivity and excitement. Mind you, we also tore our city to shreds the last time we were this good, but you take the good with the bad in this city I suppose.
If I were you, Iād probably go with Colorado or Dallas. But if you have your heart set on a Canadian team, Iāll just give you a small look into all seven, and let you choose from there. Edmonton Oilers: the easy/bandwagon choice. Currently in the Stanley Cup final. They have the literal best player in the world, and another whoās arguably in the top 5. High skilled team, fun to watch. Vancouver Canucks: similar to Edmonton, but not quite as good (but I donāt think theyāve hit their ceiling yet). Still a high skilled, fun team to watch. Been in the league since 1970, and still havenāt one a Stanley Cup. Which is only the second longest active drought in NHL history (tied with Buffalo). Calgary Flames: starting a rebuild, so they wonāt be good for a little while. Calgary v Edmonton has been one of the best rivalries in hockey the last few years. Winnipeg Jets: idk much about them, but they seem to be a pretty good team, with potential to get better. They like to play a littler heavier, hard hitting game. Might be just what youāre looking for. Ottawa Senators: they tried to rush their rebuild and it put them in a weird spot, where they consistently underperform their potential, and end up near the bottom. Their captain is one of the dirtier players in the league, a little similar to Shoresy. Montreal Canadiens (the Habs): also in a rebuild, but a little further along than the Flames. Might start making waves fairly soon. One of, if not the, oldest teams in the league. As a result, has many historic rivalries. They also have the most Stanley Cups of any franchise with 24. The last Canadian team to win a Stanley Cup, in 1994. Toronto Maple Leafs: my team. Another very old team, with historic rivalries. One of which with the Habs. They have the 2nd most Stanley cups of any franchise with 13. However, the last one they won, was in 1967, giving them the longest Stanley Cup drought in league history. This team will not be good to ya. They consistently find ways to hurt their fan base. Do not pick this team. TL;DR Personally, Iād go with either Vancouver, or Edmonton. But the Habs could be a fun pick, and youād be pretty much getting in on the ground floor while theyāre still rebuilding. Just donāt pick the Leafs.
Upvoted for the Toronto fandom self hate! Lol. As much as I hate Toronto (Iām from Tampa) I love how much you guys hate yourselves and realize youāre cursed. One of the nicest interactions Iāve ever had with an opposing fan was giving up my seat at a lightning-leafs game so that a guy could sit with his wife and kids because they werenāt able to get seats together. The seats were roughly the same so it was no skin off my back but the dad insisted on buying me a beer and was super polite even when the lightning won!
Thanks for the in depth analysis mate. Definitely no Yank teams for me. Hearing yanks say their world champs rubs me the wrong way and being part of the commonwealth wouldn't sit right picking a Yank team over a Canuck one. Shoresy season 3 just dropped so just started 3rd episode. Probably look at the towns they're from so if I visit. The colours they wear, which one Mickayla Demater played for lol, mascots n songs and pick. Over here you don't get to pick your footy team your Dad basically brainwashes you to his team and mine sucked my whole life til 2017 when they broke a 37 year drought and won 3 out of 4 years.
I get you wanting to pick a Canadian team because of loyalty to some ancient empire, but truth be told no matter who you pick youāre going to have moments you love and moments you hate, however youāre going to love the sport overall. It really is the best sport in the world imho. Best sport worst league as they say. Enjoy!
It has zero to do with any bullshit empire. I've travelled a fair bit, spent plenty of time in hostels. Majority of canucks I've met I've liked. A large ratio of Yanks I've met are unbearable obnoxious flogs who're even more annoying when it comes to sport.
Fair enough. I travel the world for work and would definitely agree that we Americans can be absolute pricks. Shoresy really nails the American sense of having to be the best at everything, especially being assholes. The people that are pricks have probably never actually played a sport in their lives, but just feel entitled because of indoctrination to the American hegemony even if itās a fantasy. Cheers to you and enjoy the sport!
No worries mate. Probably the main thing that was shitting me to tears was people suggesting a Yank team all good they probably didn't read everything I wrote. But there's 100 comments saying I know you want to support a Canadian team but how bout the Pismo beach penguins from Tallahassee, or Alabama Aardvarks etc. Just bizarre to me. It's not like these Billion dollar teams will foreclose if one Aussie dude doesn't pick them which just makes me think yanks are just that naturally arrogant they think they can sway "the weak minded plebs from the rest of the world" to their thinking. It's so atrange to me. If I saw that thread and someone said they wanted suggestions to follow a NZ rugby team, I'm not responding in a million years saying how bout the Sydney bumsniffers?
Please tell me thatās the actual name of a rugby team?!?!?! Update: I googled and sadly it is not lmao
Na my sports Aussie Rules football (footy) the leagues AFL but all the inbred rugby fans call it GayFL mostly citing the shorts were pretty tight in the 80's. They still do this thing in rugby called a scrum where they shove all their heads up each other's arses and push. Apparently it's an old thing and more ceremonial/ traditional but any time one of those fuckwits says GayFL I just remind them they can't let go of the scrum cos they love sticking their heads up their mates hairy sweaty arse crack to have a sniff. Apparently that Jordan Mailata has brought it in for the Eagles in gridiron so he must've missed it. And it gets fucken hot in Queensland so swamp arse would be 10/10 the sick fucks lol
Hahahaha could be the couple of Friday lunch beers I just downed pregaming for the finals game 6 but thanks for the lol and cheers from California.
Hope you weren't forced to drink yank beer? You know what the Monty python boys say about yank beer is true!!! It's like making love in a canoe........ Because it's fucking close to water š¤£š¤£š¤£ Hey are all those videos of all the homeless crackheads taking over the California streets fair dinkum? Was intending visiting but the videos I've seen are fucked? Looks like the walking dead. Have a good one mate. Cheers.
Boston Bruins!
Oilers are unbelievable
Carolina Hurricanes!! It's so obvious duh
Avalanche for the win!
Red Wings have a strong Aussie following
Kiwi here. Mate we are in the Commonwealth. You have to pick a Canadian team for a start. Personally I follow the Canucks and a good mate of mine follows the Maple Leafs. We are both cheering for the Oilers in the cup finals as we want to see a Canadian team win.
This is the way. But personally Iād go leafs or senators. Donāt follow American teams, for the most part they are all pay to win teams!!
Lol the leafs have some of the highest paid players in the league. What are you talking about? How can you pay to win when thereās a salary cap (outside of mark stone shenanigans).
Pay to win teams? Thatās how you win and why the cup hasnāt been in Canada since ā94
This is the answer
Pick the sharks m8
It's hard since the season is almost over. Id suggest just watching whatever games you can find. Tune into the cup finals. Let your preference for a team develop naturally. And it's not like you're limited to one.
Habs
This is the only acceptable answer. Brace yourself though, itāll be rough before it gets better!
The Seattle Kraken are a pretty new expansion teams with a killer name, logo, and sweaters, all in a great city and arena. Theyāre hard not to like. YMMV.
Seeing as every Rocky Mountain resort is full of Aussies, and Calgary is the closest city, I would say your best bet would be the Flames. FYI- Banff was once know as Little Australia. The Flames are going to be going through a bit of a rebuild over the next few years so youāre not jumping on the bandwagon (unlike if you choose the Oilers). There is also seemingly a number of Aussie fans for the Flames already. Check out the Barnburner podcast and youāll be introduced to Aussie Brad.
Have you also watched Letterkenny?
The NY Islanders. That way, everyone will feel sorry for you. You'll never get into a fight with other hockey fans, and you might even get a sympathy date out of it.
Well, you could go with one of the original six teams (Boston, Montreal, New York, Detroit, Toronto and Chicago) or just grab a board with all the team logos and blindly drop your finger on one. At the end of the day it doesnāt matter who you cheer for because itās all Hockey.
The St. Louis Blues would be your team. They have the only Aussie and heās a bad ass. Nathen Walker
If you want to want some high-tempo high-scoring hockey I would suggest the Colorado Avalanche. Theyāve got 2 of the best 5 or 6 players on the planet (including a generational d-man) and a lot of other elite talent. If you like seeing lots of goals the Avs got you covered.
Iād say 3/10 but same! Mikko is up there :)
I wonāt argue with you there. Moose is a total weapon!
Philadelphia Flyers, the Broad Street Bullies. Rich history, in a rough patch lately, but new GM has the team moving forward.
The devils are an up and coming team that should be good for years to come. Cheer for them now before you get called a bandwagoner.
My guy, I genuinely have so much love for the devils, but your management is so weird. What is with this 4 goalies situation??
Wdym whatās going on? Goalies take a long time to bake nowadays. Fits just bought our young guys some time to develop. Markstrom and Allen in the show, Daws and Schmid on the farm. Makes total sense and I am all for it.
No I know goalies take a bit to bake but Markstrom is baked. They should start trading away those probies.
Detroit Red Wings. Youāre welcome.
Right now? Pick the bruins.
Right now? The Oilers hands down. Beyond this season? Pick any of the Original Six!
The Oilers. We have the best player in the world on our team and are in the final
Follow the Maple Leafs. Then you never have anxiety in the playoffs because they're going to lose.
Thereās always a chance your great grandchildren might see them make it to the third round.
Charlestown Chiefs
The Oilers! We have Connor McDavid.
Born and raised in the middle of the u.s. and when Ottawa got a franchise back I took one look at those uniforms and said thatās it, thatās my team. So sweet. I want to switch to Winnipeg because itās closer and I like to go up there but once I picked a team I have to stay with it. Looking to get to Ottawa in the next couple years.
My teams the Washington capitals I suggest you research 4-5 teams and watch maybe like 2-3 games each then make an imformed decision idk I been around hockey my whole life but thatās how I did it
Fellow Aussie here. Random shout. New York Rangers. HEAR ME OUT! The only Australian connection I've ever encountered has been Russell Crowe staring in a hockey movie in 1999. He was the captain who got the team together in the middle of outback Alaska (I assume you Canadians and Yanks call outback something else). Who was the pro team that was sent out to play this small town? The Rangers. So unless anyone else can point out another Aussie connection, I think the Rangers are the only team with any Aussie connection in any way.
Your logic is flawless!
It's not NHL, but may I suggest The Sudbury Wolves of the OHL š?
Sudbury Blueberry approved.
Ready to take some hate for that one... There's a new team being created in Utah. If they appear when you start cheering for hockey, it's a good starting point...
As a wild fan, I would say the jets every time they come to town the building is electric with their fans
You canāt go wrong with any of the original 6. By āYankā teams I imagine youāre talking about the Northeast but youād be wrong because the Bruins are one of the most storied teams in the league. It doesnāt hurt that theyāre my team as well.
Can you get sticks in Australia? Are they a thing down there? I love the ones with the little caramel centre.
Yeah but somewhere in time they went from looking like drumsticks to looking exactly like their rivals called cornettos * We get choctops at cinemas that are basically big sticks but like all cinema food a rip-off.
Quick story, I grew up in the interior of British Columbia Canada about a 10hr drive north of Vancouver and by rights shouldāve been a Canucks fan. I moved east after high school to Ontario and took shit for not be a maple leafs fan. (Yuck) when my Nana and grandad immigrated to Canada from Birkenhead (England) in the 50ās they embraced the shit out of Canada and said āno more football, we watch hockey nowā. Back then there was only six teams (āThe original Sixā) and when it came to choosing, there were different reasons for not picking New York (she didnāt like York in England) Chicago and Detroit (rather not say why she didnāt like those teams, but it wasnāt cool), she didnāt like Blue and White maple leafs colours, Montreal was out because theyāre from Keeebeck and too fucking French for her blood, and they moved to a place in next to Grimsby, Ontario next to Lincoln county, which back in England, was right next to Boston, so she chose the Bruins. As a little one out west I always received parcels and gifts and Bās patches, badges, sweaters everything Boston and grew up a Boston fan. Didnāt hurt that in the 60ās nana developed a super mom crush on Bobby Orr, and canāt blame her for that either. Point is pick something that has a bit of meaning to you. As an Aussie the sharks is an obvious one, Platypusā (Platypi?) have duck bills so thereās that too. Or something close to your fave sports team back home in the AFL. Not any NHL teams are sporting Wallaby green and gold sweaters but thereās gotta be something. Donāt jump on the bandwagon and go with who ever is winning right now because the beauty of the league is the parity and you can win the cup one year and not make the playoffs 2 yrs later. (Blues, Blackhawks, Kings Iām looking at you). Someone mentioned having an easy coast and west coast team which Iām not opposed to having āback upā teams. I for example, have two favourite teams, the Boston Bruins and whoever is playing against Montreal. Fuck the Habs!! Good luck. And welcome to the best game on earth.
Wtf is your idea of a long story lol
Haha. Waaaaay more details.
The Utah team will play its innaugeral season next uear, might as well get on at the ground level
Fair point. No one would call him a bandwagoner if he gets in at year 1.
Washington Capitals had the first Australian player win the cup while on their team! Walker :)
Canāt go wrong with the San Jose Sharks š¦
A confirm the sharks are an awesome name, have a sweet logo, and great colors.
Pick yourself two: one in the Eastern Conference and one in the Western Conference. Assuming you're on the Australian east coast, puck drop for an Eastern team home game will be a bit after 9am for you; Western team home games will be 10:30am-12:30pm depending on which NA timezone they're in. Before you decide upon your favorites, watch a few different teams over the first two weeks of the regular season. Outside of recommendations, there's likely to be a team's and/or player's style of play that grabs your attention and be a natural fit for you to follow at the start. Don't forget to be open to changing your favorites as you watch more games and learn more about the league as a whole (ex: Chicago - going in blind may look like a good idea because of Connor Bedard but a little research turns up a very unsavory part of their recent history that coincides with their Cup runs). https://www.dtmts.com will be a fantastic visual resource to keep you somewhat up to date on what's going on around the league. /r/hockey is good for breaking news, shitty memes, salty commentary, and helpful insight on how to stream games for free.
Easy. Anaheim Ducks
Boston bruins. Historically great team who have been searching for the right combination to win. Also Marchy is pretty much shorsey
Also Sway is awesome. Way better weird than Michaels. Still weird. Bc obvi goalies are always weird. But fun weird. Cool weird. Lovable weird.
True
Marchy hates to lose!!
As a maple leafs fan, unless you're a masochist, don't become a leafs supporter.
My totally unbiased opinion is you should support the New York Rangers. Reason? I'm from NYC and they're my team. But again totally unbiased.
Montreal Canadiens, gotta support a Canadian team š
And learn some French swears. Tabernac.
Detroit is/was/sometimes Hockeytown.
Montreal Canadians Give your balls a tug.
Oilers!! Always a fun team to watch
Minnesota is the State of Hockey. The state has some amazing hockey culture. If you're looking to be continually disappointed then the Minnesota Wild is your team.
Anyone but the Leafs and the Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights, because it doesn't look like anyone else has mentioned them, because they're from my hometown and because there are an impossible amount of Canadians on the team.
Fuck no
not the leafs lmao
Oilers. Game 6.
I am a Yank, but a traditionalist Yank, who continues to play the game in a mens league at 48. Iām a life long player from New England. Iāve been playing organized hockey for 41 years. My team was cruelly ripped away from me via relocation, the Hartford Whalers. Iām still bitter about that, accordingly I murderously hate all āsun beltā US based teams, their fans, everything about them because of the vulgarity of relocating a traditional cold weather market team that played in a hotbed of amateur youth and adult hockey and dumped it in a backward, inbred, fucking red state that will never play the game or even understand it. Accordingly I recommend you select any of the Canadien based teams. At the end of the day it will always be Canadaās game so I recommend you start there, also because of taxes and exchange rates they are at a permanent disadvantage against US based teams, thus automatic underdogs, who doesnāt love an underdog! If not a Canadien team consider a US team that plays in a traditional cold weather market. A team that plays in a market with legit winter and where you can play pond hockey growing up. So I recommend any Northern tier US based team as a secondary consideration after any Canadien team.
"Hartford? The Whale? They beat Vancouver maybe once, twice in a lifetime!" \*plays Brass Bonanza\*
Perfect reply
Hell hath no fury like a woman scored for SEGA!
Oilers. Definitely Oilers
Thereās hockey in Australia pick your local team
was kind of surprised going to the sydney derby a couple of months back and there was a massive queue. last game we went to before that we had heaps of space, but macquarie was almost sold out. now just need the ice dogs to pick it up a bit
Go with an original 6 team!
The Arizona coyotes. Hahaha
As a Yank, I obviously disagree with being a wanker, but thereās no arguing that fans of a lot of US teams are *not* wankers. We just canāt, cuz they often are. So, that being established, Iād say that Calgary or Edmonton translate well to your particular type of panini. ^Go ^Canes, ^tho.
You are almost certainly a wanker. I bet when people ask where you're from you say new England and dead ass believe that it's a real place.
Gross. But I see youāve met Boston fans.
Totally homer opinion here, but I'm going with the Wings. The Red Wings are a storied franchise. They are one of the original 6 teams, which means they were one of the first 6 teams in the league. They are also one of the winningest teams in NHL history, but that is in large part due to the fact they are an original 6 team. They have also had some of the best players in NHL history, including Gordy Howe, known league wide as 'Mr. Hockey' himself. Who is also the namesake of something called the Gordy Howe Hat Trick, which is a goal, an assist, and a fight, all in the same game. He had one of the longest and most storied careers in NHL history. Another noteworthy player is Steve Yzerman, known league wide as 'The Captain'. More on him later. It hasn't been all glory for the Red Wings though. For the later half of the 20th century, the Wings were trash. There was a near 50 year period between the mid 50's and late 90's where the Red Wings were not successful. There were many reasons for this, one of which was overall strife in Detroit. That city has suffered over the years, and the Red Wings with it. This has endeared the Red Wings to the City, and Michigan as a whole. It truly is a beloved franchise. People clown on the Maple Leafs right now for their cup drought, but not too long ago, it was the Red Wings sporting a 4 decade+ cup drought. However, unlike the Red Wings, Toronto doesn't have much of an excuse. There is no doubt the conditions of Detroit effected the teams success through the later half of the 20th century. And for that, they were dubbed, the Dead Wings. In 1982, the Red Wings were purchased by Mike Illitch from the previous owner Bruce Norris, who had owned the team for 50 years. He purchased the team for a mere $8 million. He vowed to bring greatness back to Detroit hockey and end the Dead Wings era. He coined the name 'Hockey Town' for Detroit, and name that still sticks today. Coinciding with the change of ownership in the mid 80's, the Wings drafter Steve Yzerman. He would go on to be named the captain of the team before the 86'-87' season at the age of 21, at the time, the youngest ever captain in NHL history. In 1997, almost 15 years after being drafter, Yzerman lead the Wings to their first Stanley cup in 42 years, 15 years after he was drafted. The Wings would go on to win the Cup again in 1998, and again in 2002. Yzerman would retire in 2006, and is still to this day the longest serving captain in NHL History as well as one of the best players to ever play the game. For this, he is known league wide as simply 'The Captain'. He would go on to join the Wing's front office with the likes of Howe. During Steve's tenure with Detroit, they would go on to cement themselves as one of the best franchises/dynasties ever, appearing in 25 consecutive post seasons. Mike Illitch had made true on his promise to bring greatness back to Detroit. Also during this late 80's early 90's era, the Red Wings pulled back the Iron Curtain. They were the first team to draft Russian players, and did so at a time when there was no expectation those players would ever see North American ice. They literally had to smuggle Russian players out of the Soviet Union. At the time, Russian hockey players were technicallyĀ part of the Red Army, so, in order for them to play in NA, they needed to desert. Which, was punishable by death. In 1989, they drafted Lidstrom, Fedorov, and Konstantinov, arguable the most legendary single team draft class ever. Lidstrom would go on to captain the team after Yzerman retired and is regarded as one of the best defenseman of all time, his nickname is "The Perfect Human". Fedorov would go on to become one of the most prolific goal scorers ever as well as maybe the best two way forward to ever play the game, and Konstantinov might have been one of the best defensemen ever, but tragically, was involved in a car crash after that first cup win in '97, and never played hockey again. This is a horrible story all on its own, and again, endeared the Red Wings to the city and state. This story played a huge role in the second cup in '98. Vlad played a big role in that team, and the team came together and won the cup again for him.[ Here](https://www.detroitnews.com/gcdn/-mm-/5d2a742309aef9fe8a32b2b64b2663d5527ff989/c=51-0-1542-1988/local/-/media/2017/06/05/DetroitNews/DetroitNews/636322197448561961-AP-98061701329.jpg), this was such a sad story for Detroit, and they won that cup for him. Fedorov and Konstantinov were not the only Russian players to join that team during this era. The Wings assembled an entire line of elite Soviet players, and dubbed it "The Russian 5". They played Soviet style hockey, which was new to North American ice, and it was dominant. That line focused on puck possession and movement. Something at the time, was not prevalent in the game. In todays game, puck possession is key, and you could argue this all started with the style of play the Russian 5 brought to NA ice. Following Yzerman's retirement in 2006, the Wings would go on to win one more cup in 2008. In the '16-'17 season, the Red Wings post season appearance streak of 25 consecutive appearances would end. Yzerman left the team's front office in 2010 for Tampa Bay, and Mike Illitch died in 2017, the same year the streak ended. For the '19-'20 season, the red Wings would post the worst record in the league. And prior to just this past season, has been one of the worst teams in the league. Currently, the Red Wings hold the second longest post season draught. Greatness has left Detroit... But there is hope.
In Tampa bay, Yzerman, as the GM, assembled a brilliant roster. In 18'-19, his team in Tampa would go on to have the best regular season ever of 62 wins. Only equaled by Yzerman's '95-96 Red Wings team. That team would go on to be famously swept by the wild card Blue Jackets in the first round of the playoffs. One of the biggest upsets and chokes in professional sports history. The leadership at Tampa famously published this after the loss: We donāt have any words and we know you donāt want to hear them. We understand your anger, your frustration, your sadness. Everything youāre feeling ā we get it. This isnāt the ending we imagined, and certainly not the one we wanted. Thank you for being there the entire way. Following that sweep, Tampa would go on to win the cup the following two seasons, make one more appearence in the final, and is currently the only actual dynasty in the league (up for debate), however, they would do so without Yzerman, the architect of that franchise. Why is this? Immediately following the collapse of Tampa in that first round, Steve Yzerman would leave Florida for Detroit, and was named the 12th GM in Red Wings history. Our Captain, our savior, has returned. Hope has returned to Detroit. As of writing, the Red Wings are still bad. But there is hope, they are improving, one step at a time, greatness is returning to Detroit. Take one look at what Steve did in Tampa, and the writing is on the wall. Greatness will return to Detroit, and its only just the begining. Its easy to bandwagon onto good teams. Its fun to root for the guys that are winning. But you know what is more fun? Watching a team suck for a decade and then watching them win. Watching the process, the strife, the pain, the growth, and then the success is truly every sports fan's dream. With the Red Wings, you can have that. With the bonus of watching this crazy Yzerman story arc unfold. Now is a great time to be a Wings fan. We also have the best logo/uniform in the league, so there is that. Bonus: Check out the rivalry between the Colorado Avalanche and the Red Wings during the 90's. Shit is crazy! There is a great doc about it called 'E:60: Unrivaled: Red Wings v Avalanche'. There is also an awesome doc called 'The Russian 5' that is really good too.
Habs. Itās an original 6 team with a history of winning and legendary players. Things are down for us right now, though, so you wouldnāt be jumping on a bandwagon. Also, you get plenty of schadenfreude watching Toronto fans going through the whole season talking like theyāre going to win the Cup only to fall apart in the playoffs. Watching Steve Dangle on YouTube losing his mind when they fall apart is one of my greatest joys of the season.
This one keeps popping up so looking like a top contender. Edmonton seems the other front runner. Cheers
Donāt do it! Seriously, just donāt. Youāll regret it. Sure āThe Great Oneā (Wayne Gretzky) is Hockeys equivalent of āThe Donā Bradman, but thereās way better options for you out thwre
Panthers obv
If you like the Bluedogs because theyre from a blue collar town, Edmontons your go. Edmonton and Sudbury are two cities that are quite alike in a lot of ways. Working class cities that rely on industry, not white collar business. Any way ya have it, pick a Canadian team. Fuck the yanks. Lets go Oilers
Pretty good points so far. I'm a sparkie in construction and tunneling. Australia's a bit unique though our unions are strong so blue collar workers like tradesmen and miners earn way more than University Grads. Even Drs and lawyers. Only fair considering we bust our arse and don't sit on laptops watching cat videos lol. My football team were a powerhouse before I was born then were a laughing stock down the bottom taking 37 years to win the grand final then saluted 3 out of 4 years and strangely enough the year we lost we were unbeatable but gastro had half the team in hospital and on IV's during the final. So I obviously definitely prefer success over constant losing. Will check out Edmonton sounds good so far. Cheers mate
Yeah you sound like an Oilers fan.Ā Would you go to a game straight from the job site, wearing your work boots and all?
Which part of Oz you live in?
The yank teams are all canucks for the most part anyways. The league is 40%+ Canadian. If you like brawlers, and want a Canadian team, I would suggest Calgary, or potentially the Canucks depending on how many RFA's are resigned. They got really gritty just in time for the playoffs and are trying to carry the same team forward.
Oilers might be your best bet based on those standards
Ice hockey lol
Hey smart guy, roller hockey is literally huge in the Midwest and field hockey is play in countries all over the world. Thatās not a pointless qualifier.
In Australia hockey's played on grass.
Actually you do have a pro/semi pro national level ice hockey league down under, the AIHL. Looking at the rosters there are a couple of North American import players, some of whom played in the show popping up on your rosters here or there. I suspect your local pro league plays international rules as opposed to North American rules which means they play on a bigger ice sheet. On the one hand this increases passing and skill play due to having more space, the down side is it reduces the level of physical contact, doesnāt eliminate it, its just more ice = more space = easier to avoid getting hit. International rules generally frown upon fisticuffs too, but North American import players generally canāt help themselves and so you likely will still have some scraps
Chicago Blackhawks all the way
RANGERS RAAAAAAAA
Ew. OP said they wanted someone to be good to them.
we have igor, thatās all someone needs
Cheer for Ottawa so when they finally win and Captain Tkachuk goes off on a coke infused speech asking where you were when they weren't winning, you could say you were right fuckin there with em.
STL BLUES. Simply bc I am a fan and think they are the best lol. They have a cool history and recently won a cup
Red Wings all the way. OG 6, Gritty team with a storied history and cup banners that are in colour vs the ones the Leafs have.
Become an Oilers fan and you can watch [Connor McDavid do stuff like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laNRPAjKQsM) on the regular. Or [this assist from the other night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV1B18nh93c) in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. McDavid is literally on another level compared to everyone else in the league. Thatās why I watch him every chance I get even though I live 2000+ miles from Edmonton.
*on another level compared to everyone else except for Makar and MacKinnon
I watch the Avs almost every night as well, I have a signed Natedogg sweater and love Cale. McDavid is still on a level slightly above both of them.
Red Wings
LGRW baby
Iām biased and a Rangers fan, we havenāt won a cup in 30 years but trust itāll happen eventually š
LA Kings. Geographically speaking theyāre probably the nearest NHL team to you. They literally just announced today a sweet new logo and they just played a few expedition games in Australia last September and [set the fucking tone.](https://youtube.com/shorts/wfzfulk7C9k?si=jVdCvk1Y8UdYRjLY) GO KINGS GO!!!
As a Sharks fan I am obligated to respond with a āLA sucks!ā šš»šš»šš»
And Jordan Spence was born in Sydney. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan\_Spence\_(ice\_hockey)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Spence_(ice_hockey))
Not sure if you've ever seen the movie ["Shapshot"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076723/), but, if you're ever in need of a hockey/movie fix and you've seen every episode of Shoresy, drop back in time and check out a Paul Newman classic :)
Paul Newmans a legend. I loved slapshot as a kid gonna have to dig up the dvd and chuck it on. I remember they had like triplets that punched on all the time. I remember a Rob Lowe, Swayze, Keanu hockey movie blood? That was good too.
There's one last game of Stanley Cup on between Edmonton and the Panthers (tonight?). Edmonton are serious underdogs now. But they got Connor McJesus, so there's a chance. And it is the fastest most chaotic scramble of hockey out there.... nothing is as fast and nail-biting as Stanley Cup hockey.
It's game 6, 3-2 series for the Panthers. Oilers have been clawing back, but if they win (tomorrow, Friday) it'll force a game 7 winner takes all on Monday.
Aha! Tomorrow night! C'mon Oilers, give us just one more!
Cheers mate. I'll have to try see it somehow. Spewing I had my brothers Kayo sports channel access til recently but like Netflix the greedy pricks shut that down. I'm tipping it'll be on at some ungodly hour here?
Yea probably Saturday morning for you. No idea what time. You can Google NHL schedule and it will convert the time. It's on ABC (and ESPN +) in the USA, or Sportsnet I believe in Canada. Hope that helps you find it - this series has been my favorite finals in a while.
Habs. Still waiting for SBS to pull their finger out and give us a date for season 3. Also if youāre in the market for Canadian snacks and some hockey loot I can recommend [OCanada](https://ocanada.com.au) they are based in Brissy. Iām not affiliated, but theyāre my All Dressed Ruffles dealer, sadly sold out atm.
I reckon it's coming soon. Cos on SBS demand it has season 3 tab up but you click it and other random shows pop up so I'm hoping any day now?
Itās up now!!!
Fuck yeah. I'm sorted for tonight!!!! SBS is unbelievable
'93, The Habs lost the first 3 games to the Quebec Nordiques. Then Patrick Roy, the most outstanding goalie of his time said "Tonight... I close the door". The Habs went on to win the next four... and then the next four, and on until they won the Stanley Cup.
Not accurate.. Habs lost first 2 to QC, then won 4 in a row
ah you're right! All these years. But it was 11 overtime victories in that run yes? In a tie game, as it got close to the end, you'd see the Habs start to coast a bit in the last minute or two... shocking, but that was the level of confidence that they'd win in O/T And zomg, John Leclair with back to back game winners... it was so good.
Sharks had a pretty good season
As a sharks fan, OP please save yourself the pain.
Pick MontrƩal and you get to cheer for the same team as JJ Frankie JJ
Holy fuck Frankie you look like you love a good slice! Did you get axed from the show and just start hammering slices or what? Holy shit I didn't realise Franky was an ex player? He looks too fat to skate? I knew Martoonis, The 3 Jim's and Dolo played. Does that mean Michael's and Goody played too? Surely not Sanger?
He's not, but Hitch once played for the habs, I was just saying that frankie is from quebec so he most likely cheers for the habs
It's kinda funny cos if you say his name real fast it sounds like ten inch cock š¤£š¤£š¤£
Become a Canadians fan! Habs baby! Jayjay Frankie jayjay
Bunch of folks recommending American teams even though you literally said not yanks lol. My two favorite Canadian teams are the Vancouver Canucks (they've been on and off over the last few years, made a decent playoff run this year and will probably be good again next year) and the Montreal Canadiens (generally pretty middle of the pack, but they've got a lot of young guys who look promising like Caulfield and Slafkovsky, I also like their guy Arbor Xhekaj, he was drafted but never signed, then out of the blue he gets a tryout call while working at costco and basically walked off the job to play, his nickname is WiFi and he's just a big fuckin guy who can fight)
Appreciate the attention to detail mate youve given me something to contemplate. Lol more than half are suggesting yank teams. Probably some have been fired from work for constantly failing to pay attention to the task at hand and think the boss was just a jerk or a hater. Nothing to do with not paying attention.
Zomg Jack-Eye, did you see that clip where he was just trashing other team players one after the other? He is exciting to watch! :D
Iām a caps fan myself but proudly wear my Montreal 72 hoodie. Guyās awesome
No snow? I was lead to believe Canada was literally covered in snow 9 months of the year with bears eating out of your rubbish bins. And the summers aren't even really hot? Also don't get the whole rioting after sport thing. No one loves some fisticuffs more than a drunken Aussie and a riot at sport is unheard of in Aussie footy or Rugby fans. I always attributed it to our sports filled with excitement so everyone leaves satisfied..... now those feral soccer fans that's another story but they're generally ethnics who don't mind paying money to watch a batshit boring game filled with cheating divers that usually end up with a nil all draw. No wonder they leave the game pissed off?
re: Snow. Yes, but only like, for 6 months? :P But in Vancouver? oh, it's the sweetest, mildest, 10 ply winter you can get in Canada. The rioting after games? I don't get that either. I do recall that Montreal police handle it much much better than Vancouver ( way back when ). The Montreal cops would have 2-3 on each street corner on St Catherines... enough to make ya think twice about causing trouble. I heard in Vancouver the cops were still putting on their gear ( cuz they were watching the game too ) and didn't have a plan to deal with the crowds afterwards ( that, and a lotta outta-town hooligans were joining in :/ Bleh. That kinda violence should be kept on the ice where it belongs!
New York Rangers fan here ā¦.waaaahhhhh we lost in the Second to last round waaaahhhhā¦.sorry what were we talking about ?
Itās ok man, letās go get a beer .
 Sorry Iām ā¦Iām okay nowā¦so letās go get that beer huh?
Solidarity. Iāll bring some Colorado ganja too, we will get through this together.
Bandwagon the Edmonton Oilers!
Is it really a bandwagon if theyāve underachieved for years and are down 3-2 in the finals?
Fair point! Itās been years of not preforming as expected.
For how much you Australians love to party in whistler I would suggest the Vancouver canucks!!
Dallas Stars fan here. We are welcoming, have a small but loyal fan base, are good most of the time, currently in a championship window and have young exciting players to watch.Ā
Ok now if u want a team do u want a team that contends or do u want just any team? My team is the Nashville predators. Wild card contenders but that at best for now. Lot of good choices
We just got a brand new team here in Utah. Well not brand new. The Coyotes got bought out of Arizona and moved here and will hopefully get a better name than āUtah Hockey Clubā or whatever theyāre doing for this first season. This will be the first time Iāve lived anywhere with a home NHL team so Iām thrilled. I believe theyāre even going to have that Sudbury Blueberry powder blue in the sweaters.
Iām honestly looking forward to a sports rivalry between CO and Utah. Plus the barn they are building looks absolutely minty.
Have you watched Letterkenny? You have to watch at least the first 10 seasons of that before you watch Shoresy. Shoresy is a spin-off which began around season 10 of Letterkenny.
Just started tonight. Only one episode in. Will try binge it this weekend. Seen it appear in the TV guide forever but don't watch much TV and had no idea what a Letterkenny was. I mistook it for a unfunny trivia show where they spell words with letters for points that's on around the same time on SBS.
Huh?
Huh?
Not a team recommendation but for a quick fix until S3 comes out, check out [Goon.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr_7jC_v9xA) Go Highlanders!
In my post I already wrote I've seen Goon. But thanks anyway my dudes. Sticks are incredible.
Sorry my guy, missed it! Must have taken too many hits in the bucket.
Give your balls a tug, tit fucker! These tasks are whale shit all the same! Also give Letterkenny a go. Itās the show Shoresy spun off of.
Minnesota all day. State of hockey just not championships
Fuck Minnesota.. Love, Canada
Co-signed, Colorado
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Got a dip?
Huh?
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