Is international hockey too fragmented to ever grow?

[Urbanskog]

You do have guys with names like Hrádecký, Eremenko, Hetemaj, Zeneli, Yaghoubi, Sadik, Kuqi... I think this kind of characters will definitely be integration figures for the younger generations and that's already a lost battle for hockey then, even if there wouldn't be a Finnish Zlatan to provide the knockout.

Finland has vastly less immigrants than f.x. Sweden. Hockey is also miles ahead soccer in terms of popularity here and the Veikkausliiga matches are notorious for their attendance (http://www.lansivayla.fi/sites/default/files/styles/article/public/documentimages/21091219.jpg). I also counted the foreign surnames in the current squad and I found exactly three of those (Zeneli, Hetemaj, Schüller).

There's literally no way soccer would get ahead of ice hockey in popularity in Finland, no matter how much you soccerphiles fantasize over the thought.

 

[thom]

1st of all hockey till sometime in 1980s was played by working class canadians-something happened the costs got past of no return-just read a story that average 10 year old in canada spends 1600 -2000 dollars year which is boderline criminal.Since mid 1980s Quebec has lost many kids to football and the reason costs not injury thats a media bs-No french school in Quebec played football pre-1980.Now over 359 hs have football programs.The future Richards,Lafleurs,Beliveaus,Roys ect are playing in CFL and even Nfl-because of enormous costs