WJC: Tournament popularity outside Canada

[Slimmy]

I struggle to remember the year has changed.

With the amount of alcohol normally consumed on new years eve, I don't blame you.

 

[Seattle Totems]

I understand full well why people in America won't watch a tournament coinciding with the Stanley Cup playoffs. But when they start to tell you that the level of hockey in the WJC is better than in the men's tournament, they just show their ignorance.

That's not what I said.

I said that the WJC is a far better tournament and it is more entertaining to watch than the WHC.

You're arguing that "mistake free" pro hockey is played at a higher level than the WJC. I don't disagree with that, but that doesn't mean that it's more entertaining to watch or better than the WJC.

 

[Lepardi]

You're arguing that "mistake free" pro hockey is played at a higher level than the WJC. I don't disagree with that, but that doesn't mean that it's more entertaining to watch or better than the WJC.

There is no such thing as mistake-free hockey. You're arguing that the WJC is played at a higher level than a pee-wee hockey game where you get 30 goals. I don't disagree with that, but that doesn't mean that the WJC is more entertaining to watch or better than a pee-wee hockey game with a final score of 18-12.

 

[FuriousSenator]

That's not what I said.

I said that the WJC is a far better tournament and it is more entertaining to watch than the WHC.

You're arguing that "mistake free" pro hockey is played at a higher level than the WJC. I don't disagree with that, but that doesn't mean that it's more entertaining to watch or better than the WJC.

haha speak for yourself. I much prefer the World Hockey Championships. That tournament actually means something (aka real international hockey prestige on the line).

 

[blendini]

Don't recall it being considered important in Canada until 10 or so years ago.

It's just a fun distraction during the holidays. Nice to see some really good hockey with international competition. Kids play with so much heart and pride. Good stuff.

 

[Bakayoko Ono]

Games being played in the middle of the night and no free-to-air TV coverage mean that it takes a certain amount of dedication to follow this tournament even though it does get solid coverage on news sites/media. Junior/school sports aren't appreciated as spectator sports in Finland the way they are in North America. Just a different culture.

 

[Penguins23]

haha speak for yourself. I much prefer the World Hockey Championships. That tournament actually means something (aka real international hockey prestige on the line).

NHL teams NEVER release players for the WHC but sometimes they do for the WJHC so clearly they thing the WJHC means something while the WHC doesn't.


*waits for playoff excuse*

 

[MNRube]

Denmark's progress is getting a fair bit of coverage in main stream media which is definitely a new thing. And Team Denmark's games have been streamed live on one of the major Danish TV networks' website, which is a major leap forward in terms of coverage.

This is so great to hear. No reason Denmark shouldn't be a respectable hockey nation

 

[roto]

I think you're focused too much on physical maturity and coaching systems instead of the skill that the best junior prospects posses. This is typical of the bias that people have against the WJC. Sure, a 2nd tier Finnish elite league team may be able to beat the national junior team but it's not a fair fight and it doesn't decide anything. A win doesn't mean that 2nd tier league hockey is better than the WJC or that these players are more skilled than top WJC players.

No, I don't have bias against WJC like you have against WHC. I just don't imagine that a kids tournament is magically something way better than WHC. It just does not make any sense. I watch WJC games when Finland plays but I don't need to praise it and bash others. It's also ironic that you bash something that you haven't watched in a decade.

The reason why the kids may look skilled in WJC is that they are playing against weak opposition. It's much easier to dangle and dominate there than in pro leagues, let alone in NHL. The amount of skills needed in order to dominate depends on the level of play. That's easy to understand for Europeans because we see how our WJC stars fare in pro leagues.

I would take the WJC over the WHC any day of the week because the games are very entertaining to watch and because the players actually are the best juniors in the world. If people want to get snobby and talk about "mistake free hockey" go ahead and enjoy the perfectly executed boring 2nd tier pro league of your choice.

Very nice argumentation. Not. The best juniors are NOT playing in WJC but they play in NHL. Only those play in WJC who are not good enough to be important for an NHL team.

It'd be nice to know a definition for level where hockey changes from "boring pro league hockey" to something really entertaining. With your logic NHL must be the ultimately boring league.

 

[Lepardi]

It'd be nice to know a definition for level where hockey changes from "boring pro league hockey" to something really entertaining.

Yeah, tomorrow I'll be going to a "boring pro hockey league" game here in Tampere, Finland, cause it's my home town team that I've been following for 25 years. Sadly, it's not even a second tier pro league. I would call it third string at best, cause it's so far behind the KHL, and the KHL is so far behind the NHL. My home town team isn't good even by this third-string league's standards, but Team Finland still picked three players from it to play in the WJCs. One of them has a really tough time to even make the roster in this bush league of ours, but somehow it's still entertaining to watch these guys when they put on a Finland jersey in Montréal.

 

[Dosing]

I think hockeyfans should focus on the positives which is the people who watch this tournament not the people who doesn't (omg I sound like a leftparty journalist..)

No but seriously lets bury our heads in the sand and just enjoy the hockey It's only a sport afterall.

 

[Dynamo81]

Silvercanuck

 

[jekoh]

If you want to cherry pick teams based on the NHL lockout, then how about the 2005 team Canada WJC roster. We're likely talking about 4 future hockey Hall of Fame members to 2 on your 2013 WHC team:

The WHC team is still vastly superior.

Being "future" hall of famers says very little about how good the various players were at 19.

 

[BobDobolina]

That is definitely not for sure.

The only numbers I found out are from WJC 2012 Czech Republic - USA (the game where Mrázek dominated), it was played at 21:00 CET and on the 30th of December, so basically the best possible time slot if we are talking about overseas WJC and it was watched by 273k people, for comparison EHT match Czech Republic - Finland two weeks earlier was watched by 265k people. And WHC 2011 at Slovakia had average viewership of 1 million people.

The thing is most people don't know 90% of players on the roster, the games are being played late and we are not really that great in WJC. Yes hardcore hockey fans will watch it and casual fans may turn it on, when nothing else is in the TV, but that is all. But I guess it is still the most popular not senior tournament, so good for hockey.

Good stuff. Anyone got the numbers from other countries?

 

[RobertR]

We had a pretty good coverage on our biggest sport media website. (there was article about Danes first win, that Russia lost , and just now they wrote about QF pairs)

When our country played coverage was bigger, of course.

 

[wishywashy19]

Well after reading this thread it appears to be more popular than I had thought. I was basically under the impression that outside of Canada it wasn't followed in any way. A lot of contradictions though, some people saying no one in their country cares, next one says it's popular. It's probably somewhere in the middle then.

As has been mentioned though the only reason it got so popular in Canada is TSN hyping the hell out of it like you couldn't believe.

first time on this thread. I wonder as well about coverage.
It is huge in Canada. Home parties are planned around it. Yes, it is hyped big time by a sports network that has lost an NHL contract so it has huge ratings and so big dollars.
Junior hockey has national coverage right across Canada.
Without a doubt, we could buy this tournament every year from the IIHF and pay off other countries to do so. i watched games in other countries and no one goes to the games.
Other countries can have the WHC. No one gives a hoot about it except if we got in the gold medal game, it would peak some interest. Other wise, this is the big international show here and the Olympics of course which is on the highest level.

 

[carolinacanuck]

had a family/friends get together yesterday. we talked about the tar heels, college football and the nfl playoffs.

then i brought up the world jr's...

*crickets

 

[Chara-3]

Good stuff. Anyone got the numbers from other countries?

Slovakia.

Population: 5,4 M

WJC 2014 in Sweden
Group stage 30-Dec, Slovakia - Canada, 379 000 - WJC Record
Group stage 31-Dec, Slovakia - Czech Republic, 214 000
QF 2-Jan, Slovakia - Sweden, 311 000

Numbers from other years are not relevant since not many people watch games at 2 AM.

WCH 2014 in Belarus
Group stage 9-May, Slovakia - Czech Republic, 930 000
Group stage 10-May, Slovakia - Canada, 910 000
Group stage 17-May, Slovakia - Italy, 1 141 000

All time WCH record is 2012 final Slovakia - Russia, 1 788 000.

Sources (in Slovak):
http://strategie.hnonline.sk/spravy...sti-v-silvestrovsky-tyzden-miesala-karty-rtvs
http://strategie.hnonline.sk/spravy...mi-zapasmi-zdolal-milionovu-metu-sledovanosti

 

[daver]

haha speak for yourself. I much prefer the World Hockey Championships. That tournament actually means something (aka real international hockey prestige on the line).

Even though the WJC is in a different weight class, pound for pound it has more prestige.

I personally like the WJC because it is a high level of hockey with the exuberance and unpredictability of teenagers thrown into the mix. I think this will eventually get through to the Euro mindset of looking at it as a tournament for 'kids'.

 

[Stats01]

Ok but that doesn't make Canada winning any more significant....

Canada winning in a global soccer, basketball, rugby, cricket or baseball tournament; now that would mean something to me. Not Canadian teenagers smoking other countries' teenagers in a tournament only we know about in a niche sport we invented haha.

So this tournament doesn't mean anything to you then? To YOU Canada winning isn't very significant but to millions in this country it means a lot. If you don't care then don't watch. I absolutely love this tournament and I really don't worry about whether it's popular somewhere else. I don't need someone else to be emotionally involved in this tournament for me to enjoy it or to worry about how significant this tournament may or may not be. Who cares.

 

[FuriousSenator]

Even though the WJC is in a different weight class, pound for pound it has more prestige.

Absolutely not. It only holds prestige in the minds of Canadians (and as a result, not at all). It's the equivalent of telling the world you're the best at moonwalking on Mars. No one cares and no one saw you do it.

So this tournament doesn't mean anything to you then? To YOU Canada winning isn't very significant but to millions in this country it means a lot. If you don't care then don't watch. I absolutely love this tournament and I really don't worry about whether it's popular somewhere else. I don't need someone else to be emotionally involved in this tournament for me to enjoy it or to worry about how significant this tournament may or may not be. Who cares.

Fair enough and you can cheer all you want and get excited when Canada wins. That is absolutely your right, as is mine to not care even slightly. However objectively speaking it is a relatively meaningless tournament, not just in global sport, but in global ice hockey as well. The only people I have ever seen hold up World Junior Ice Hockey medals as some kind of indicator of sporting prowess are Canadians. In my opinion that is quite frankly pretty strange and non-sensical. If you want Canada to be seen as a global sporting powerhouse, it is going to have to be in the more mainstream sports and at a higher level.

I'd rather see all this energy directed at the World Juniors placed towards the Canadian Men's soccer team, basketball team, baseball team, rugby etc... + also the World Hockey Championships if ice hockey is your only bag.

Those sports/tourneys actually mean something, to the world that is, but apparently not Canadians.

I love Canada and I love seeing Canada be a winner; but when it does I want to see it make global headlines, not just national ones.

 

[daver]

Absolutely not. It only holds prestige in the minds of Canadians (and as a result, not at all). It's the equivalent of telling the world you're the best at moonwalking on Mars. No one cares and no one saw you do it.

The WHC's have become a B tournament. How many Olympians played in the tourney last year? And the year before that?

The WJC's are a best on best save for a handful of NHLer's.

 

[Urbanskog]

Absolutely not. It only holds prestige in the minds of Canadians (and as a result, not at all). It's the equivalent of telling the world you're the best at moonwalking on Mars. No one cares and no one saw you do it.



Fair enough and you can cheer all you want and get excited when Canada wins. That is absolutely your right, as is mine to not care even slightly. However objectively speaking it is a relatively meaningless tournament, not just in global sport, but in global ice hockey as well. The only people I have ever seen hold up World Junior Ice Hockey medals as some kind of indicator of sporting prowess are Canadians. In my opinion that is quite frankly pretty strange and non-sensical. If you want Canada to be seen as a global sporting powerhouse, it is going to have to be in the more mainstream sports and at a higher level.

I'd rather see all this energy directed at the World Juniors placed towards the Canadian Men's soccer team, basketball team, baseball team, rugby etc... + also the World Hockey Championships if ice hockey is your only bag.

Those sports/tourneys actually mean something, to the world that is, but apparently not Canadians.

I love Canada and I love seeing Canada be a winner; but when it does I want to see it make global headlines, not just national ones.

Watch the WHC then, plenty of Euros care about it, last year the Minsk Arena was packed even at the Kazakhstan - Germany match.

 

[Chara-3]

The WHC's have become a B tournament. How many Olympians played in the tourney last year? And the year before that?

The WJC's are a best on best save for a handful of NHLer's.

I understand that countries like Canada, USA or Sweden play with B or even C team. But why should Germany, Switzerland, Latvia or Slovakia care? There are 16 countries at WHC. Many of them have no or just few players in NHL.

Last WHC had total cumulative audience of 945 million viewers which is pretty impressive considering not much of them were North Americans: http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/...]=9095&cHash=99cebe115979407ec29031e011533803

 

[jekoh]

The WHC's have become a B tournament. How many Olympians played in the tourney last year? And the year before that?

The WJC's are a best on best save for a handful of NHLer's.

I can't be bothered to count the number of Olympians at last year's WHC, but there were obviously a lot more of them than at the WJC, so the WHC is closer to being a best on best than the WJC is.

WHC >>> WJC.