1. A one-of-a-kind day
Oct. 2, 2011, was unique to say the least. That was the day I woke up in Sweden, covered a game in Slovakia and went to bed in a castle in Switzerland.
The back story explains everything.
I tagged along with the New York Rangers in 2011 for their preseason tour of four games in five nights in four different European countries before they opened the season in Stockholm with games against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.
We left Philadelphia after a preseason game against the Philadelphia Flyers and flew to Prague, where the Rangers practiced and then played Sparta Praha, winning 2-0 on Sept. 29.
Following the game, it was a quick flight to Gothenburg, Sweden, where the next night Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was making an emotional return to play against his former Swedish Hockey League team, Frolunda, captained at the time by his twin brother Joel.
The scene at Scandinavium, the arena where the brothers grew up watching hockey and dreaming of becoming pros, was incredible, with Lundqvist the goalie leading the Rangers to a 4-2 win.
The plan was always to stay in Gothenburg on Oct. 1 and to fly to Bratislava, Slovakia, the following day, to essentially barnstorm in for a game against HC Slovan Bratislava and then quickly leave to head to Zurich, Switzerland, where the Rangers had their final preseason tuneup Oct. 3.
Fog rolled into Gothenburg, delaying our travel to the morning of gameday in Bratislava, but we got there, going straight from the airport to the arena.
The Rangers won 4-1, left the arena for the airport and flew to Zurich, where we all stayed at The Dolder Grand, a 19th century castle turned into a five-star hotel nestled up on a hill overlooking the Alps and Lake Zurich.
The rooms were so high tech that I had to call the front desk to figure out how to turn on the lights. It is the most amazing hotel I have ever stayed in.
Unforgettable.
Source: www.nhl.com
