As a sidenote to the overall USHL thread. How's the transition from OHL to the USNTDP been- Have many other of the Whalers season tix holders re-upped with Team USA? How's atmosphere for the games compared to the OHL (crowd, game presentation, etc...)?
I know USA Hockey did a reno to the facility when they took it over and they intend to make it a marquee venue for the NTDP as well as other USA Hockey events.
The crowds were quite a bit smaller last season than with the Whalers. I am not sure how many season ticket holders re-upped -- in our section most did come back, but we did lose a few people. Attendance for the U18 was definitely better than the U17. I think the U18 crowds were between 1,000 - 1,500 for most games, while the U17's struggled to get 800 people.
The crowds have been quieter for the NTDP games than with the Whalers. The horns and cowbells after goals are gone (my wife didn't bring her cowbell, either). The PA announcer was not as entertaining as Chris from the Whalers, but new video boards were installed in two corners that the team used effectively for player introductions, goal replays, etc.
One big difference was the lack of visiting fans in comparison to the OHL. Most of the people attending for the visiting team seemed to be relatives or friends of players. In the past, we would see lots of traveling fans from the visiting OHL cities -- especially from Windsor, London, Saginaw and Kitchener.
The Five Nations U17 international tournament drew well for the Team USA games, though. We missed the Saturday night game between Team USA and Russia (were out of town), but that game was close to a sellout.
I am not sure how well the U20 WJC evaluation camp games will draw, as it's summer time and USA Hockey hasn't really promoted the event much. We have not received a single thing from them to order tickets, and I had forgotten the event was starting this weekend until I drove by the arena and saw something on the message board.
Hopefully the crowds will increase some this year. The one nice thing about smaller crowds last year was no lines at the restroom or bar, plus it was easier to get into the restaurant before games.