2017/18 World Junior Championship U20

[Billdo]

He's just coming back from a broken wrist so he may not be up to speed yet.
But I have very high hopes for him.

And Walsh too.

I was never that excited with Speers after watching him in the WJC and that brief stint up with us.
He was overrated by a lot of our fans.

For our sake i hope he performs because we’ll have to hear how disappointing he is and how much better other prospects are lol

 

[devilsblood]

When USA plays Canada, it's easily going to be 90% Canadian fans. Maybe not so much due to the outdoor game due to it being more of a spectacle.



That was the crowd last time these games were in Buffalo. Just skip to :50 when Canada scores first.

Jeez there are like no fans US fans there at all.

But is there a city in the US in which our fans would fully support the U-20 team? If they are going to do the outdoor game they absolutely need the Canadian fans so as not to be playing in an empty building.

 

[Tretyak 20]

He's just coming back from a broken wrist so he may not be up to speed yet.
But I have very high hopes for him.

Apparently the coach said his conditioning is better than before the injury. Basically Boqvist spent the whole time he was in a cast in the gym working on lower body and cardio.

 

[Devils Dominion]

For our sake i hope he performs because we’ll have to hear how disappointing he is and how much better other prospects are lol

Thankfully for us as each year passes we get away from the collection of Conte busts that wounded the franchise.

In this WJC, there could be McLeod vs Brown comparisons by some but I was pro McLeod at the time they were picked.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Jeez there are like no fans US fans there at all.

But is there a city in the US in which our fans would fully support the U-20 team? If they are going to do the outdoor game they absolutely need the Canadian fans so as not to be playing in an empty building.

Having American "home ice" in Buffalo is a total scam job.

And sure, the tournament would do fine in Boston or Minneapolis in terms of selling out USA and probably even Canada games. How the attendance for games where those teams arent playing might well be the issue.

This is essentially the 6th time in the last 9 years that Canada gets home ice for this tournament.

IIHF World U20 Championship - Wikipedia

 

[devilsblood]

Having American "home ice" in Buffalo is a total scam job.

And sure, the tournament would do fine in Boston or Minneapolis in terms of selling out USA and probably even Canada games. How the attendance for games where those teams arent playing might well be the issue.

This is essentially the 6th time in the last 9 years that Canada gets home ice for this tournament.

IIHF World U20 Championship - Wikipedia

Because Canadian hockey fandom is at a different level then any other country. It's not a scam, it's reality.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Because Canadian hockey fandom is at a different level then any other country. It's not a scam, it's reality.

So you're saying the tournament needs to "essentially" be in Canada for 6 of the last 9 years? *

It couldnt go to Boston or Minny, it couldn't rotate through Stockholm or somewhere else in Finland or Russia a little bit more, or maybe visit the Czech Republic or Slovakia even once?

*EDIT: Just looked at 2019, it's in Vancouver. LOL. Make it 7 out of 10 years.

 

[The Wumpus]

I wonder what the US vs Canadian population is within a 2 or 3 hour drive of Buffalo. Probably leans heavily Canadian due to greater Toronto.

 

[BenedictGomez]

I wonder what the US vs Canadian population is within a 2 or 3 hour drive of Buffalo. Probably leans heavily Canadian due to greater Toronto.

That's what I alluded to earlier.

Something like 40% of Canada's entire population lives in Ontario.

Outside of Buffalo in America, there's not much population.

 

[Ripshot 43]

Walsh cut from Team USA... damn.

 

[Zippy316]

Jeez there are like no fans US fans there at all.

But is there a city in the US in which our fans would fully support the U-20 team? If they are going to do the outdoor game they absolutely need the Canadian fans so as not to be playing in an empty building.

I don't know. The tournament has typically always been to places that are reasonable close to the Canadian border. Last one in US was also in Buffalo (2011) and before that Grand Forks (2005). St. Louis and Pittsburgh were the other finalists to host this one with Tampa Bay and Chicago bowing out before then.

Canadian's go batshit crazy for this tournament. Even if it was in Tampa, I'd be willing to bet the building would be at least half full with Canadians vacationing down there.

 

[Zippy316]

So you're saying the tournament needs to "essentially" be in Canada for 6 of the last 9 years? *

It couldnt go to Boston or Minny, it couldn't rotate through Stockholm or somewhere else in Finland or Russia a little bit more, or maybe visit the Czech Republic or Slovakia even once?

*EDIT: Just looked at 2019, it's in Vancouver. LOL. Make it 7 out of 10 years.

Don't remember when they finalized this, but starting in 2015, Canada is scheduled to host every other year.

When it comes down to it, Canadian coverage and ticket sales are what truly drives the WJC. Alberta can split a tournament between Calgary and Edmonton's ~20,000 seat arenas and bring in 450,000+ attendance. When they go overseas, they're playing in ~8,000 building that are half full.

 

[None Shall Pass]

Don't remember when they finalized this, but starting in 2015, Canada is scheduled to host every other year.

When it comes down to it, Canadian coverage and ticket sales are what truly drives the WJC. Alberta can split a tournament between Calgary and Edmonton's ~20,000 seat arenas and bring in 450,000+ attendance. When they go overseas, they're playing in ~8,000 building that are half full.

Yeah, McKenzie made this point on his podcast. Gates drive the WJC money. It sorta needs to be in Canada every other year to survive.

 

[Zippy316]

Yeah, McKenzie made this point on his podcast. Gates drive the WJC money. It sorta needs to be in Canada every other year to survive.

I mean it'll survive regardless. It was doing it for years before it was possible.

Putting it in Canada just allows IIHF to pocket tons of money as well to make it profitable.

 

[devilsblood]

Don't remember when they finalized this, but starting in 2015, Canada is scheduled to host every other year.

When it comes down to it, Canadian coverage and ticket sales are what truly drives the WJC. Alberta can split a tournament between Calgary and Edmonton's ~20,000 seat arenas and bring in 450,000+ attendance. When they go overseas, they're playing in ~8,000 building that are half full.

Ya, I mean, sure Buffalo is close to Canada, but you are seeing a packed house full of people driving perhaps a couple hours, crossing the border, renting rooms to watch an amateur tornament.

Hockey is like the 4th or 5th most popular sport in the US, and amateur hockey barely registers. Outside of HF board geeks like us US residents have no idea what this thing even is.

 

[KovalSNIPE]

Andddddd Walsh was cut

 

[Darkauron]

Andddddd Walsh was cut

Better luck next year.

 

[FooteBahl]

Andddddd Walsh was cut

Already a bust

 

[Devils Dominion]

Andddddd Walsh was cut

that's surprising
But, not anything negative in my book.
He will make it next year

 

[KovalSNIPE]

I think US simply didn’t need his offense. He was definitely on the outside looking in anyway

 

[HenriquesJawLine]

Good for Walsh to even get noticed enough to get invited to camp because I don't think he was there in the summer. He had an uphill battle but should be on the team next year. They have their puck movers in Hughes and Fox with shutdown guys like Lindgren. It's a pretty good mix.

 

[Blender]

It was a long shot for Walsh to make it, but it's good he even got an invite.

 

[My3Sons]

According to main WJC board Slovakia thread Studenic had a goal and an assist last night in a tuneup game against Belarus. He’s really come a long way since his slow start this season.

 

[I Hate Tie DOMI]

I wonder what the US vs Canadian population is within a 2 or 3 hour drive of Buffalo. Probably leans heavily Canadian due to greater Toronto.

Sabres season ticket holders are probably 20-25% Canadian, if not more, because of the proximity and the absurd prices of Leaf games. I live a half hour from the border and the Sabres and 1.5 hours from Toronto maybe longer with traffic. It's just so much more convenient to go to Buffalo for a game, even though the product has been terrible for a decade.

 

[NJDevils17]

Zetterlund with Sweden’s goal thus far. Don’t really see how they can cut him after his exhibition performances. Kid can play.