Is hockey interest comparable in Minnesota to the canadian NHL cities?

[yzerman]

Question as the topic says Is hockey interest comparable in Minnesota to the canadian NHL cities?

I mean Minnesota is very close to the canadian border and is called The state of hockey give me your opinion please thanks.

You can choose up to 3 options in this poll.

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[Coffee]

Bigger in some

 

[Albatros]

Easily bigger than several Canadian NHL markets.

 

[Coffee]

Easily bigger than several Canadian NHL markets.

Montreal, Toronto who else ?

Genuinely curious

 

[jigglysquishy]

If Minnesota was a province it would be the 6th or 7th most die hard hockey province in Canada.

Going from a Manitoba or Saskatchewan to Minnesota is a pretty drastic drop off in hockey interest.

I do think it's the largest hockey centre in the States though.

 

[Albatros]

Montreal, Toronto who else ?

Genuinely curious

Ottawa & Winnipeg aren't really even debatable. Obviously Minnesota is far more populous than Manitoba, but either way Team Minnesota would wipe the floor with Team Manitoba these days and the Jets are closer to the University of Minnesota than the Wild in attendance.

 

[NyQuil]

Ottawa & Winnipeg aren't really even debatable.

Not really.

The Vikings are still the biggest thing in the market.

Local radio is all Sens all day every day.

Ottawa set a record for World Junior hockey attendance and has healthy Junior and PWHL teams as well.

It may be a smaller population but the level of interest is more focused on hockey.

 

[Coffee]

Ottawa & Winnipeg aren't really even debatable. Obviously Minnesota is far more populous than Manitoba, but either way Team Minnesota would wipe the floor with Team Manitoba these days and the Jets are closer to the University of Minnesota than the Wild in attendance.

so who else ?

 

[The Nuge]

Pretty clearly behind Toronto/Edmonton/Montreal by a decent margin, and Vancouver to a lesser degree. Comparable to Calgary/Winnipeg/Ottawa. So not sure how to vote. It’s comparable to some markets, but not really to the Canadian market as a whole

 

[Albatros]

Not really.

The Vikings are still the biggest thing in the market.

Local radio is all Sens all day every day.

Ottawa set a record for World Junior hockey attendance and has healthy Junior and PWHL teams as well.

It may be a smaller population but the level of interest is more focused on hockey.

The Sens may be nearly the only show in town, but there are as many NHLers born in Lakeville, MN (pop. 72,000) as in Ottawa.

 

[NyQuil]

The Sens may be nearly the only show in town, but there are as many NHLers born in Lakeville, MN (pop. 72,000) as in Ottawa.

If you are referring to active NHLers, you missed Brandt Clarke from "Nepean" and Calvin de Haan from "Carp", both of which are in Ottawa.

Historically, there are around 200 NHLers from the Ottawa valley alone.

 

[MNRube]

The west suburbs of Minneapolis are as fertile as any part of North America as far as producing NHLers. But unfortunately the Minnesota model has never produced a superstar forward. We produce Top 4 D at a ridiculous rate but rarely great forwards.

As far as overall hockey fandom, Minnesota still trails most of Canada. Hockey isn’t embedded into the fabric of Minnesota culture like it is in Canada. Anyone who has visited or lived in Canada can attest. its just different up there

But I’ll take our prep hockey experience over anyone’s. Most kids get to play with their neighborhood friends their whole lives. Cant say that about Canada with their junior system. I think that’s why a lot of retired NHLers retire in the Twin Cities. Their kids can play on ponds with friends, maybe make “The Tourney” and parents enjoy a high quality of life.

 

[Three On Zero]

Behind Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton. If they didn’t have a NFL franchise they’d likely be ahead of both Vancouver and Edmonton.

Even with a NHL franchise they aren’t that far behind Edmonton.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Behind Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton. If they didn’t have a NFL franchise they’d likely be ahead of both Vancouver and Edmonton.

Even with a NHL franchise they aren’t that far behind Edmonton.

View attachment 928339

lol social media.

 

[Three On Zero]

lol social media.

That’s really the best data in this day and age.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Yes and even bigger interest than some canadian NHL teams​

 

[CanadienShark]

I'd say yes, having never been to Minnesota. They're basically southern Canadians.

 

[Fatass]

Is hockey number one in Minnesota? Are the sports radio talk shows focussed on hockey. If not, then it’s not the same as Canada. It’s a great state for hockey, that’s for sure, but unless hockey is by far the number one sport of interest it’s not comparable to Canada.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

Are the Wild always on the local news, and tops in the sports sections?
Because the Canadian NHL teams are.

Yes, Minny has a bigger market than some Canadian cities, but I do not believe the interest is as high at all.

 

[CanadienShark]

Ottawa & Winnipeg aren't really even debatable. Obviously Minnesota is far more populous than Manitoba, but either way Team Minnesota would wipe the floor with Team Manitoba these days and the Jets are closer to the University of Minnesota than the Wild in attendance.

Not really.

The Vikings are still the biggest thing in the market.

Local radio is all Sens all day every day.

Ottawa set a record for World Junior hockey attendance and has healthy Junior and PWHL teams as well.

It may be a smaller population but the level of interest is more focused on hockey.

Ottawa is definitely a hockey city. It also has the "benefit" of having basically 3 teams - Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal fans are everywhere.

 

[MNRube]

Is hockey number one in Minnesota? Are the sports radio talk shows focussed on hockey. If not, then it’s not the same as Canada. It’s a great state for hockey, that’s for sure, but unless hockey is by far the number one sport of interest it’s not comparable to Canada.

Nope. Vikings are the top dogs. It’s not like Canada. Hockey culture is very strong but it’s still niche.

 

[Three On Zero]

Nope. Vikings are the top dogs. It’s not like Canada. Hockey culture is very strong but it’s still niche.

NHL will never be able to compete against a local NFL team.

 

[Golden_Jet]

That’s really the best data in this day and age.

Ya ok lol

Ottawa is definitely a hockey city. It also has the "benefit" of having basically 3 teams - Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal fans are everywhere.

Yep, also has a CHL either side of the river, has a junior A league, junior B league, CIS teams, PWHL

Also when WJC come to Ottawa they don’t need to split it between 2 cities.

 

[CanadienShark]

Ya ok lol

Yep, also has a CHL either side of the river, has a junior A league, junior B league

Having lived in both Ottawa and Calgary somewhat recently (last decade), it's absolutely night and day between the two cities that I see compared often. Ottawa is far more of a hockey city.

 

[biturbo19]

Ever since the redistricting of the Hawks, i think interest has actually broadened across Minnesota.