What happened to WJC discussion here?

[llwyd]

Well, yeah, there are specific issues this year, but this is a longer term thing - I noticed the decline already a few years back. This time around it is really clear though.

 

[Elias40]

I’ve been to the WJCs in Malmo, Helsinki and Ostrava and I can assure you that the fans there were as interested, engaged and emotional when they won (Finland in Helsinki) as Canadians are. I don’t buy that argument at all. What we need, though, is more interest in potential European organizers to host the tournament. You can’t host if you don’t apply.

I would add to that the price for broadcasting for European TV. TSN has increased the price for transmission since the August tournament, according to Zaruba, who is the head of Czech television and a hockey commentator. I understand that if TSN has enough interest in Canada/USA then there is no reason to lower the price to broadcast, but it also means that the WJC matches in Europe will only be available on streams. And each country will broadcast only its team, not the other matches. And believe me, I would be very interested in the Canada-Sweden match, but Czech television will not broadcast that match.

 

[kp61c]

They have consistently found ways to lose with strong teams in the past decade. Obviously would have a chance but not willing to say they would be "an easy gold" without seeing them actually play. Never know anyways.

those teams didn't have Michkov.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

those teams didn't have Michkov.

I mean Michkov lost the U18 tournament like a year and a half ago. He isn't god and this Connor Bedard kid isn't to bad himself.

 

[The Marquis]

What do you think Reddit has to offer members that hfboards doesn’t?

Well, the only actual thing is the app, but Reddit is a garbage place with garbage people and we’re all smarter for being here instead of there. And probably better off with most of them staying there.

 

[Gold Standard]

I mean Michkov lost the U18 tournament like a year and a half ago. He isn't god and this Connor Bedard kid isn't to bad himself.

Those pesky facts are always a fly in the ointment.

 

[GreenLine]

Funny, those people who say that these teenagers should not play in the tournament because they are Russians are happy to wait for them in their franchise system.

Those are two different issues.

A Russian player playing on an NHL team doesn't inherently have any nationalism unless they go out of their way to make it an issue.

A Russian team is literally representing the nation. Imagine how off-putting it'd be if Russia won the tournament this year...

 

[Panthaz89]

I do not know how much the ban of Russia has affected the decline in interest in the tournament, but this year Russia could have the strongest squad after Buffalo 2011.

F: Michkov, Miroshnichenko, Yurov, Buchelnikov, Svechkov, Chibrikov, Fedotov, Grebyonkin, Neuchev, Demidov, Poltapov, Yarovoy, Trikozov, Petrov, Ivantsov, Vinogradov, Perevalov.
D: Mintyukov, Yevseyev, Duda, Gulyayev, Grudinin, Orlov, Novikov, Koromyslov, Kudryavtsev, Komarov, Simashev.

Funny, those people who say that these teenagers should not play in the tournament because they are Russians are happy to wait for them in their franchise system.

Blame the politicians not the other guys.

 

[Czechboy]

Lots of the fun trolls are currently on a leave.lol. A lot of people come here to troll.

No Russia affects the hockey. A michkov vs Bedard storyline would've been epic. Despite zero gold's in a decade... This was Russias gold AINEC (am I doing this right?). No back to back champion in awhile too. Some parity but only 4 countries can win gold. 5 was bad... 4 is worse.

Games start at midnight for euros.

No Russian posters affects the trolling level around here. Less NHL Canadian fans coming with their heat too! Lots of Canuck and Russian posters came here to insult each other and lots came here to read said arguments.

No covid scientists either.. no freedom truck convoy debates. You think I'm. Kidding but last year's tournament was mostly covid arguments.

Lots of posters come here to troll... Those posters aren't happy because they keep getting warnings and thread bans. Their truth is not being heard! Lots of posters come here to read the trolls argue and insult.

I actually think it's been great! It's mostly hockey fans talking hockey. I love it. I haven't had to put one person on ignore and pool play is almost done. I don't come here to read covid views or politics. I come here to get away from them.

Also.. I think people are finally getting it's a meaningless marketed tourney and always has been... It's tsn hype that makes it popular. Being in Canada every year is annoying. The hockey Canada stuff looms large and world politics loom large. Considerably less marketing too as sponsors faded away. It's mostly blind dog commercials (which are adorable) but not Nike, Gatorade, ford etc. Actually... Haven't seen one 'this is our game' type ad.lol

 

[Statsy]

It's probably because Gord Miller keeps repeating the same facts over and over and over again each game

I love Gord, but this is definitely a problem. I can do a point form list of each his regular talking points and everyone that watches TSN with any regularity can scroll down the list and know the full story behind each one. He needs to write some new material.

 

[olgerd]

Those are two different issues.

A Russian player playing on an NHL team doesn't inherently have any nationalism unless they go out of their way to make it an issue.

A Russian team is literally representing the nation. Imagine how off-putting it'd be if Russia won the tournament this year...

And what's the problem in sending these guys not under the Russian flag? As far as I can tell, all of you would disagree with that. Seems it's not so much about the country...

 

[Bigtrout]

What do you think Reddit has to offer members that hfboards doesn’t?

Reddit has alot of downsides and circlejerking but one thing at least is the troll takes get send to the shadow realm pretty quick (I speak only for hockey), unlike hfboards where they thrive and multiply. Most mainboard threads on hf get derailed by the end of the first page and it's probably a no go for a lot of people because of it.

With that said I much prefer hfboards in general.

 

[stastny12]

Can somebody send me link where I can discuss the tournament on Reddit?

 

[Czechboy]

I love Gord, but this is definitely a problem. I can do a point form list of each his regular talking points and everyone that watches TSN with any regularity can scroll down the list and know the full story behind each one. He needs to write some new material.

I love Gord but his views on Czech hockey are well off and innacurate.. he should come on here and read the Czech team board.lol. He'd learn a lot. Definite HOF though.

 

[The Marquis]

And what's the problem in sending these guys not under the Russian flag? As far as I can tell, all of you would disagree with that. Seems it's not so much about the country...

It’s probably IIHF having the hero complex like people in the western world have these days. Everybody needs to make a stand and be a hero for whatever their cause is that day. However, it could also be that Russian hockey refused to allow its players to play under a neutral banner.

 

[Voight]

Two tournaments a few months apart, a massive and odious scandal, it’s not that surprising.

IMO the London thing isn't hurting the ratings. I'm sure there are some people who are using it as an excuse not to watch, but I doubt its enough people to make a difference.

I do agree with 2 tournaments in the last 5 months being a reason.

I don’t know about others, but for me holding the WJC in Canada three years in a row makes it kind of dull. Also no Russia makes the tournament less competitive. Not saying it’s the wrong call.

To be fair, 2 of those years were due to COVID (it was just easier hosting in NA) and this years was supposed to be in Russia but they were stripped of the rights.

 

[RickyLafleur]

I think the skill gap is a thing. Hard to gauge the talent when games are ending 11-0. Should get more interesting when the playoffs start. But I must say I used to think this tournament was much higher level, but the recent nhl struggles of u20 dominant players have definitely made me question it's value to evaluating prospects. The defensive game and goaltending is just so far from NHL play.

Lafreniere absolutely dominated the u20, but hasn't quite made it in the nhl yet. Mason McTavish's incredible u20 performance just recently has only translated to 6 nhl goals so far. For reference back when Matthews was going a goal / game pace in the u20 he put up 40 goals the next year in the NHL.

There is a big difference in skill between Matthews and McTavish...not to mention talent on their respective teams. Lafreniere should be doing better but he's buried on the 3rd and 4th lines with little to no PP time. It's quite possible that if any other team took him in the top 5 he would likely be doing much better than he would do on a team that favors veterans over youth.

 

[Czechboy]

Reddit has alot of downsides and circlejerking but one thing at least is the troll takes get send to the shadow realm pretty quick (I speak only for hockey), unlike hfboards where they thrive and multiply. Most mainboard threads on hf get derailed by the end of the first page and it's probably a no go for a lot of people because of it.

With that said I much prefer hfboards in general.

I avoid the mains here because of that.

Can somebody send me link where I can discuss the tournament on Reddit?

First place I go after watching a movie or series... Love those posts and theories.

 

[llwyd]

For me, Russia isn't an issue - if they would participate, I wouldn't follow the tournament at all, and likely Finland wouldn't be there either. To see that flag would make one vomit. But sure, that is one factor for the low traffic here. I just doubt that it's the main explanation, the discussion was already pretty lame when they last participated.

 

[Statsy]

It’s probably IIHF having the hero complex like people in the western world have these days. Everybody needs to make a stand and be a hero for whatever their cause is that day. However, it could also be that Russian hockey refused to allow its players to play under a neutral banner.

I actually think it’s the opposite of that. Your point is that the IIHF are feeling strong in their convictions about this, but it could easily be cowardice with them worrying about what blowback they would have to face. But it is what it is and we’ll have to get by without Russia for now.

 

[Czechboy]

Ftr . My first ever post here was on a Canada vs Czech thread. The first reply was commenting on my grammar and I was told to learn English. I am positive I had a higher education than the poster saying that.lol

The second post was yelling at me for having the audacity of posting on a Canada thread. It was a game day thread.lol.

I've obviously become a big fan of the regular Canuck posters since then and figured it out.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Can somebody send me link where I can discuss the tournament on Reddit?

You seem like you’d be able to figure it out.

 

[ForumNamePending]

I think in general, interest in the WJC has declined somewhat from it's peak. At the end of the day, the tournament has never had a lot of top to bottom depth, so things can grow kind of stale over time. So far the field in this years tournament, even without Russia, appears to be relatively deep by WJC standards, so hopefully that continues moving forward and "freshens" things up a bit. Specific to this year, the ongoing scandals with Hockey Canada is also probably having an impact in how interested the general public is. All the corps that usual sponsor and promote the event have pulled out... The tournament just doesn't seem as visible this year.

When it comes to the amount of discussion (or lack of) specific to HFBoards though, I think the biggest reason is probably the fact Internet Message Boards in general are in steady decline. I could be wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if traffic/activity on this board is down significantly from whatever and whenever its peak was.

 

[Dr Pepper]

As others have said, the ridiculous ongoing boycott against Russian athletes really dims the enthusiasm and overall performance in the tourney - although TSN sure is trying their best to make it a huge story as always.

 

[novisor]

I don’t know about others, but for me holding the WJC in Canada three years in a row makes it kind of dull. Also no Russia makes the tournament less competitive. Not saying it’s the wrong call.

This + the complete embarrassment/fiasco of cancelling it last year.

I love the WJC more than any other sporting event of the year but it seems to have lost its luster when it's always in Canada. There is something about the games being at odd times (i.e. Ufa 2013) that adds to its appeal, especially when people are off at this time of year. I hope it never goes west again, and keep it out of the GTA/Buffalo for at least another decade.

As others have said, the ridiculous ongoing boycott against Russian athletes really dims the enthusiasm and overall performance in the tourney - although TSN sure is trying their best to make it a huge story as always.

When you have a tournament of 10 teams where realistically only 5 can win, removing one is a big let down (hoping the Czech Republic can fill this void). Any tournament without Russia will have an asterisk beside it whether people like to admit it or not.