Blackawks begin with the Finnish

It won't be a normal training camp or start to the regular season for the Blackhawks.

The Hawks will play two exhibition games in Zurich, Switzerland, before opening the regular season on Oct. 2-3 with back-to-back games against the Florida Panthers in Helsinki, Finland.

Once the Hawks return from Europe, they will play 12 of their next 17 games at the United Center leading up to their six-game circus road trip in November.

After meeting the Panthers twice in Helsinki, the Hawks will play next on Oct. 8 in Detroit. The home opener is Saturday, Oct. 10 against Colorado.

Other highlights of the regular season schedule:

• The annual circus road trip begins Nov. 11 in Calgary with stops to follow in Edmonton, Vancouver, San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles.

• The only game against the Stanley Cup champion Penguins takes place Dec. 5 in Pittsburgh.

• The Red Wings make their first UC visit on Dec. 20. The Wings also play in Chicago on March 7 and April 11 to close the season.

• The Hawks will celebrate New Year's Eve at the UC playing New Jersey.

• The longest road trip of the season, an eight-gamer, starts Jan. 16 in Columbus.

• Sidney Crosby isn't coming to town, but Alex Ovechkin is with the Capitals on March 14.

After playing four preseason games in North America, including dates with Washington and Minnesota at the UC, the Hawks head to Europe to continue training camp following their Sept. 25 game at home against the Wild.

"It's an interesting camp this year, starting the season oversees," coach Joel Quenneville said. "That's exciting in a lot of ways."

The Hawks open their preseason schedule Sept. 19 against Washington at the UC. After games in Minnesota on Sept. 20 and Washington on Sept. 23, the Hawks will host the Wild on Sept. 25.

The first preseason game in Zurich is Sept. 28 against 29-time Swiss national champion HC Davos at Hallenstadion Arena. The next day the Hawks face ZSC Zurich Lions in the 2009 Victoria Cup at Hallenstadion Arena.

Single tickets for the two preseason games at the UC go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, at chicagoblackhawks.com, by calling (312) 559-1212, at all Ticketmaster ticket centers, the Blackhawks Store (333 N. Michigan Ave.) and the United Center ticket office.

On the move: In another front office shuffle on Wednesday, Marc Bergevin was named director of player personnel and will oversee pro and amateur scouting.

Bergevin started last season as a Hawks pro scout, then joined Joel Quenneville's staff as an assistant.