New York Rangers Games vs. SC Bern and Metallurg Magnitogorsk Live on NHL Network!

We just found out, to our great excitement, that the New York Rangers games vs. the Swiss club SC Bern and the inaugural Victoria Cup final against current European Cup champions, Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL will be shown live in North America not just on local New York based MSG, but also nationally on NHL Network!

The game vs. SC Bern will be shown at noon Eastern on Tuesday and the Victoria Cup vs. the Russian Magnitka Wed at 1:30 PM Eastern.

Update: If you’re unable to watch the game on the NHL Network look for a link to the Russian telecast of it on this site sometime on Thursday or Friday. Delayed coverage of it was just added. Yes, amazingly enough it won’t be shown live in Russia because of this week’s UEFA Champions League matches.

Update #2: You can watch the MSG telecast of the game almost in its entirety (unfortunately the first 5 minutes including a great first goal by Magnitka are missing) split into 10 parts here. We linked to part 1. We’re sure you can figure out the rest.

Past Week’s KHL Games

We totally slacked off this past week due to being busy with some other stuff, so to catch you up here’s the streaming video of all the available KHL games played since last Tuesday.

Sibir Novosibirsk @  SKA St. Petersburg
Watch Streaming Video

Torpedo Nizhniy Novgorod @  Dinamo Moscow
Watch Streaming Video

Ak Bars Kazan @  Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Watch Streaming Video

Lada Togliatti @  Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Watch Streaming Video

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk @  Salavat Yulayev Ufa
Watch Streaming Video

Dinamo Riga (Latvia) @  CSKA Moscow
Watch Streaming Video

Ak Bars Kazan @  Salavat Yulayev Ufa
Watch Streaming Video

SKA St. Petersburg @  Atlant Mytischi
Watch Streaming Video

What Happened to this Blog, the KHL, TV Coverage, etc.

On the level of the old RSL and the new KHL.

If you take a tour of hockey blogs and forums there are a lot of ignorant opinions flying around about the level of the RSL and the new KHL by people who have never seen any Russian League games. Instead of talking about something you know nothing about why not check out the games for yourself so that you can make up your mind based on facts rather than thin air? This kinda typical North American style ignorant bravado reminds me of constant yelling “America is #1” by hicks who have never been more than 5 miles away from their own backyard.

I was quite skeptical myself, but was able to watch quite a few RSL games last year and the level exceeded all my expectations. The games were actually very entertaining, the skill level was very good and many of the goals would have made any NHL highlight reel. In fact, at times the passing combinations were of the quality rarely seen in the NHL. It’s a different kind of hockey than the NHL (less physical, although is getting more and more physical each year), but to say that the skill level sucks or to compare it to the ECHL is sheer ignorance. It’s typical Russian style with a very high individual skill level and combination play.

On the Russian TV coverage and its production value.

The only thing that was left a lot to be desired was the quality of production. Few camera angles (mostly from too far away), mostly very bad commentary (if you don’t understand Russian this won’t bother you), no meaningful pre-game or post-game coverage, etc. Hopefully, the people running the KHL understand the need to improve it drastically if they want a good looking TV product.

Anyway, for those who’d like to check it out for themselves you can see a bunch of games on this blog that I started last year just for that purpose – to give North American fans a chance to see Russian hockey league games for themeselves. I had exactly what some guys asked for on some of the blogs and forums with “The RSL Game of the Week“. I chose only the best matchups such as games between top clubs, local rivalries and the infamous brawl filled game that made the highlights around the world including in North America.

On what the hell happened to this blog?

I’ve received quite a few inquiries concerning the sudden death of this blog, so I should at least explain what happened.

Right as the RSL playoffs rolled around I had to drop off, unfortunately, due to lack of time after getting a job at a startup, but might try again this year, especially since there’s a lot more interest in the league due to all the buzz and controversy (despite what some commenters here have said).

On whether there be TV coverage of the KHL available in North America?

Lastly, If I were working for the KHL I’d make sure that the games are available for free online with English language commentary (it is essential for them to do this to take advantage of all the media buzz because it will never be as strong as when the league kicks off its inaugural season), however, I have my doubts about the business acumen and sophistication of the people running the KHL. All you have to do is check out the logo they unveiled. However, we shall see what happens. Maybe I’m underestimating them and they’ll handle the launch of the league the way a good North American or Western European CEO would.

P.S. If anyone comes across any info regarding the TV coverage of the KHL and / or the Victoria Cup please post in the comments section below.