HENDERSON, Nev. (KTNV) — It was a historic Saturday in Henderson as the first-ever Las Vegas international bandy tournament took center ice at American First Center.
"We've had this idea for about 20 years, coming over here and energizing this sport and growing the game, and finally it comes to reality," said professional bandy player, Per Einarsson.
Einarsson and Hasse Johansson are two world champions in the sport and are part of Krunehof-Tellus C organization.
"It's more than just playing bandy for a title," Johansson said. "We are more like a family together."
Saturday's tournament was America's first championship outside of Minnesota where two Swedish teams, a pair of programs from the United States and one Norwegian team came together on the ice.
"I played hockey all my life and I was playing in college, but I got a little bit burnt out," said Minnesota Legends coach Daren Richardson. "I quit playing hockey and started playing bandy. It clicked for me immediately."
Bandy is the second largest winter sport behind hockey. Typically, the game is played on an ice sheet the size of a soccer field. However, co-director for the tournament Chris Halden said they are going to play what he calls "small bandy" in hockey rinks in hopes to grow the game.
"This is kind of a potential breakthrough to span the sport just in hockey rinks," Halden said. "Once the players get here we cover the tournament costs but they're paying for their hotel costs, which is really amazing because that's how excited they are to be here."
The ultimate goal is to get bandy into the 2034 Olympics, and some say the first step is growing the game in America.
"They [the U.S.] know how to do sport," said professional bandy player Felix Callander. "I think if America gets bigger on bandy, people will become more invested in the sport, you see NIL and the draft and everything. If you see how many people in Europe are invested in the sport and if we can do the same here, that would be great for the sport."
They plan to return in 2025 for the second annual Las Vegas international bandy tournament.
