Man, if there was a NHL game played in Australia I'd be across the ditch in seconds. I'm sure a few other kiwis would too.
Perhaps two NHL teams could come to an agreement with a sponsor to get a regular season game played there each year. A few years back one of our big Rugby teams was without a home stadium for an entire season because of an earthquake, and they played one regular season game against a South African team at Twickenham, the most popular Rugby stadium in England. It was a sell out. Now, this was no doubt easier to do because of the large population of NZ expats in London and the established Rugby following. But if hockey games have already drawn big crowds in Australia, a regular fixture like this could be really appealing, popular, and perhaps get more people there into hockey.
The All Blacks played a rugby game against USA at a jam packed Soldier Field in Chicago. The game sold out in minutes. Beat them 74-6. A lot of people here complained that it was a pointless match, but the scoreline wasn't the point, rather to raise awareness of the sport and expand the game globally. A respectable North American team playing the best Australia can muster could also have the same effect, get more people down under following the sport, increasing demand, participation etc. It's not as easy as taking a game like Rugby to the states because all you need for that is a ball and some grass, but it could be done.
Hockey is expensive as hell to play so it won't become the next big thing, but giving something closer to home for south of the equator fans to enjoy would be incredible.
