2015-2016 WHL Regular Season Talk

[takehisheadoff]

Went to the Giants/Silvertips game last Friday in Vancouver. Great game, very fast-paced, hard hitting. Giants came out on the wrong end 3-2.

Sadly the building was nearly empty. Announced attendance was 4200+ but it looked more like 3000.

Thats too bad about the attendance. Try a Kootenay Ice game. They announce the attendance at 2100 most nights and you look around and it seems like there isn't even 1000 there. Sad.

 

[Hordichuk_24]

Thats too bad about the attendance. Try a Kootenay Ice game. They announce the attendance at 2100 most nights and you look around and it seems like there isn't even 1000 there. Sad.

Attendance is bad league wide. The product isn't nearly as entertaining as it used to be. That is a large part of the problem, IMO.

 

[takehisheadoff]

Attendance is bad league wide. The product isn't nearly as entertaining as it used to be. That is a large part of the problem, IMO.

I havent noticed too much of a drop it is noticeable though. I moved to Medicine Hat and the thing I noticed with the new arena here they raised there tickets about 8 bucks from 2 seasons ago.

In Cranbrook its $22. Now most of the time I get them for free. For me I have no kids and a woman who hates going to hockey games. Thats doable for a single guy. In Cranbrook a city with low employment (and if you do get a normal job it pays crap) You get a guy with a wife and a couple kids thats a hundred dollar outing easily. Your better off just ditching the family at home and darting to Calgary and catch a Flames game.

I remember 2 years ago I went to quite a few Hitmen games for the upper bowl it was $14 bucks. I'd sit in the front of the upper bowl you can't beat that price.

 

[phillipsj89]

I havent noticed too much of a drop it is noticeable though. I moved to Medicine Hat and the thing I noticed with the new arena here they raised there tickets about 8 bucks from 2 seasons ago.

In Cranbrook its $22. Now most of the time I get them for free. For me I have no kids and a woman who hates going to hockey games. Thats doable for a single guy. In Cranbrook a city with low employment (and if you do get a normal job it pays crap) You get a guy with a wife and a couple kids thats a hundred dollar outing easily. Your better off just ditching the family at home and darting to Calgary and catch a Flames game.

I remember 2 years ago I went to quite a few Hitmen games for the upper bowl it was $14 bucks. I'd sit in the front of the upper bowl you can't beat that price.

Value is definitely an issue. In PG they have starting adding some value for families.

4 tickets, 4 popcorns, 4 BK Whoppers, and a $25 Save On Foods GC for $80.

They have done this deal twice, its a fantastic idea. Let's families have a night out, and allows them to buy some groceries when they need it as well.

 

[Rocko604]

Vancouver has had a long-time promotion with White Spot (owned by Toigo) where you get 4 tickets and 4 meals at White Spot (two of which are kids meals) for $100.

I paid $25 per ticket to sit behind the net for the Tips game. Personally $20 would be appropriate, but if I planned to go to more than or two games this year I'd look at a Flex Pack.

 

[Hordichuk_24]

I havent noticed too much of a drop it is noticeable though. I moved to Medicine Hat and the thing I noticed with the new arena here they raised there tickets about 8 bucks from 2 seasons ago.

You probably wouldn't notice a big difference in Medicine Hat. But if you look across most of the league it's down big time. A lot of the US teams had a pretty decent fan base for many years but most of those rinks are empty. Portland and Seattle still draw decent numbers but Everett, Spokane and Tri-City are certainly down. Same for Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops and well, PG has almost always had attendance problems.

In Cranbrook its $22. Now most of the time I get them for free. For me I have no kids and a woman who hates going to hockey games. Thats doable for a single guy. In Cranbrook a city with low employment (and if you do get a normal job it pays crap) You get a guy with a wife and a couple kids thats a hundred dollar outing easily. Your better off just ditching the family at home and darting to Calgary and catch a Flames game.

Cranbrook is just a bad location for a team, period. That is way too much money to pay. Besides that, Kootenay historically has been one of the most boring teams to watch. In fact I can't ever recall an Ice team in the past decade I really wanted to watch. Factor in a small market, a boring product and you aren't going to have much success. For years that team was constantly in the playoffs and winning games yet they couldn't fill the arena. That tells you something.

 

[tv14]

'Canes with their 9th win in a row, really starting to take a hold of the East.

 

[dechire]

You probably wouldn't notice a big difference in Medicine Hat. But if you look across most of the league it's down big time. A lot of the US teams had a pretty decent fan base for many years but most of those rinks are empty. Portland and Seattle still draw decent numbers but Everett, Spokane and Tri-City are certainly down. Same for Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops and well, PG has almost always had attendance problems.

I can't really comment on attendance around the league but this post makes it sound like Seattle has higher attendance than Spokane which isn't true. Yes, Spokane has dropped this year but it's still 2nd in the US. And none of the worst attended teams are in the US division anyway.

 

[CanuckistanFlyerfan]

Can someone who goes to Hitmen games give me an update on how Travis Sanheim has looked since Lowry locked him in a dark closet under the stairs during the WJs?

 

[SNIPE]

'Canes with their 9th win in a row, really starting to take a hold of the East.

Ya know whats nice about the Canes, they are not killing there top six to win games. For the most part they are rolling 4 lines. Great depth and two extremely good 16 year olds in Brett Davis and Jordy Bellarive.

 

[phillipsj89]

Ya know whats nice about the Canes, they are not killing there top six to win games. For the most part they are rolling 4 lines. Great depth and two extremely good 16 year olds in Brett Davis and Jordy Bellarive.

My only question is will there play style work in the tighter checking playoffs. Also, they score 27% of their goals on the PP, which is 4th in the league. That is a pretty high percentage, and with less penalties being called in the playoffs, it may spell trouble.

IMO, they will be fine. They just look so dynamic.

 

[Hordichuk_24]

I can't really comment on attendance around the league but this post makes it sound like Seattle has higher attendance than Spokane which isn't true. Yes, Spokane has dropped this year but it's still 2nd in the US. And none of the worst attended teams are in the US division anyway.

All I know is you watch the games online and most of the seats are empty. It's like that league wide in almost every rink. Go back 8-10 years ago that wasn't the case. Especially in the smaller rinks. They were mostly full.

 

[VictoriaJetsFan]

In Victoria things are good. The crowd last night was over 6000, the team is steadily becoming more a part of the community as time goes by. The team is very good and last night's game was fantastic...

Hoping to get to Everett or Seattle for a game this year..

 

[Hordichuk_24]

In Victoria things are good. The crowd last night was over 6000, the team is steadily becoming more a part of the community as time goes by. The team is very good and last night's game was fantastic...

Victoria is empty most nights as well. It isn't as though 6k is a frequent occurrence. Of course teams will always focus/release on paid attendance rather than actual numbers.

 

[BIitz]

Ugh I loved Stukel with the Giants and was so upset they traded him. He never saw many offensive situations and was always playing low minutes. Just watched him on Friday against PA and he was electrifying. He's come alive for Calgary and been a real big time player for them.

 

[SNIPE]

Ya know whats nice about the Canes, they are not killing there top six to win games. For the most part they are rolling 4 lines. Great depth and two extremely good 16 year olds in Brett Davis and Jordy Bellarive.

OMG I spoke to soon, Kisio immediately went to 2 1/2 lines and still the CANES got absolutely dominated by Victoria. Then the exhausted top 6 could not handle Vancouver. I smell trouble, its a marathon Kisio not a sprint.

 

[phillipsj89]

OMG I spoke to soon, Kisio immediately went to 2 1/2 lines and still the CANES got absolutely dominated by Victoria. Then the exhausted top 6 could not handle Vancouver. I smell trouble, its a marathon Kisio not a sprint.

The thing that scares me about Lethbridge is how much they rely on their PP. 28% of their goals come on the PP, and in the playoffs, when things tighten up, that will need to change.

 

[Emerald City Bruin]

Of course teams will always focus/release on paid attendance rather than actual numbers.

Why shouldn't they? The money is what is important, not the number of people. A grocery store doesn't care if you use the gallon of milk you bought or dump it out in the parking lot. As long as you pay them, it's revenue and should be counted.

 

[PCSPounder]

Why shouldn't they? The money is what is important, not the number of people. A grocery store doesn't care if you use the gallon of milk you bought or dump it out in the parking lot. As long as you pay them, it's revenue and should be counted.

These days, what you think is paid attendance is really comped attendance.

There are exceptions, but it's easy to figure out who's padding versus who's actually selling if you're a regular in the arena.

 

[Hordichuk_24]

Why shouldn't they? The money is what is important, not the number of people. A grocery store doesn't care if you use the gallon of milk you bought or dump it out in the parking lot. As long as you pay them, it's revenue and should be counted.

As for the bottom line yes. But the numbers are completely misleading. When corporations purchase a lot of the tickets and the arena is void of people it isn't a good thing. People aren't showing up because the product isn't as entertaining. Sure, teams will happily take the money but they would prefer the arenas be full. Fudge the numbers all you want, most of the arenas league wide are empty and lifeless. Goes hand and hand with the product on the ice.

 

[Hordichuk_24]

Ugh I loved Stukel with the Giants and was so upset they traded him. He never saw many offensive situations and was always playing low minutes. Just watched him on Friday against PA and he was electrifying. He's come alive for Calgary and been a real big time player for them.

Stukel was never consistently healthy enough with the Giants in order to be in those situations. And the reality is if he stayed in Vancouver he wouldn't be producing those type of numbers. The move was good for him. And Thomas and Lang have been integral to the Giants. Their season will ultimately be a loss as they'll miss the playoffs once again but without those two it would have been much worse.

 

[Master Radishes]

Query for you Dub fans. I'm living across the world and unable to follow the league closely these days. But I see my Royals are on quite a streak lately. Are they a serious threat this year? Or do you guys think they are still a tier below the real contenders?

 

[VictoriaJetsFan]

Query for you Dub fans. I'm living across the world and unable to follow the league closely these days. But I see my Royals are on quite a streak lately. Are they a serious threat this year? Or do you guys think they are still a tier below the real contenders?

Royals just beat Lethbridge, Calgary, Kelowna and Portland recently. They are the real deal. I think serious run in the playoffs is coming. Going to see them play Everett tomorrow...

I love how they elevated their game since Hicketts came back form the WJC...they have found another gear..its really encouraging..

 

[VictoriaJetsFan]

Victoria is empty most nights as well. It isn't as though 6k is a frequent occurrence. Of course teams will always focus/release on paid attendance rather than actual numbers.

On weekends over 5000 is now the norm. Weekdays between 3 and 4...certainly not empty as you describe..

 

[Hordichuk_24]

On weekends over 5000 is now the norm. Weekdays between 3 and 4...certainly not empty as you describe..

The video evidence suggests otherwise. The rink is not nearly full. The paid attendance is what it is but I'm talking actual butts in the seats.