The exhibition series is being played in front of large and enthusiastic crowds, and seems to be a hit for combining a glimpse of the fastest game on earth with the authentic NHL arena experience, right down to goal horns, goal songs, Kiss Cam and my personal favourite, the t-shirt cannon.
Off the ice, however, there is a lot of promotional work being done to spread the message about hockey and, also, concussions and other brain injuries. The charitable beneficiaries of this tour are Stop Concussions, a North American-based not-for-profit whose aim is to change the mindset rather than the game, and our home-grown equivalent, Brain Injuries Australia.
Aside from the NHL Player’s Association’s Goals and Dreams program donating four new sets of hockey equipment to the Sydney Bears, there has been plenty of outreach work being done by the players on this tour. Obviously, Brent Burns, the San Jose Sharks star, has been the star attraction this year, and his presence has resulted in lots of media exposure, including a great Fox Sports Australia article asking whether Burns might actually be the most interesting man in the world.
There are others doing less high-profile work out here, and leading that particular charge is Eric Neilson, a member of Team Canada, and a high-profile guy playing in the American Hockey League for the Syracuse Crunch in central New York, which, bizarrely given the distance between Syracuse and Tampa Bay, Florida, has been the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Lightning since the 2012 season.
Neilson is winner of the prestigious AHL Man of the Year award, which speaks to the sort of work he does away from the ice. After the game at Allphones Arena in Sydney, I had a chance to get on the ice and talk to Neilson for The Roar. As intimidating as the man is on the ice, sporting long hair, a thick beard, and a 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame, he’s also a charming and funny guy, and it’s not hard to see why he’s won those Man of the Year Awards.
When we met in front of the benches, Neilson declared that he wouldn’t do an interview with me unless I removed the Chicago Blackhawks jersey I was wearing. He’s obviously supporting Tampa Bay in the current Stanley Cup Final. Having seen what he can do on the ice, I was tempted to do just that!
Once we’d gotten that banter out of the way, we got down to the business of the game, and I found that Neilson was genuinely and pleasantly surprised by the level of fan support in Australia, and how far the game has advanced in what has to be one of the most remote hockey outposts in the world.
“I didn’t know,” Neilson said when I asked if he knew there was such a big appetite for the game. “I knew that you guys had some form of hockey down here, but I didn’t know it was to this extent. I mean, you can tell by the crowd tonight and the crowd we had in Melbourne that Australia loves hockey. And they were into it, intense, and it was awesome!”
The fact that most of Allphones Arena was full impressed Neilson, too. “Back home, like you said, this is an NHL crowd. I played the majority of my career in the minor leagues, in the American Hockey League, and we don’t get crowds this big!”
Part of the reason why Neilson has won the Man of the Year award is his work in the community. His resume of service to the cities where he has played – particularly in Syracuse and across central New York with the Crunch, where he created the “Breakfast with a Champion” program, aimed at teaching school students the importance of nutritional eating, and his efforts to raise money for paediatric cancer research at the Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital – is superb, and he’s exactly the sort of ambassador that is a credit to the game.
Although Neilson currently finds himself a world away – figuratively, certainly, and also nearly literally – from central New York, he hasn’t stopped his outreach work, revealing that he spent some time before the game skating with a junior team, a local D4 squad, on the Allphones Arena rink.
It must’ve been a great thrill for the youngsters, getting to skate with a professional from North America, and doubtless one that they won’t forget. That seems to be Eric Neilson in a nutshell: always looking to give back to the game that’s given him the life of a professional athlete. That’s the perfect attitude to have.
“That’s just me enjoying the cities that I live in,” Neilson said of his AHL Man of the Year honours. “I enjoy meeting new people and having new experiences, so it’s an honour, and it’s fun!”
Neilson said he was having fun in Australia so far, and added that it was, “cool to see that Australia is embracing hockey.” Tours like this help that, and so do personalities like his.
The main goal of this tour, other than to raise the profile of hockey, is to create awareness and raise funds for Stop Concussions and Brain Injuries Australia, two organisations that are doing wonderful things in continuing to educate people on head injuries and working to lower the incidence of concussions in sport.
The NHL, particularly, has seen the deaths of players like Derek Boogaard, who was found, post-mortem to have Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), which is becoming prevalent in hockey players, particularly those who, like Boogaard, played as enforcers, using their fists to make an impact more so than their stick handling.
Neilson revealed that Stop Concussions is a charity close to his heart – “big time!” – and said that he’s had friends over the years suffer serious concussions, and he’s had a few himself, too. “It’s really important to educate and make people aware that in competitive sports and contact sports, not just hockey, but rugby, football, concussions are a real thing and you have to be very careful, especially at a young age, so it’s a great cause.”
Before he skated over to chat with some fans who’d hung around late – ever the hockey ambassador – I asked Neilson if he’d be back: “Hopefully! I mean, I got an offer from the Mustangs [one of Melbourne’s two AIHL teams] already, and I got an offer from the team here, so hopefully we can work something out!”
Here’s hoping! Thanks for talking with The Roar, Eric!
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