Avalanche to play in 2022 Global Series

The NHL has announced that the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will play in the 2022 Global Series at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland. The two teams will play twice in two days in the first weekend of November.

Fellow Finns should show up by the score to support Mikko Rantanen and Patrik Laine as they face off against one another in this locally-charged battle. The two wingers had successful junior careers representing their country and got drafted early in their respective drafts. Rantanen went 10th overall to the Avalanche back in 2015, and Laine was drafted second overall by the Winnipeg Jets the following year.

Mikko and Laine aren’t the only Finnish players that will be involved, in fact, the two teams will bring a total of four countrymen players home including Artturi Lehkonen and Joonas Korpisalo. Laine however will be the only player playing in his actual hometown.

Colorado is all too familiar with traveling to Europe for some hockey. This will be the second Global Series for the Avalanche, who played the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, Sweden. Coincidentally that was the game after former Avalanche Matt Duchene was traded mid-game to the Senators as part of a three-team blockbuster deal. Ottawa ended up winning both games. The rest is history.