Is Saskatchewan (CAN) suitable for an expension team

[Boyon90]

Hockey is the most popular sport in Saskatchewan. More than 500 National Hockey League (NHL) players have been born in Saskatchewan, the highest per capita output of any Canadian province, U.S. state, or European country.

Why is it not up in expension talks, why is no investors showing interest in growing an NHL team over there?

If feel like its the missing link to make Canada stronger hockey-wise, all province from south-west to quebec would have a team

active players

all time top30

 

[Tasteless Beaver]

Their capital city has 250,000 people and one of the poorest neighborhoods in North America. What do you think?

 

[TheBeastCoast]

No.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

No.

Long answer: Nooooooooooooo.

 

[Three On Zero]

No.

 

[BLNY]

AHL? Maybe.

NHL? Not a chance.

 

[stevo61]

I think people use the weak argument that they can sell out Roughrider games but it's different selling out 9 weekend games a year than it is to sell out 41 games a season scattered through the week

 

[Boyon90]

Their capital city has 250,000 people and one of the poorest neighborhoods in North America. What do you think?

thats good for top 19th in most populous cities, good enough for me like hell these people have better to do than to go to a hockey game

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Population of Edmonton Alberta - 1.2 million.
Population of the entire province of Saskatchewan - 1.2 million.

 

[ViD]

They should think about AHL and even that is doubtful

 

[Boyon90]

Population of Edmonton Alberta - 1.2 million.
Population of the entire province of Saskatchewan - 1.2 million.

just build a new bigger city around the arena

GAWD DAMN people you have no vision

 

[Burt Macklin]

Their fans are committed enough, but there is not enough of them to fill a stadium on a regular basis

 

[Tasteless Beaver]

I think people use the weak argument that they can sell out Roughrider games but it's different selling out 9 weekend games a year than it is to sell out 41 games a season scattered through the week

They don't sell out Pats games either (Bedard era aside). Having a robust grassroots hockey culture does not necessarily mean that those people are going to pay to see professional hockey on a near-nightly basis. SK's hockey strength comes from the fact that every small town has an arena, and it's the only thing to do in winter for these kids. SK is a very rural province, and it is not rich. There is little corporate interest for something like this, and a million ways that the billion-or-so-dollars could be spent instead of building a new hockey rink.

 

[Bouboumaster]

Québec City alone is over half of a million of population and they still don't have a hockey team.

So the answer is no, obviously

 

[stevo61]

They don't sell out Pats games either (Bedard era aside). Having an robust grassroots hockey culture does not necessarily mean that those people are going to pay to see professional hockey on a near-nightly basis. SK's hockey strength comes from the fact that every small town has an arena, and it's the only thing to do in winter for these kids. SK is very rural province, and it is not rich. There is little corporate interest for something like this, and a million ways that the billion-or-so-dollars could be spent instead of building a new hockey rink.

that's kinda ebbs and flows of CHL hockey though I think. There are a lot of empty seats here when the team sucks that's for sure but it's packed when they are good. Getting the 1st pick and homegrown talent will turn it around but still, not a chance they can sellout an NHL arena here year after year.

SK is cool in the sense there actually is money here and literally every small town has an arena which is great for producing talent but at the end of the day it's a numbers game and no chance an NHL team would thrive here.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Eventually, sure! Teams are like Walmarts, everyone gets one sometime. Plus, it’s warming up, so maybe more people move there. Gosh, y’all are negative.

I do think it’d be interesting- I’d bet people would support a team like that like crazy, actually. Green Bay, for example.

 

[BKarchitect]

Eventually, sure! Teams are like Walmarts, everyone gets one sometime. Plus, it’s warming up, so maybe more people move there. Gosh, y’all are negative.

I do think it’d be interesting- I’d bet people would support a team like that like crazy, actually. Green Bay, for example.

Green Bay is less than a 2 hour drive from 2+ million people in Milwaukee and Madison who can easily make the trek 8 Sunday’s a year to fill a stadium. I don’t think that analogy works even in a “their fans would be into it” sense.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I’m glad you specified Saskatchewan Canada and not the famous city Saskatchewan, Mexico.

 

[Three On Zero]

I think people use the weak argument that they can sell out Roughrider games but it's different selling out 9 weekend games a year than it is to sell out 41 games a season scattered through the week

Roughrider tickets also average $50/per.

 

[saska sault]

As a kid I got to watch some games in the Sasktel Centre , was always weird to see the top section covered up for Blades games... only thing in the upper bowl was the cigarette smoke at that time. They built it for the Blues to come but that never happened from my understanding.

To answer the question. No. AHL? Yes.

 

[ItWasJustified]

Why is it not up in expension talks, why is no investors showing interest in growing an NHL team over there?

The day the NHL is not a gate revenue dependent league and instead is a TV money league, yes.

 

[tarheelhockey]

It’s just not big enough, and has nowhere near the corporate base to offset its size. Nutrien is big but it’s only one company. After that it falls off fast.

thats good for top 19th in most populous cities, good enough for me like hell these people have better to do than to go to a hockey game

Sure, 19th among city proper populations in Canada. A little smaller than Gatineau and a lot smaller than Laval. Throw in the suburbs, and greater Saskatoon is considerably smaller than Oshawa or Victoria BC.

For international reference, it’s the size of Champaign-Urbana IL USA, Reading UK, Bielefeld Germany, Avignon France, or Uppsala Sweden.

It’s just not nearly large enough to hold down an NHL team. As an exhibition city, or a temporary landing place for a team that loses its arena, sure.

 

[Xirik]

The people definitely deserve a team, they are a very sports rabid.

 

[BKarchitect]

FWIW - way back in a different era in the early 80’s there was an attempt by Bill Hunter to buy and move the Blues to Saskatoon and it was pretty much mocked even back then and crushed in a vote of NHL owners.

Zero chance the league would back a team there in 2025.

 

[MCR74]

Why the hell not?