Another sign that hockey is declining in Canada, the Hlinka-Gretzky cup did not sellout..

[x Tame Impala]

I post on a hockey forum just about every single day and will likely continue doing so for the foreseeable future. Couldn’t care less about this tournament. I don’t know what’s significant about it or why I should bother watching.

Meanwhile, met an Oiler fan a few weeks ago who was so upset over the SCF loss he spent the night in bed drinking a whole bottle of whisky and crying like a little baby. Hockey is just fine in Canada LOL.

 

[Shroud of Orrin]

Bring the tournament to Halifax - it’ll sell out and be a tremendous success like any hockey related event ever held here…

 

[Bondurant]

I've not even heard of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup until a few minutes ago.

 

[ORRFForever]

How many of these thread do we have to see EVERY year?

 

[NyQuil]

Even I don’t care about hockey in the summer.

Have you seen a Canadian winter?

 

[CTHabsfan]

People aren't really interested watching hockey in August? SHOCKING! Going up against the Olympics also probably didn't help.

 

[Jyrki]

I didn't even know the tournament was on until I went to check a list of things happening in Edmonton. Bought 4 gold medal match tickets for the family as soon as I found out.

 

[Canovin]

Wow. I didn't even know it was happening. I would have went

 

[TheNeutralPresident]

Average attendances in Edmonton and Breclev(Czechia)/Piestany(Slovakia) are historically about the same year after year. It's a niche tournament that has only recently gotten better TSN coverage in their hopes of turning it into another World Jrs cash cow.

Edit: And while looking it up it's not even sanctioned by the IIHF

 

[Drake1588]

It was held the second week of August. Canadians want to enjoy their summer and, contrary to belief, don't really want to hockey all the time.

That, and it's the Hlinka Cup. I get that it's important for the scouting fraternity, and they likely pay rapt attention. At a certain point, though, it's ok for hockey fans to just read the box scores and scan the highlights later on. Under-18, non-IIHF events (that Canada has won 22 of 29 times) seem like the place. Shrug.

Fans of team sports who seem to want the season to never end confuse me. I dig the time off to recharge. Makes the fall start of the season that much more appealing.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Like some others have mentioned, it's summer time and people are on vacation. That's another thing, some people think that Canadians are expected to eat, drink, sleep and breathe hockey and if they don't the game in is jeopardy.

The NBA summer league isnt exactly breaking ratings records in the US, nor is the AFL. Are those games dying in America?

Contrary to what Fox News and American sitcoms may tell you, there are, in fact, other things going on up here aside from hockey.....

Like what?

 

[NyQuil]

Like what?

I was building a deck in the backyard.

 

[End on a Hinote]

Like what?

I'm doing house renovations, hiking, mountain biking and camping

 

[Strangle]

I bet it would have done better if it was cricket.

I kinda think cricket is going to take over hockey eventually, as ridiculous as that would have sounded just 20 years ago

While temperatures are dropping and snow has begun to fall, the largest cricket league in Edmonton is already looking ahead to the spring and wondering how it will accommodate a large influx of players.

The sport of cricket is taking off, but field space is in short supply, according to the president of the Edmonton & District Cricket League.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

made a big deal in social media..

Terrible crowd size at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup final

I'm the biggest hockey fan ever and I don't know what the Hlinka Gretzky Cup is.

Is this really a sign?

Also "dying" is dramatic. "Dying" to me means: near dead. Hockey is not near dead in Canada.

 

[Statto]

Umm. Theres one import context missing in this thread. What were the actual attendances for each game, both raw numbers and as a % of available tickets. How does that then compare to the past 10 years. It would be useful to see if there is a trend and how significant and decline may be.

I bet it would have done better if it was cricket.

I kinda think cricket is going to take over hockey eventually, as ridiculous as that would have sounded just 20 years ago

Cricket is awesome!

 

[EpochLink]

They didn’t market it well, hence the low attendance. Also, why do this in the summer? People are out of town on vacation and have something better to do.

And this is not a ‘decline’ in Canada, market it better.

 

[namttebih]

Oooooh hockey is declining omgggg

Who f***ing cares.

It'll be the most popular sport for a while yet.

Pretty much this.

All of the ice remaining where I am has been booked solid all summer.

I was turned away from drop in noon weekday shinny (5 days a week) several times last winter because they were at capacity.

People show up in the thousands to watch 16-18 year olds play.

If it's declining, I'm not seeing it first hand.

 

[njdevils1982]

Most mainstream hockey watching canadians do not give a solitary f*** about the Hlinka and never have as far as I know.

pretty much,

then again, i dont care for any international, olympic, junior, hlinka, spengler.....etc, etc


nhl or nothing

 

[MardyBum]

My buddy who lives in Edmonton said it was hardly promoted at all. He said it was like the day before it started before he even knew about it.

(not that it's a full blown excuse, but yeah, he didn't hear much on it)

I was in Edmonton recently and only knew it was going on there because I saw 4 Sweeded up guys walking through West Edmonton Mall and I checked to see what tournament was going on in the city lol.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

I'm doing house renovations, hiking, mountain biking and camping

It's too damn hot for any of that. And in the GTA it rains every day.

 

[Fourier]

Saying that it’s attendance is due to Edmontons recent playoff is just a terrible excuse. The real problem is that they held this event in the middle of summer in a smaller market and did no promotion for it. Quite a few people didn’t even know it was here until it had already started

Edmonton is not Red Deer.

I was visiting the city through the whole tournament and never even knew it was on. Yet hockey was still the #1 topic on sports radio through my visit. Contrast this with the Brick Tournament which promoted all over the place.

 

[NyQuil]

It's too damn hot for any of that. And in the GTA it rains every day.

Lots of water.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

Hockey is usually on the decline during the summer. It’s called the off season for a reason.

 

[ThreeOfAPerfectPair]

The local media even shits on the tournament.