Dateline: REYKJAVIK, Iceland
They took a evening dinner-boat cruise through Stockholm's archipelago, raced against each other in 20-year-old Volvos on a dirt track, bet on ponies at a local horse track, and gathered to eat at some of the best restaurants in a city many centuries old.
But it was Saturday's 3-2 overtime victory over the San Jose Sharks in the Ericsson Globe that made it possible for the Blue Jackets to fully embrace a week's worth of memories yesterday, as they traveled six time zones back to central Ohio.
"It's all the things we've done together," captain Rick Nash said. "From winning (Saturday), to outplaying San Jose in a big part of the two games ... the team-bonding things that we did, and the way we came together.
"It's definitely something that I'll remember for a long, long time."
The Blue Jackets were one of six NHL clubs to open the season outside North America. More than half of the NHL's 30 clubs have played games abroad in the past decade, and NHL vice president of international business Ken Yaffe told The Dispatch this month that the league plans to continue the practice until all 30 clubs take part, and perhaps beyond.
During a refueling stop in Iceland yesterday, Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson discussed the club's desire to make a similar trip in the future.
"I wouldn't want to do it next year," he said. "It's a lot of planning and a lot of adjustment. But in a few years, yeah, it's absolutely something we'd consider doing.
"To me, the positives far outweigh the negatives. It's a great experience."
Coach Scott Arniel said he'd prefer to wait three or four years before the Blue Jackets help market the NHL abroad again. For the first-year coach, it made training camp and exhibition season seem too compact and too segmented.
"It's draining," Arniel said. "We'll probably all fall over on Monday. It was a long week. The games were exciting, but it's nice to be on this airplane right now."
In the early part of last week, the players noted how the trip felt more like vacation than the latter stages of training camp.
"It felt like youth-hockey camp," winger R.J. Umberger said. "You know, when you get a sack lunch every day, and every afternoon is mapped out for you after practice."
That all changed with an exhausting trip Tuesday to Malmo on the other side of Sweden from Stockholm. Not only did a series of travel delays take a toll, but defenseman Kris Russell aggravated a knee injury and defenseman Rostislav Klesla absorbed a frightening face-first crash into the boards when he was checked from behind.
"That was more than we bargained for, that trip," Arniel said.
The Blue Jackets had an off day Wednesday, now remembered simply as "race day."
The players were each put in late 1980s or early 1990s Volvos -- all with manual transmissions and the interior gutted other than the driver's seat -- and sent off in five-second intervals. They were allowed to sideswipe each other, but not to ram from behind. (Would that be boarding?)
"It was a great way for the guys to have fun together, compete against each other and blow off steam," Arniel said. "This was a different kind of bonding trip than I've ever experienced. It wasn't bowling, or a cookout, or paintball."
The Blue Jackets got back to work with a brisk practice Thursday, then opened their 10th season with a loss to San Jose on Friday. The win Saturday -- Arniel's first in the NHL -- was secured with Ethan Moreau's overtime goal, his first as a Blue Jacket.
Moreau was asked after the game whether the trip lived up to his expectations.
"These guys were great tour guides," Moreau said, motioning toward the team's three Swedes: Kristian Huselius, Sammy Pahlsson and Anton Stralman. "It was great to experience a new culture, a new city.
"Getting a win (Saturday) was important. It's a long way to go and a lot of work to put in to not get rewarded. If we didn't get results, I'd probably have a different answer to your question."
aportzline@dispatch.com
