What's each countries' "Hockey Mecca?"

[kabidjan18]

Austria is Klagenfurt or Villach.

 

[Tutu to]

Toronto/GTA is producing significantly more NHLers and elite ones at that these days. Even accounting for population difference. Who is the last elite Montreal area raised player in the NHL? Letang? Huberdeau? Whereas look at the talent coming out of the GTHL/GTA in that time frame. McDavid, Stamkos, Tavares, Subban, Seguin, Pietrangelo, Marner, etc. The youth hockey scene is significantly stronger here and considering its a major hub for players to train in the off-season should also be noted. Maybe Laf is a sign of things to change, but Quebec hockey has fallen off significantly producing players over the past 2 decades.

When it comes to producing players the GTA is definitely the Mecca of hockey. However Montreal>Toronto when it comes to love for their team.

 

[93LEAFS]

When it comes to producing players the GTA is definitely the Mecca of hockey. However Montreal>Toronto when it comes to love for their team.

I think the passion is the same, Leafs tickets just aren't as accessible.

 

[JMCx4]

Australia: A tie between Melbourne & Sydney; they each have two AIHL teams.

 

[VictorLustig]

Would be silly to call any place in Sweden a "Hockey Mecca". Closest would be Småland, a geographically small region in southern Sweden with 3 SHL teams, 2-3 teams in Allsvenskan and a big number of smaller clubs.

 

[alko]

Litvinov and Kladno. Two small towns which are famous fo their hockey dynasties.

Ivan Hlinka, Petr Klima, Robert Lang, Robert Reichel and others come from Litvinov. Jaromir Jagr, Jake Voracek, Tomas Kaberle, Frantisek Kaberle and many others come from Kladno.

Ivan Hlinka, Petr Klima, Robert Lang, Robert Reichel - all of them are not playing like for 10 years minimum.

Jaromir Jagr, Jake Voracek, Tomas Kaberle, Frantisek Kaberle - only Voracek should count. Ok , maybe Jagr, he is still playing.

But still. You are throwing here the names , that are almost gone. This old ice-hockey forts are living from old days. Look to guys playing in NHL now, and where all they come.

 

[24 others]

Ivan Hlinka, Petr Klima, Robert Lang, Robert Reichel - all of them are not playing like for 10 years minimum.

Jaromir Jagr, Jake Voracek, Tomas Kaberle, Frantisek Kaberle - only Voracek should count. Ok , maybe Jagr, he is still playing.

But still. You are throwing here the names , that are almost gone. This old ice-hockey forts are living from old days. Look to guys playing in NHL now, and where all they come.

I just listed some of the better known names. It seems obvious to me that to qualify as a "Mecca", the place has to have a certain kind of tradition. You wouldn't find that many active stars who come from Montreal - maybe Letang, Crawford and Vlasic, among current players. Yet, few would argue that Montreal is not a hockey Mecca.

 

[holyprime]

Yeah Davos is certainly no hockey mekka.

For Switzerland it's Bern, and i don't think i've ever written that.. AINEC: The canton/state not only has 3 teams in the NLA (altough this might change this season), with SC Bern itself as the undisputed champion of attendance outside the NHL, but with the small town of Langenthal also a two times NLB champion in the last 10 years.

Meanwhile, my hometown, 6th biggest in Switzerland, can barely scratch together 10 wins in 44 NLB games..

 

[BlizzardSloth]

Yeah Davos is certainly no hockey mekka.

For Switzerland it's Bern, and i don't think i've ever written that.. AINEC: The canton/state not only has 3 teams in the NLA (altough this might change this season), with SC Bern itself as the undisputed champion of attendance outside the NHL, but with the small town of Langenthal also a two times NLB champion in the last 10 years.

Meanwhile, my hometown, 6th biggest in Switzerland, can barely scratch together 10 wins in 44 NLB games..

Yeah, Winterthur is a sad place when it comes to hockey. But yes, it's definitely the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

 

[Atas2000]

Russia, it's probably Yaroslavl and Chelyabinsk. Petersburg is Zenitburg actually, there is no way SKA is even close to Zenit by popularity.

Novosibirsk is anoher city, where people are crazy about hockey.

It's about hockey Mecca, not most hockey crazy city.

I'd say Chelyabinsk(while they lose their appeal by a number of bad incidents recently)

HM from the past Voskresensk. Home of so many high end players compared to how small it is.

 

[Atas2000]

For Russia DEFINITELY not St.Petersburg. A pretty short history of high end hockey and that with money and buying success.

 

[Kiraly]

Romania: Csikszereda (Miercurea Ciuc)

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

Sweden is a bit hard to label in this regard, but although the hockey interest in Gothenburg is fantastic, I don't think it can get the nod in this regard. Its a city with a lot of soccer interest too and many parts of it has a lot of immigrants that probably don't follow hockey that much.

I think that if you are looking for a place where "everyone" follows hockey, a few cities in the north like Örnsköldsvik, Skellefteå and Luleå stands out. Jönköping and Karlstad shouldn't be underrated either, they really love their teams.

Then you of course have Leksand. Its a really small city, like under 10k "down town", but they have traditionally had a lot of supporters from around the country. They probably get the award for best attendances in relation to population in the world, although they have struggled more than not the last decade or so.

If someone proposes Örnsköldsvik, I think its hard to argue against it.

Yeah, it’s definitely Örnsköldsvik, followed by Leksand. Even in Luleå, where hockey’s the most popular sport, it’s not as if everyone plays or are even that much into it, the way they seem to be in other places. Arguably, Kiruna or Piteå are more into hockey than Luleå, which is relatively big on basketball as well. Gothenburg has got great hockey fans, but it’s hardly even close to being as popular as football is. Haven’t they had as many as four teams simultaneously in Allsvenskan? Yeah, it’s not the Swedish Meccah of hockey.

 

[Ola]

Yeah, it’s definitely Örnsköldsvik, followed by Leksand. Even in Luleå, where hockey’s the most popular sport, it’s not as if everyone plays or are even that much into it, the way they seem to be in other places. Arguably, Kiruna or Piteå are more into hockey than Luleå, which is relatively big on basketball as well. Gothenburg has got great hockey fans, but it’s hardly even close to being as popular as football is. Haven’t they had as many as four teams simultaneously in Allsvenskan? Yeah, it’s not the Swedish Meccah of hockey.

Agree, I think the fans in Luleå got a little burned-out/bored after 96', and after that it has been a little up and down. They had a loooong way up to winning gold the first time, and then the team's ability dipped and I don't think they recovered. I think extreme fan interest can be a little dangerous in that regard. The atmosphere is so awesome when its about "life and death", but nothing is constant and when the interest started to dip the experience drop-down get really significant.

Piteå has that real grass root movement, not only Piteå HC but Munksund and Storfors and all those teams. Kiruna? Hockey is a part of life there like in Piteå. But maybe not quite on the religious level.

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

Agree, I think the fans in Luleå got a little burned-out/bored after 96', and after that it has been a little up and down. They had a loooong way up to winning gold the first time, and then the team's ability dipped and I don't think they recovered. I think extreme fan interest can be a little dangerous in that regard. The atmosphere is so awesome when its about "life and death", but nothing is constant and when the interest started to dip the experience drop-down get really significant.

Piteå has that real grass root movement, not only Piteå HC but Munksund and Storfors and all those teams. Kiruna? Hockey is a part of life there like in Piteå. But maybe not quite on the religious level.

I wouldn’t like to agree with the notion of us Luleå fans becoming ”bored” after the championship, but if you’re talking about the season following it, you could actually make that case. The drop in attendance was the most significant in history, second only to the season following their inaugural SHL season. I’m wondering how much this may have to do with the success of the basketball team splitting the crowd? Their first championship came in 1997, iirc, and they became a powerhouse for years.

I’ve never felt that Luleå has had the “spoiled” or “entitled” audience that certain teams have been accused of (ie. Brynäs). Even when the team’s been bad, Delfinen has had great atmosphere, in my opinion.

I don’t agree with the team becoming that much worse after 1996, either. Sure, losing Holmström and Öhlund will do that to a team, and “Skuggan” also left for a while, but Luleå returned to the finals the year following the championship, and lost to the eventual champions five years straight. They actually had some great teams around the turn of the century, but always a step below the likes of Djurgården and Färjestad.

However, I do agree with the strong grassroots movements and almost religious commitment to hockey in other Norrbotten towns. Piteå, Kiruna and Boden have produced a ton of great players. Luleå however, and I reckon that Jarmo Myllys has been highly influential for kids in that regard, has churned out goalies for 20 years and counting. Noel Gunler should soon become the first Luleå born-and-raised player since Per Ledin to “make” the NHL, though.

 

[Dueling Banjos]

Austria is Klagenfurt or Villach.

They are both crazy about hockey indeed and have an intense rivalry.

KAC is more successful, trophies, but more high end Austrian players come from Villach - Raffl, Grabner both with NHL careers.

 

[Eye of Ra]

In Sweden its Malmö.

 

[MaxV]

It's about hockey Mecca, not most hockey crazy city.

I'd say Chelyabinsk(while they lose their appeal by a number of bad incidents recently)

HM from the past Voskresensk. Home of so many high end players compared to how small it is.

What would be your definition for “mecca”?

There could be a lot of factors involved:

- Popularity of the sport among the fans.
- long tradition of producing players that are among country’s best.
- tradition of performance of the local team(s).
- funding of hockey programs in the area.

The last 2 probably carry less weight, but could be used as a “tie breaker”.

Chelyabinsk seems to check a lot of boxes, the lone weakness perhaps is their local team. Traktor is a consistent KHL playoff team, but it’s very rarely a serious title contender. Magnitogorsk has an edge there, but their program doesn’t have as long of tradition as Chelyabinsk. Yaroslavl is similar to Magnitogorsk there also.

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

In Sweden its Malmö.

Well, I live in Malmö, as do at least a couple dozen other Luleå supporters, so one might argue there’s at least some distinct quality to the hockey fans around here. Quantitatively, however, not much of a hockey town. It sucks during the SHL playoffs, as Allsvenskan starts and Champions League is rounding up, making it damn near-impossible getting to watch much of the playoff games in any pub.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Well, I live in Malmö, as do at least a couple dozen other Luleå supporters, so one might argue there’s at least some distinct quality to the hockey fans around here. Quantitatively, however, not much of a hockey town. It sucks during the SHL playoffs, as Allsvenskan starts and Champions League is rounding up, making it damn near-impossible getting to watch much of the playoff games in any pub.

just kidding.

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

just kidding.

I thought so, no need to explain.

 

[mattihp]

Göteborg is all football. I like the cases for Småland, Övik, Leksand and Gävle.

 

[mattihp]

Elektrėnai is Lithuania's hockey mecca. Volleyball and basketball dominate the rest of the country, but Elektrėnai is hockey.

 

[ChiefWiggum]

For France, you could argue Saint-Pierre

 

[Bernie Marners]

Sweden could be Örnsköldsvik to be honest, I live in Stockholm but know a few people from the city and it is described as very hockey-crazy. Despite being a small city with a population of 33 000, Örnsköldsvik has produced players like Peter Forsberg, Marcus Näslund, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Victor Hedman, Anders Hedberg and Victor Olofsson.

Örnsköldsvik's production really has been amazing! Stockholm on the other hand is a football city, simple as that.