The China Games in Shanghai and Beijing over the last few days have, despite low fan turnout, pushed the game of hockey across borders that had previously never breached in the 100-year history of the NHL.

Cracking the massive untapped hockey market that is China will be a slow - but potentially profitable - process that won't happen overnight. But, in the long run, boosting the game in new, worldwide markets can only be good for the sport and the league.

With that said, China isn't the be-all and end-all of potential international markets the league could promote the game in.

Here's a look into three other international cities the NHL could visit next:

Gangneung, South Korea

In addition to already having brand new facilities like the arena in the coastal city of Gangneung, South Korea is a budding hockey market with a quality national team on the rise - South Korea qualified for the 2018 World Championship in Denmark next spring, the first time the country will be competing in a tournament of that magnitude.

Not only is the country seeing its on-ice product drastically improve, but the recently built stadiums are state of the art.

The rink in Gangneung will be used as one of the two sites for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games, and, despite the of lack of NHL Olympic involvement, South Korea is still primed to host a set of international games like the ones in China.

If the infrastructure in place isn't enough to sway the NHL, maybe the population of more than 50 million people will.

Belfast, Northern Ireland

Already home to the Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League, the capital city of Northern Ireland has proven it can play host to some high-quality hockey, as Belfast hosted the 2017 IIHF Division 1 Championship in April.

On top of already having a niche market interested in the sport, Belfast also boasts a 10,000-plus capacity arena in the heart of the tourist district. It's an ideal location for a stadium considering the fact that in 2012 over 7 million tourists visited the city, spending nearly half-a-billion pounds in the process, according to Belfast City Council.

A place where hockey is already successful that also boasts a prime arena location seems like the ideal setting for the NHL to promote the game next.

Hamar, Norway

While Norway's national team has tasted more success than South Korea, it also has the groundwork laid to host a successful series of NHL games.

The city of Lillehammer hosted the Winter Games back in 1994, which resulted in the construction of multiple venues capable of accommodating hockey. One of those arenas is located only an hour and a half outside the capital city of Oslo in the town of Hamar.

Hamar is home to the "Northern Light Hall" which can seat up to 7,000 fans.

Despite being over 20 years old, the rink in Hamar could still be a suitable venue to host NHL games, as it recently underwent renovations and additions in 2016.

The country's national sport may still be cross-country skiing, but winter sports - and more specifically the game of hockey - have always been popular in Norway. Especially recently, as NHL players like the New York Rangers' Mats Zuccarello and Montreal Canadiens' Andreas Martinsen have rekindled the nation's interest in puck.

Gary Bettman and Co. would be wise to consider this northern destination.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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NHL legend Phil Esposito, who starred for the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers through the 1960s and 1970s, feels the league missed the mark in showcasing its recent exhibition series in China.

The Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks faced off for two games in the world's most populous country, with one game in Shanghai and another in Beijing. However, both games failed to fill the seats.

"Personally, I think the NHL blew it," Esposito told Nathan VanderKlippe of the Globe and Mail. "You have got to promote. This game tonight - I looked in the papers. There wasn't a goddamn word about it. Not one word."

While attendance was low for the first game, the second game, held in Beijing, saw a closer-to-capacity crowd in the more intimate Wukesong Arena.

The NHL remains steadfast about growing the game in China, and could consider future games in the country as part of its international growth strategy.

"I think we're coming away from this very encouraged with respect to the plan and the viability of the plan longer term," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com. "It certainly is our hope and intention to continue to help grow the sport in China, both at the grassroots level but also bringing the best players and best teams in the world here hopefully on a regular basis going forward."

The NHL China Games was the league's first foray into Asia since the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins played a pair of games in Saitama City, Japan, in 2000.

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The talk of the NHL world over the past week has surrounded the league's imposed crackdown on slashing and its new strict policing of players cheating on faceoffs.

While the league insists the reinvigorated enforcement is in place to promote player safety and the integrity of the game, the players the penalties are supposed to protect are almost unanimously not in favor of them.

Related: Marchand: Crackdown on faceoff violations is 'an absolute joke'

Except for the best hockey player on the planet, that is. "A lot of guys that use their feet won't like it," Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby said of the new rules, according to Pens Inside Scoop.

"I don't, so that's why I like it."

Crosby is coming off his worst season at the faceoff dot since he entered the league in 2005 - posting an average winning percentage of only 48.2 at even strength - so perhaps stricter penalties for guys cheating in the circle will lead to improved results.

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Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson has been suspended two preseason games for his hit on St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas Friday night, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Saturday.

This was George Parros' first ruling as the head of the department of player safety. His explanation for the suspension can be found here.

Here's a look at the hit:

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Everything's coming up Kris Letang.

The star defenseman will play for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a preseason game Sunday against the St. Louis Blues, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed Saturday.

It will be Letang's first game action since Feb. 21. He was limited to 41 regular-season games last season and missed the Penguins' entire Stanley Cup championship run due to a neck injury.

Letang was cleared to play earlier this month.

He got another piece of good news Saturday, as Sullivan also revealed the blue-liner will wear an "A" as alternate captain this season, taking over for the departed Chris Kunitz, who signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 1.

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The NHL has been enforcing slashing and faceoff infractions by the book this preseason and players have voiced their frustrations with the strictness of the calls. Even with the report that the league asked officials to dial it back a bit, that doesn't mean there won't be an increase in penalties - even if it's not as drastic as it once looked like it may be.

The last time the NHL began enforcing two penalties so strictly was in the post-lockout 2005-06 season, when the league enforced hooking and holding infractions by the book. It took players a full season to adjust, leading to a crazy number of minor penalties, and a whole lot of goals.

The faceoff violations - which occur when a player fails to line up properly, or plays the puck with his hand, among other small intricacies - is something players likely won't take long to which to adjust. How long exactly remains to be seen, but coaches would surely rather lose a faceoff than take a two-minute penalty for a violation.

Slashing, however, could be a longer adjustment. It's in a player's nature to give an opponent a light (or sometimes vicious) whack when they get beat wide. In the past - unless it was blatant - the NHL would usually let it fly, but apparently not this year, even with the reported dial back. Slower players specifically could have some trouble with this crackdown.

With that being said, it'll be on the players to adjust, and if they can't, there could be a lot of scoring.

(2016-17 data courtesy: CBS; 2005-06 data courtesy: FOX)

Now, expecting there to be 14 minor penalties per game for the entire regular season is ridiculous, but even if it hovers around nine or 10, there would be a precipitous rise in goals over recent years. Even a slight increase in penalties could have an effect on the NHL landscape.

Which teams would benefit?

Teams with plenty of speed would conceivably draw more slashing penalties, which would lead to more power plays. So many teams in today's NHL are built on speed, but some that might stand out from the pack include the Penguins, Blackhawks, Predators, Maple Leafs, and Lightning.

Moreover, teams that excel on special teams would obviously benefit from more penalties. Here are last season's leaders in power-play percentage plus penalty kill percentage:

Which teams would suffer?

On the contrary, the league's slower teams might find themselves killing a few more penalties. As far as the standards go, teams that would fall into the slower category include the Kings, Canadiens (specifically on the back end), and Sharks.

As a result, having poor special teams wouldn't do clubs any favors if more penalties are called. Here are last season's bottom five teams in power-play percentage plus penalty kill percentage:

While most teams listed above were bottom feeders, the Blackhawks managed to finish atop the Western Conference, despite poor special teams.

Lastly, for what it's worth, here are last year's league leaders in slashing minors, per ESPN:

Only time will tell just exactly how strict officials will call slashing and faceoff violations once the regular season gets underway, but for a league that's been seeking ways to increase scoring, calling these infractions by the book would certainly do the trick.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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That didn't take long.

The NHL sent a note to its officials Friday instructing them to ease up a bit in their crackdown on slashing and faceoff infractions, Sportsnet's John Shannon reports.

TVA's Renaud Lavoie later added some further detail.

There has been a significant increase in the number of penalties called for both slashing and faceoff violations in the preseason, and it has brought about criticism from players, as well as concern from fans and the media.

Earlier this week, Boston Bruins forward Brad Machand called the increased enforcement of existing faceoff violation rules "an absolute joke."

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Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson will have a hearing Saturday for his interference hit on St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas on Friday night, NHL Player Safety announced.

Here is the incident:

Wilson was not assessed a minor penalty on the play, but proceeded to drop the gloves with Blues forward Dmitrij Jaskin afterward. It did not end well for Jaskin.

This will be George Parros' first hearing as the head of the Department of Player Safety.

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The Los Angeles Kings are adding some size to their lineup - for a photo op, at least.

NBA Hall of Famer Yao Ming posed for a picture with Kings players (from left to right) Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, and Jonathan Quick on Saturday in Beijing at the second preseason game in China against the Vancouver Canucks.

The finished product didn't happen without a few laughs.

The tallest active NHL player is Boston Bruins behemoth Zdeno Chara, who's officially listed at 6-foot-9. Yao, for the record, is 7-foot-6.

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When the New Jersey Devils selected forward Nico Hischier with the first overall draft pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, it signified an end of an era in the swamp.

Gone are the days of the trap, Scott Stevens, Martin Brodeur, and low-scoring games, as a new offensive age of Devils hockey is being ushered in on the back of their rookie phenom.

The Devils have built a reputation as a boring, defensive-minded club prone to tight-checking games. That wasn't always a big box-office attraction, but they took home nine division titles, five conference championships, and three Stanley Cups between 1995 and 2012. However, now they aren't succeeding with that style - New Jersey's failed to qualify for the playoffs the last five years.

Between its struggles in the standings and the lack of a marquee name, the club's attendance has also languished. The Devils have barely hit an average of 15,000 fans per game over the last five seasons.

Hischier's No. 1 overall draft pick status should help put people in the seats, but it's his ability to put the puck in the net that really makes him the player the Devils have been waiting for.

The speedy forward registered stellar offensive numbers during his only campaign of North American hockey. In just 57 regular-season games for the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads, Hischier racked up 86 points last season while finishing with a plus-minus rating of plus-20.

That compares pretty favorably to another former Moosehead who went first overall. Nathan MacKinnon had 78 points across 58 regular-season games with Halifax during the 2011-12 season and went on to star for the Colorado Avalanche, scoring 50-plus points in three of his four NHL seasons - and he's just getting warmed up.

Hischier's already had a promising showing with New Jersey, although two preseason games are nothing to get overly hyped up about. Still, he's scored two goals and played nearly 16 minutes a night while showing off a slick pair of mitts, leaving Devils fans to salivate over the potential future face of the franchise.

And the supporting cast gives them even more reason to be excited. In addition to Hischier, New Jersey boasts some solid top-six forwards, including Taylor Hall, Marcus Johansson, and Kyle Palmieri. With Hischier in the mix, that unit's vastly improved compared to seasons past (although there's no telling how soon he'll become a regular NHL presence).

The Swiss native's offensive upside may be obvious, but it's not all he brings to the table. Hischier also has the potential to develop into the leader the club's sorely lacked since Scott Niedermayer left the team in 2005.

Current Ottawa Senators gaffer Guy Boucher coached Hischier during his time with SC Bern of the Swiss National League and praised his maturity.

"He manages the game like an adult, like a man," Boucher said, according to Guillaume Lepage of NHL.com. "Great vision, great poise, but he's always in the right place defensively too, which puts him ahead of a lot of young guys. They rarely have both sides of the ice figured out, especially at that age."

His junior teammates praised his ability to set an example. Benoit-Olivier Groulx described him as "mentally strong" and added, "I've learned a lot from him on the ice and off. He's already a professional."

It's early to predict that an 18-year-old rookie with zero NHL regular-season experience will be rocking the "C" in Jersey, but there are signs that he has the type of mentality that will earn the respect of his coaches and teammates.

On the ice, in the dressing room, and away from the rink, Hischier seems to be the complete package that the Devils have been missing to drive the franchise for the foreseeable future.

While Stevens and Brodeur had their own way of leading New Jersey, it's time for Hischier and the boys to blaze their own path in the league.

One goal at a time.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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