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Poor attendance

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The WJC in many ways has run as its course as an "event". Years ago, Iron Curtain countries did not allow their players in North America. Now those countries and well as other European countries have their youngsters playing in North American, junior, USHL, NCAA even the AHL. And with advanced sports TV and the internet, the mystery has been lifted over these unknown juniors.
An all star tourney, really not that intriguing anymore. Even the Olympics was different years ago. Top athletes only competed each other at the World Championships and the Olympics. Not there are almost weekly tourneys or exhibitions. Just so much time and money even the more ardent fan spend on sports watching.
 
Oh wow attendance is bad for a minor on the grand scheme of things JUNIOR hockey tourney in which 90% of the players playing in it will never be NHL players during a record breaking cold streak in the northeast lasting weeks. I would have gotten tix if I could have gotten just the us Canada game and a few other marquee matchups . Not paying several hundred so I cannot use most of the tickets.
 
I was there for most of the prelim games. That Belarus/Russia game, there were more people on the bench than in the stands haha...my buddy and I did a rough count, there were 500 or 600 people there...

Sweden/Switzerland was a full house, people standing all around too...that was probably a couple thousand...even scouts were pressed into less than ideal lower seating, I was sitting with the Tampa contingent for that one...

Naturally, those are tickets sold numbers (standard), but even for something like Canada/Denmark, you just walk up before the game, buy the cheapest ticket ($30) and then go sit in the club box...no one is there, no one is gonna say boo about it either if you look like you belong there...
 
lifelonghockeyfan said:
The WJC in many ways has run as its course as an "event". Years ago, Iron Curtain countries did not allow their players in North America. Now those countries and well as other European countries have their youngsters playing in North American, junior, USHL, NCAA even the AHL. And with advanced sports TV and the internet, the mystery has been lifted over these unknown juniors.
An all star tourney, really not that intriguing anymore. Even the Olympics was different years ago. Top athletes only competed each other at the World Championships and the Olympics. Not there are almost weekly tourneys or exhibitions. Just so much time and money even the more ardent fan spend on sports watching.
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The WJC was never overly popular during the cold war though. It wasn't until TSN started promoting the crap out of it (following the Piestany Punch-Up) did popularity reach crazy levels, apexing in the 2000s.
But I agree. We're witnessing WJC burn-out in many ways.
 
I don't think the WJC should be played in the US anymore. The ticket prices seem to be too high in North America and the Canadian fans aren't travelling as well to Buffalo this time than they were in 2011. The Americans seem to treat the u20 championship like a minor hockey tournament. Overall, the market is not there if the Canadians aren't coming in waves like they were before (but obviously if Canada makes it to the gold medal game, then the place will be packed).

If it is not going to be in Canada, I would prefer it go to another country that has a passion for hockey like Finland, Russia and Sweden have proven in the last five years. The United States doesn't treat this tournament with the same passion that most other hockey mad countries do so they should not be given the tournament as an excuse to put the tournament next to the Canadian border
 
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Don't kid yourself. Canada is the anomaly, not the US. There are pockets of interest, globally, but there is absolutely nowhere that has ever had interest at the level it was a few years ago in Canada, particularly when they won five in a row.

No one country should host more than once every five years, and cities/regions shouldn't repeat when their country's time comes around again. If they stuck to that sensible notion, most of these problems would go away.

Yet the whole tourney is warped now because, inexplicably, TSN successfully marketed the WJCs as an annual holiday tradition. Now they keep going back to Canada to milk the gate, but are finding the well isn't inexhaustible. We are halfway through three straight years in which the tournament is in Canada, or close to the Canadian border and densest population center, and then back in Canada again next year.

None of this would be a problem if the tournament coming to town was a novelty, unlikely to be repeated for years (if ever), like it is in many European host cities. That's what brings great crowds to the games in Europe... but not high ticket prices, which is why this broken system persists and will not be changing anytime soon.
 
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Drake1588 said:
Don't kid yourself. Canada is the anomaly, not the US. There are pockets of interest, globally, but there is absolutely nowhere that has ever had interest at the level it was a few years ago in Canada, particularly when they won five in a row.

No one country should host more than once every five years, and cities/regions shouldn't repeat when their country's time comes around again. If they stuck to that sensible notion, most of these problems would go away.

Yet the whole tourney is warped now because, inexplicably, TSN successfully marketed the WJCs as an annual holiday tradition. Now they keep going back to Canada to milk the gate, but are finding the well isn't inexhaustible. We are halfway through three straight years in which the tournament is in Canada, or close to the Canadian border and densest population center, and then back in Canada again next year.

None of this would be a problem if the tournament coming to town was a novelty, unlikely to be repeated for years (if ever), like it is in many European host cities. That's what brings great crowds to the games in Europe... but not high ticket prices, which is why this broken system persists and will not be changing anytime soon.
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I agree with what you're saying, but I think you're forgetting that the tournament was in Finland in 2016. It's only two years in a row in North America.
 
OilerPensfan97 said:
I agree with what you're saying, but I think you're forgetting that the tournament was in Finland in 2016. It's only two years in a row in North America.
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Problem is it will three in a row next year. I think Canada should host every three years as opposed to two. It hurts the tournaments credibility.
 
The issue is supply and demand, and the ticket prices reflecting that supply and demand. This is the third time in 4 years that the Toronto Metropolitan area has been milked for revenue. Perhaps it shouldn't be suprising that people in South Ontario are a bit tired of paying big bucks for a junior tournament, especially when in this case it involves road tripping to the games during a cold snap.

btw, Before their return in 2015, the last time the WJC was held in southern Ontario was 1986. Surely there is some middle ground between once in 30 years and 3 in 4 years that would better attract the attention of fans.
 
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Pyrophorus said:
Did Canada sell out in Helsinki, aside from playing the Finns?

I also heard that the WJC isn't big in Europe?
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The WJC isn't big anywhere.....other than on the TSN network, which lost its NHL telecasts and hypes this tournament to the skies.....and I suppose its important to the scouts and those Canadian die-hards who slavishly follow their NHL team's junior prospects and draft-eligible players. But you also have to consider the weather. Who's going to brave the cold in Buffalo, Moscow, Oslo or anywhere else to watch another game in which Denmark, Belarus or Switzerland get rag-dolled by some stacked team?
 
OilerPensfan97 said:
I agree with what you're saying, but I think you're forgetting that the tournament was in Finland in 2016. It's only two years in a row in North America.
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I could have been clearer, so mea culpa. I mean it's in Toronto, Canada in 2017; Buffalo, USA in 2018 -- but right near the Canadian border, so as to draw Golden Horseshoe fans again; and then back in Canada in 2019 (albeit in the West, which will help for the novelty factor). We are halfway through what are essentially three years of trying to draw Canadian fans (2017 to 2019), because this is a tournament that only Canadian fans are hardcore about in large numbers.

As noted, this comes after Canada in 2015... for fours years out of five, they are banking on Canadians to prop up the gate (2015, 2017-2019).

This isn't new, either. They did the same thing from 2010 to 2012 (Saskatchewan, Buffalo, Alberta).

Essentially, the organizers have been using the USA as a Canada proxy. St. Louis never stood a chance this year. Why? It wasn't about their bid. It was about how far St. Louis is from Canada. If IIHF and the federations had their druthers, they'd want to put this tournament in Toronto every year, simply to maximize revenues. Yet that looks bad. So they like having the option of USA host, but really, only as a thin pretext. They know that they couldn't get away with putting it in Canada consecutively, so it's convenient to put it in the USA, but only if it's near the Canadian border.

How long before it's in Detroit, next to sister city Windsor? I'll estimate it's not long at all, and will come immediately after another Canada hosting year.
 
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I think one thing people might be forgetting, I wouldn't be surprised if TSN (who are probably the only Network willing to pay a premium), is pushing for games to be in a location that will get it favorable ratings. If it is in Europe, the Gold Medal game takes place mid-day when most are back at work or at school.
 
What is also important to remember is that everyone is pulling on the same oar. The federations aren't fighting this, because the IIHF funnels WJC and WHC revenues to its member federations. They all win when revenues are high.

So there is no counterpoint here, no checks and balances. Revenues come from two sources. The box office, and rights fees from TSN, which gets massive ratings in Canada and advertising dollars as a result. You had better believe that since they lost their NHL contract to SportsNet, TSN protects its holiday cash cow... so the rights fees will be considerable. TSN needs the tournament to remain lucrative, and on television at least, there is no reason to believe there is much of a dip.

So yes, this translates to TSN having real power in this debate... but no one is really fighting the trend. Everyone from all countries want the games in Canada, because everyone likes money.
 
VanJack said:
The WJC isn't big anywhere.....other than on the TSN network, which lost its NHL telecasts and hypes this tournament to the skies...
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An average of 1.96 million people in Finland watched the final against Russia two years ago. The game peaked at 2.5 million viewers. We are a nation of 5.5 million. When Finland went to the men's WC final against Canada later in May, the average number of viewers was 2.22 million.

If 35.6 percent of Canadians watched the WJC final, that would mean that the average audience in Canada would be 12.5 million. Has it ever been that high?
 
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Iihf is going to change this. From 2022 games will be in Canada 4 times in 10 years. I think is good. They could try new places like Central Europe. Finlands tournament was a big success. Finland is not a sport crazy country but a success grazy country. And the mens tournament should be in North America more often, heck why not even in Asia.
 
I'd like them to go back to alternating between the top hockey countries. Sweden, Finland, Russia, Canada, America, and add another to the list.

And next time the USA gets their turn, I'd love for the WJC to go someplace completely different...Arizona, Dallas, Colorado, perhaps even Atlanta. Go to places that never get the chance to see an IIHF event. Stir up some grass roots support for the kids at the CHL/NCAA level. Grow the game, and eventually, you'll get more revenues in more places.
 
Lepardi said:
An average of 1.96 million people in Finland watched the final against Russia two years ago. The game peaked at 2.5 million viewers. We are a nation of 5.5 million. When Finland went to the men's WC final against Canada later in May, the average number of viewers was 2.22 million.

Actual number of people that watched in Canada at some point was well over double Finland's population. It's number of people who tuned in that matters not percentage of population.
If 35.6 percent of Canadians watched the WJC final, that would mean that the average audience in Canada would be 12.5 million. Has it ever been that high?
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TSN, RDS draw 7.1M viewers to World Junior gold medal game - Article - TSN
Overall, 13.4 million unique Canadian viewers tuned in to watch Team Canada reclaim World Junior gold. Audience levels on TSN and RDS peaked at 9.7 million viewers at 10:31 p.m. ET in the game’s dying seconds as Canada held on for the victory.
 
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I think to keep it 'fresh' it needs a better rotation instead of just Canada 3/4 of the time. I think there were better venues available than Buffalo but trying to pull the Canadians in. MN would have had a good attendance I would think.
 
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