WJC: Damian Cox: Canada's constant home-ice advantage is killing WJCs

[Cheli]

An article in the Toronto Star today...

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hocke...ada-s-home-ice-edge-slowly-killing-tournament

It's the perfect sports property, really. Canada either wins, or a group of plucky and hard-working Canadian lads are unabashedly portrayed as skating their gosh-golly hearts out for their country but just falling short.

An easy sell either way.

This year marks the first time the world juniors have been played in Canada two straight years. Next year's competition will be in Buffalo, which will likely attract Canadian fans in overwhelming numbers, as did the 2005 event in Grand Forks, N.D., and then it's back to Alberta for the 2012 tournament.

If you're starting to notice a pattern here, you should. The last time the world junior tourney was held in Europe was 2008, and it won't be until 2013 that the event goes overseas again. By then, it will have been in North America – which really means the Canadian market – for six of the previous eight years.

This is not good, at least not for the event.

While it calls itself the world junior championship, it's slowly morphing into the Junior Canada Cup, an event generally held in Canada and often won by Canada.

If the aim of the world juniors is to be considered a truly global competition, holding the event in one country, and thus giving that country home-ice advantage most of the time, undermines that goal.

I agree that he has some valid points about how Canada kind of hogs the tournament. But at the same time, from the sounds of the Euro posters here (and he admits it himself), the WJCs are not a big deal outside of Canada. There isn't much point throwing it in the middle of nowhere in the hopes of promoting interest and having nobody show up. It'd be interesting to see it on the larger ice more often though.

Still, I'm not sure how much more interest can be drawn for this tournament internationally. I'm interested to hear from the overseas people (as well as North Americans) about this.

Click to read more...

 

[The Dayvan Cowboy]

To be fair, wasn't it in Europe for like, five or six years?

I think it should alternate.

1. Europe
2. Canada
3. America

Keep it in that cycle.

 

[ThisYearsModel]

How about playing it in the US somewhere that is not within 10 miles of the Canadian border? The tournament should be in Europe every other year.

 

[NeverGoingToWin]

Why are we trying to keep fans of the tournament away? That makes no sense. I agree that it should be hosted in Europe more but completely disagree with the notion that it is a bad thing that Canadians are willing to drive for hours in order to cheer for our country. It is not our fault that Switzerland decided they no longer wanted to host the tournament either.

 

[Riddarn]

the WJCs are not a big deal outside of Canada.

It's pretty hard to get people stay up in the middle of the night to watch hockey. The interest was actually very high the year the WJC was in Sweden and has been ever since, though the ratings when the tournament is in the wrong time zone isn't as good. But I believe something like 10% of the population over here watched the finals last year. In the middle of the night.

 

[William H Bonney]

How about playing it in the US somewhere that is not within 10 miles of the Canadian border? The tournament should be in Europe every other year.

It's a compromise though. USA Hockey helps it's case by having it close to Canada, as it's guaranteed to have a better attendance numbers. Without it, who knows how often the US would get the tournament?

The US has hosted 4 times previously with their 5th coming up in 2011:

1982 - Minnesota
1989 - Anchorage
1996 - Boston
2005 - Grand Forks/Thief River Falls
2011 - Buffalo

The IIHF wants the tournament to get as much publicity as possible with the most people attending. That happens in Canada, unfortunately for the rest of the teams in the tournament. They can compromise by awarding the US hosting duties as well, but it's going to be close to Canada.

 

[New User Name]

How about playing it in the US somewhere that is not within 10 miles of the Canadian border? The tournament should be in Europe every other year.

I guess USA hockey realizes they can make money from Canadians.

 

[New User Name]

It's a compromise though. USA Hockey helps it's case by having it close to Canada, as it's guaranteed to have a better attendance numbers. Without it, who knows how often the US would get the tournament?

The US has hosted 4 times previously with their 5th coming up in 2011:

1982 - Minnesota
1989 - Anchorage
1996 - Boston
2005 - Grand Forks/Thief River Falls
2011 - Buffalo

The IIHF wants the tournament to get as much publicity as possible with the most people attending. That happens in Canada, unfortunately for the rest of the teams in the tournament. They can compromise by awarding the US hosting duties as well, but it's going to be close to Canada.

I wonder how Philly would do with the tournament.

 

[DDIHH]

Let's not forget that it was supposed to be held in Switzerland this year.

 

[Sideline]

Latvia should host...

 

[Turboflex*]

cuz everytime they put it in Europe you have 500 fans showing up to watch some games, whereas in Canada you still have 5000-10000 people showing up to watch Belarus vs. Germany.

 

[Lunatik*]

people ignore the fact they want to make money as well and its simply not profitable outside Canada

 

[joe89]

Perhaps not killing, but certainly not growing. I don't know if any other country except Canada and Sweden really cares about it atm?

 

[james bond]

TSN, Hockey Canada have essentially bought this tournament. It is a pure cash cow as it is the Canadian equivalant of a College Bowl game,or Canadas March Madness. Yes it has killed interest in Europe but the IIHF needs to quit sitting on their thumbs and get to work on making the tournament the best it can be in respective European countries.

As for in the US, I am surprised ESPN doesnt take note of Canadas money maker and find an area that they could use to manufacture the same type of atmosphere as in the Canadian markets. Why not try growing the game at the grass roots, build facilities, promote the local hockey (HS or junior) and market it on par with a Bowl game or March Madness. I say it is money left on the table.

The one caveat for Canada is that sometimes that is the only opportunity that u20 players get a chance to play in front of 20 000 fans and to play in the only country that considers hockey its number one sport.

 

[bruinsfan46]

If you're into making money, it just doesn't make any sense to have this tournament far from Canada. Sure it's not helping the interest in Europe but from what I understand there's never been massive amounts of interest in Europe for this tournament and when it has been held in Europe there have been tons of empty seats.

 

[NeverGoingToWin]

Europeans don't even care about under 19 and 20 tournaments in soccer. It sounds like Sweden is willing to give this tournament a chance but the rest for whatever reason will not. I have severe doubts about them ever caring about junior hockey tournaments.

 

[Siberian]

This tournament should be played in Canada every year. The attendance it gets in Europe is embarrassing. Playing in Buffalo and North Dakota is also fine. Whoever says it should be played in Europe once in two years is clueless. I actually believe this will grow interest to the tournament simply because when watching TV you see sold out arenas and not empty seats.

 

[Snoil11]

The only advantage I see from staging it in Europe more often would be, that some people around here might realize, that U-20 hockey isn't popular in most of Europe and therefore it's a real bad idea to bring up the idea of U-20 teams at the Olympics over and over again.

 

[Other Little Mikey]

cuz everytime they put it in Europe you have 500 fans showing up to watch some games, whereas in Canada you still have 5000-10000 people showing up to watch Belarus vs. Germany.

I was at the 08 tournament in the Czech Republic, and I don't feel like it's an exaggeration to say that the gold medal game was at least 75% Canadian fans. That's probably understating it, to be honest. It was also well short of a sellout, in a 10,000 seat arena. Even in Europe it seems like Canadians are the only ones who care about this tournament.

 

[james bond]

Does anyone from Europe know why u20 sports are not big in the respective countries?

 

[Zanon]

I really want to see Canada lose.

 

[james bond]

I really want to see Canada lose.

May I ask why? I know I have my reasons.

 

[Ward Cornell]

I really want to see Canada lose.

and what does that have to do with the topic?




On topic.....if it wasn't for the Canadian $$$ this tournement may have stopped existing a few years ago!

 

[MoonlightGraham]

Obviously the tournament generates huge revenues when it's held in Canada or a northern US state, and not so much in Europe. It's a no-brainer to have in Canada more often than anywhere else. I wish it wasn't like that and they could have succesful tournaments every year rotating between Canada, the US and Europe, but apparently it's not the case.

 

[Kessel>Seguin +]

Problem is, is when the tourny is in europe no one shows up