More photos » Ross D. Franklin - AP

5 months ago: Phoenix Coyotes' Robert Lang, of the Czech Republic, left, celebrates a goal by teammate Keith Yandle as Boston Bruins' David Krejci (46), of the Czech Republic, skates past during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. The Coyotes defeated the Bruins 4-1. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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While most of the internet and Coyotes fans had heard about this some time ago, the NHL announced today that the Phoenix Coyotes will be one of the six teams to kick off the 2010-2011 season in Europe as part of the Compuware NHL Premiere. The Coyotes will face the Boston Bruins in two meetings at the O2 arena in Prague on October 9th and 10th.

If the rosters stay anything like they currently are heading into next season, the Coyotes would likely get the hometeam treatment with how many Czech players they have on the roster. Petr Prucha, Radim Vrbata, Martin Hanzal, Zbynek Michalek and Robert Lang are all native to the Czech Republic. The Bruins currently only have two Czech players on their roster in David Krejci and Vladimir Sobotka.

While it'll suck to not have a Coyotes vs. Bruins game in Glendale, the potential for exposure in an event like this is huge and can only help a team that's trying to get some publicity about them out there. Especially if the Coyotes can make some noise in the playoffs this could be another big piece of marketing for the team.

The other two NHL Premire matchups will be Carolina and Minnesota playing in Helsinki, Finland and the Blue Jackets and Sharks playing in Stockholm, Sweden.