Melbourne will become the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to host the National Hockey League with the LA Kings and Arizona Coyotes to square off in two pre-season games in September.
The historic matches will be part of the 2023 NHL Global Series and played at Rod Laver Arena.
Jordan Spence, the first Australian-born NHL player who was born in Sydney but grew up in Japan and Canada, plays for the Kings.
Making the announcement on Wednesday morning, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league was “delighted” to add Melbourne to a long-list of international cities which have hosted games.
“We are delighted to bring the excitement and passion of the National Hockey League to the dynamic city of Melbourne and the great sports fans of Australia with the 2023 Global Series games,” Bettman said.
“The Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings are two of our League‘s rising young teams and among our most innovative and adventurous franchises.
“We look forward to their two games at Rod Laver Arena and know this history-making visit will thrill our many avid fans in Australia and cause so many more throughout the sports-loving nation to be captivated by our great game.”
Rod Laver Arena will be transformed to provide a temporary ice hockey rink to NHL standards, and there will be activities and entertainment throughout the event precinct.
The matches will be the first NHL games played in the Southern Hemisphere but not the first international trip for either the Kings or Coyotes.
The Kings most recently played two pre-season games in China in 2017 having also played in has Austria (2007) and Germany (2011), as well as regular-season games in England (2007), Germany (2011), and Sweden (2011).
In 2010, Arizona played one pre-season game in Latvia and two regular-season games in Czechia.
