Is the lack of success by the Montreal Canadiens a factor in the lack of Quebecers in the NHL?

[Dominance]

Canada not having a middle class anymore is a bigger factor, the decline is all throughout the country. Canada is quickly passing the USA in income inequality and poverty.

This is blatantly statistically false. Look at the World Bank’s Gini index data. Canadian income inequality has been on a slight downward (i.e. less inequality) trend over the past two decades, whereas America’s was steadily marching up over the same time period. We rank far ahead and the gap is generally increasing rather than narrowing.

There’s no need to misrepresent the issue - hockey has become incredibly elitist, and Canadians from coast to coast do not enjoy the community investment that the NHL pours into the States. Hockey Canada and the provinces simply have to do more, but I shudder to think what it would take for real change to occur.

 

[IHaveNoCreativity]

Spent about 9 years coaching in QC from Peewee B to Midget AAA, I’ve worked with the likes of Noah Warren and Zach L’Heureux and coached against that Jordan Dumais kid when he was an average Peewee AA player… can name you more but you get the point.

The biggest problems:
No one is pulling in the same direction, the school leagues and the provincial leagues are both competing for top talent and it’s watering down the pipeline and you have too much elite talent sprinkled out in weaker leagues.

The prep school dream is seeing guys who bloom at 15 end up in these prep schools when maybe they needed more time locally and everyone quits early because they’ve given up on the dream

Too many elite leagues at all levels, there’s literally Peewee C, B A, which are house. Then you move to BB, AA, Major AAA, Minor AAA which are competitive and elite, how do you have more elite levels than house league I don’t get it ? I haven’t even started with the school D1’s yet and there’s literally 3 U13 leagues for that alone. It’s a similar trend in older ages.

We hype up and focus on a player too soon, Tristan Luneau got so much hype here his whole life and he won’t end up as the best 04, Lamoureux was unheard of till 2nd year bantam and I do believe Noah Warren will be better. Before there was Lafreniere there was a kid Xavier Parent who was miles ahead of everyone, and never grew. There was the Poulins aswell. Most of you will have no idea whom I’m talking about but they got all the hype.

We push the stars too early and hype them up because they’re French and we want a French star.

Lack of a co-heisive development model and ignoring certain player type. We want finesse players and punish the heave hard hitting ones, or the power forwards, they exist here but we call soft penalties and have fair play rules that emphasize calm clean play for points.

Politics… don’t get me started here.

We push the wrong coaches because they’re French and are ex pros. I’ve coached with my fair share of clowns, they were great players who got a ton of opportunities but didn’t make for the best people and are not the best coaches at all. But HQ loved them, so many good coaches in QC who don’t get shots because everyone wants the next Yzerman.

I could go on, but if we could fix these issues and stop ignoring some of the English talent and overhyping every French kid from f***ing Amos, while pushing every ex NHLer like Eric Belanger (he’s a poor example because he’s a fantastic coach, but you get the idea) assuming they’re all going to be as good as him. Then yeah things can be sorted out, Jocelyn Thibault should be able to turn it around though at a point. I would give him time.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Canadians from coast to coast do not enjoy the community investment that the NHL pours into the States. Hockey Canada and the provinces simply have to do more, but I shudder to think what it would take for real change to occur.

Bro what are you talking about lmao. Illinois is like the fifth highest ncaa and pro hockey producing state in the country and all of those kids that go anywhere from the state play on the same AAA team by the time of U15 (more or less, there are four other AAA teams but the one always seems to gobble up everyone they want by that age). Often an hour drive both ways for a lot of people to their home arena downtown Chicago. High level Hockey is incredibly inaccessible in the U.S. aside from just cost outside of a very small part of the country and you’re out here saying Canadians have to “do more”. Get real lol.

 

[Dominance]

Bro what are you talking about lmao. Illinois is like the fifth highest ncaa and pro hockey producing state in the country and all of those kids that go anywhere from the state play on the same AAA team by the time of U15 (more or less, there are four other AAA teams but the one always seems to gobble up everyone they want by that age). Often an hour drive both ways for a lot of people to their home arena downtown Chicago. High level Hockey is incredibly inaccessible in the U.S. aside from just cost outside of a very small part of the country and you’re out here saying Canadians have to “do more”. Get real lol.

You’d be stunned to know the degree to which exactly what you’re describing is true here as well, even in traditional hotbeds.