Harri Nummela sees an opportunity in the European Giant League

Heikki Hiltunen raised the issue in an interview with Iltalehti at the opening ceremony of the season in Tampere. He envisions a top professional league in Europe as a counter force to the NHL’s goal of capturing market share on the old continent.

– That would be a path for top Finnish clubs, if not even all clubs, to move to play for the European championship, Hiltunen said on Tuesday.

According to him, the current Champions Hockey League or CHL is not a sufficient answer to this need. It’s not a “real” league, but rather a tournament played in short bursts.

There are many possible models for the new league. A few top teams from each country separate into their own league, or the SHL, DEL and the Swiss league mentioned by Hiltusen together with the SM league form a European giant league, where the national championships are also a contribution.

The advantage of the European League in Hiltusen’s vision would be a large media and partner market, which would raise the status of the sport throughout the continent.

Connection with things

– Although we keep in touch a lot, we haven’t had more extensive discussions between the League and the federation on this issue, the president of the Finnish Ice Hockey League Harri Nummela says.

– Over the years, we have sometimes stated that we should think together more about how we in Finland approach issues related to international top hockey leagues.

The public debate has been going around whether Jokerit and Kiekko-Espoo will return to the League after two years.

– These things are connected to each other, Nummela states.

During this season, the league and the federation will make a joint report on the development possibilities of Suomi-kieko series operations.

– It has not only a domestic, but also an international dimension, of course. This whole, i.e. what kind of solutions for international and domestic serial operations are being pursued together, is something worth discussing.

Now there is an opportunity for this discussion.

– For the previous two and a half seasons, the main theme has been surviving through the pandemic. It has been a very difficult time financially for the Liiga and Mestis clubs, so we have had limited opportunities to think about development measures. Now the situation is different.

Readiness elsewhere

Nummela points out that he cannot yet assess when the European professional league could be realized – or whether it could even be a reality.

– Yes, Heikki is really right that things are currently in motion. Now you can focus on things other than financial survival. The situation in Russia has already changed and is continuing to change the European hockey field, and as a result we also have domestic change factors.

– Now we have to look at this whole thing with an open mind.

League traditions

Nummela is not yet speculating on what kind of format the European League should be set up,

– There is also a lot of good in the current national series. Local derbies such as Ässät–Lukko and Tappara–Ilves are currently the most attractive and interesting matches. They have traditions and hegemony. We have to be quite thoughtful about which direction we move.

Nummela believes that Hiltusen’s bold opening will also arouse interest abroad – which is, of course, necessary for the realization of the project.

– Here are these disruptive factors that are related to the KHL, for example. Yes, it has certainly created readiness among the hockey people in different parts of Europe to discuss and think about how we go forward from here.

Nummela says that he bases his opinion more on his own experience than on factual information.

– But I’m pretty sure that there is a willingness to talk. It remains to be seen whether those discussions will lead to actual openings.

The league season kicks off on Tuesday next week with the “final renewal”, where the reigning champion Tappara will host TPS.