NEW YORK (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators will play two games in Duesseldorf later this year as part of the NHL and NHLPA’s efforts to grow hockey in Germany, the league announced Friday.
The Global Series games on Dec. 18 and 20 at PSD Bank Dome are the second and third regular-season games the league has staged in the country, along with several exhibitions. The Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings played in Berlin in 2011.
Overall, the league has played 42 regular-season games in Europe since 2007.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly called the commitment to grassroots development in Germany “a critical next chapter for the NHL.”
Rob Zepp, the union's Director of International Strategy and Growth, played several years in Germany and represented the national team as a goaltender during his career and said it “is a wonderful country with an avid, sophisticated hockey audience that is eager to engage with the NHL.”
Senators forward Tim Stützle is expected to be the big star of the event. Stützle grew up just outside Duesseldorf in Viesen and led Germany in goals at the Milan Cortina Olympics with four.
"I think German hockey has been growing a lot, and there are a lot of great players from there,” Stützle said. “Hopefully it gets even more people to play hockey in Germany. It’s really exciting news.”
Germany, with Stützle, 2020 NHL MVP Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers and emerging star Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings, lost in the quarterfinals at the Olympics. The country's team went on an improbable run to the final at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, with now-Boston Bruins coach and retired player Marco Sturm behind the bench.
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Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard checks the overhead scoreboard after scoring a power-play goal against the Colorado Avalanche in the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Seattle Kraken forward Jacob Melanson, left, and Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s parliament on Friday appointed right-wing populist politician Janez Jansa as the new prime minister, in a shift for the small European Union country that was previously run by a liberal government.
Lawmakers backed Jansa in a 51-36 vote in the 90-member assembly. The new prime minister will need to come back to Parliament within the next 15 days for another vote to confirm his future Cabinet.
Jansa's appointment concludes a postelection stalemate in Slovenia after a parliamentary ballot two months ago ended practically in a tie. Former liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob's Freedom Movement won by a thin margin but he was unable to muster a parliamentary majority.
Jansa and his populist Slovenian Democratic Party signed a coalition agreement this week with several right-wing groups. The new government also has the backing of a nonestablishment Truth party that first emerged as an anti-vaccination movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new term in office will be the fourth for the veteran Slovenian politician. Jansa, 67, is an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump and was a close ally of former populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election last month.
Jansa in a speech listed the economy, fight against corruption and red tape, and decentralization as key goals of the future government. He has promised to lower taxes for the rich and support private education and healthcare.
Critical of the previous government's alleged “inefficiency," Jansa said the new government will turn Slovenia into “a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted."
Like Orban, Jansa was staunchly anti-immigrant during the huge migration wave to Europe in 2015. Also like Orban, Jansa has faced accusations of clamping down on democratic institutions and press freedoms during a previous term in 2020-2022. This led to protests at the time, and scrutiny from the European Union.
Golob in his speech described Jansa as “the greatest threat to Slovenia’s sovereignty and democracy."
Alleging that Jansa had threatened to arrest him, Golob said Jansa's "idea of democracy is that anyone who dares speak a word against you deserves only the worst.”
Jansa, a supporter of Israel, also has been a stern critic of the Golob government's 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state.
The vote on March 22 was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption. The around 2 million people in the Alpine nation are deeply divided between liberals and conservatives.
Janez Jansa, center, addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)
Janez Jansa arrives for a session of the Slovenian Parliament in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)
Janez Jansa addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)
