WC: World Champs to see better viewer ratings in Canada?

[JA]

TSN needs to advertise it as a draft showcase.

Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, and Jesse Puljujärvi are all expected to participate.

Nope.

TSN needs to advertise it as a draft showcase.

Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, and Jesse Puljujärvi are all expected to participate.

It will be promoted as the McDavid Show and his 1st. taste of action on the Senior National Team.

and while I'm sure the hardcore Canadian fantasy GM hockey fan would keep one eye on the tournament and draft eligible players, but Canadians would not tune in en masse to see the three you identified, and has already been pointed out to you, the Finns are doubtful.

The only thing I'm interested in seeing is McDavid v Eichel and can Hockey Canada string together 2 strong tournaments in consecutive years.

No room for Laine and Pulju but Aho should join as a winger.

Too young and inexperienced. Puljujärvi has yet to play for the senior team and Laine showed in his two games that he's got lot to learn.

There is lots of chatter right now in the Team Finland thread about Laine and Puljujärvi being potential participants. Current circumstances seem to have enabled them a good opportunity to be awarded roster positions.

Eh... There are nearly 50 better wingers available for the games in Finland.

They can make the team only on HFboards.

It looks like some people were dead wrong.

This tournament has been centered entirely around Matthews and Laine. Both players have been plastered all over TSN's website, and there has been constant debate about those two players. There are daily reports from all Canadian sports media outlets about Matthews and Laine at the World Championship.

Laine also leads the tournament in goals and points after two games with 4 goals and 2 assists.

http://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada/video/ferraro-i-thought-matthews-was-the-best-u-s-player-on-the-ice~865018
http://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada/video/evaluating-matthews-and-mcdavid-s-play~865008
http://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada/video/laine-dominates-at-world-hockey-championship~864768
http://www.tsn.ca/laine-steals-show-matthews-strong-at-whc-1.485164
http://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada/video/matthews-shines-despite-loss-to-canada~865064
http://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada/video/matthews-matches-laine-s-performance~865334
http://www.tsn.ca/matthews-raises-bar-in-u-s-win-over-belarus-1.485631
http://www.tsn.ca/laine-dominates-as-finland-crushes-germany-1.485927
http://www.tsn.ca/red-hot-laine-matthews-ready-for-battle-1.485952

Red-hot Laine, Matthews ready for battle
TSN.ca Staff
11h ago

Finland’s Patrik Laine and Team USA’s Auston Matthews are going shot for shot at the World Hockey Championship as they compete for the top spot at the upcoming NHL draft on June 24.

On Monday, the 18-year-old stars go head-to-head as their clubs tangle at the Yubileiny Arena in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Watch all the action LIVE on TSN1, TSN3 and TSN GO beginning at 1pm et/10am pt.

Laine has been the heart and soul of the Finnish offence, leading the team and the tournament with four goals and six points. He is proving to be a ruthless power-play weapon with three goals and an assist with the man advantage as the Finns have outscored opponents 11-3 in two straight wins over Belarus and Germany.

“The thing with Patrik Laine that I love is that he’s always in a shooting position,” TSN hockey analyst Martin Biron said. “He had four shots on net (vs. Belarus) and he probably had eight or nine shot attempts in the game, lot of missed nets too, but he’s always ready to shoot the puck.”

Matthews was shut out in his first world championship contest, a 5-1 loss to Canada, but was heralded by TSN Hockey Analyst Ray Ferraro as “among the U.S.’s best players in this game.”

“I think we saw some from Auston Matthews that shows what type of player he’s going to be as he moves through this tournament and then in the infancy of his NHL career,” Ferraro said.

Matthews’ strong play continued in his next contest to the tune of a two-goal, three-point performance in a 6-3 win over Belarus.

For nearly an entire calendar year Matthews has been the presumptive No. 1 pick in the draft, however, magnificent performances from Laine at the World Junior Hockey Championship and two games into the world championship have analysts and fans wondering whether the American can be knocked off his perch when the Toronto Maple Leafs take to the podium for the first selection.

“I think that there’s a window of opportunity for Patrik Laine,” TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger said. “You’re looking for a foundational piece and the Toronto Maple Leafs desperately need a top-line centre and the hope is that Auston Matthews would quickly develop into that but Patrik Laine has been impressive when you look in the areas of dominance - the world juniors, the under 18s and perhaps here as well. If he takes the world by storm perhaps he closes that margin a bit.”

The Leafs will get their man at No. 1, whoever that may be, and the Winnipeg Jets' will have a potential superstar waiting for them at No. 2.

Laine has been the better player through two games - if not just by point production - but if Matthews’ progression is any indicator, this race is far from over and certainly won’t come down to one game.

Get your popcorn ready.

This was Sportsnet's pre-tournament report:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/matthews-laine-make-years-worlds-something-see/

Laine impossible to miss vs. Matthews in worlds exhibition
Ryan Dixon May 3, 2016, 4:50 PM

For even the most enthusiastic hockey head, the world championship can have a vegetable element to it: You know you should, but you’re not always super jazzed to consume.

The 2016 event though, is an exception, with excitement building before the main course is even served. It’s not exactly a common occurrence to find fans in Canadian cities scouring the Internet for a live stream of a pre-tournament game between the United States and Finland, but we’re willing to bet a significant chunk of Toronto and Winnipeg was doing just that during lunch on Tuesday as people scrambled to get a glimpse of their next great hope.

While the world championship doesn’t officially kick off until Friday in St. Petersburg and Moscow, there was plenty of intrigue watching Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine — the presumptive first and second picks of the 2016 NHL Draft — go head-to-head in a warm-up contest that wound up being a 3-2 overtime win for the Finns on home ice.

Watching draft-eligible players on a big international stage usually involves tuning into the world junior championship just after Christmas.

Both Matthews and Laine dazzled in that tournament too, but that was well before Leafs and Jets supporters could rub their hands together secure in the knowledge their teams will have their hooks in these guys in about six weeks.

...

A six-foot-four winger with an all-world right-hand shot, Laine was impossible to miss against the U.S. thanks to darting ability you’d expect from a guy half his size. During the 4-on-4 extra frame, he danced around defenceman Jake McCabe and nearly ended the affair with a low shot that was stopped by the pad of goalie Mike Condon.

Like Laine, Matthews finished the game with an assist, though it’s clear the two prospects impact things in different ways. In fact, if you want to compare the American to a young Finn, the best line to draw is not to Laine, but to his centre on Tuesday, 20-year-old Aleksander Barkov.

The prized Florida Panthers' possession uses his thick frame to control the boards and protect the puck in every zone, something Matthews already excels at. Package that with ample offensive ability, and you get the type of all-around pivot teams pray for.

...

Speaking of higher powers, don’t forget Connor McDavid, last year’s No. 1 overall pick, who will be suiting up for defending-champion Canada when the boys in red and white meet Matthews and the U.S. to kick off the tournament on Friday in St. Petersburg. (Finland is in that group, too.)

...

Frankly, McDavid is an afterthought. This is the Matthews vs Laine show.

 

[BIitz]

How are the #'s? I've been much more interested this year than in past years. Must be all the prospects!

 

[NyQuil]

When you have Hungary-Canada on at 5 AM, it's hard to generate a ton of interest before the medal round begins.

 

[TheBigThree]

More viewers for sure with all the hype for mcdavid, matthews and laine.

 

[Roundhead]

The main talksport radio station in Toronto (The FAN) will probably not mention the tournament. Last year they avoided it despite a pretty special Canadian squad. They also try to avoid the World Junior tournament. In past years they've been discussing the Blue Jays and a Glendale court room in Dec/Jan while ignoring the junior tournament. IIHF=TSN - the rivals of Rogers. That probably hurts the buzz for the World Championships in particular.

 

[Pouchkine]

Ratings will be great as usual regardless of the time differences. People love to watch real hockey real atmosphere real crowd nice big ice without crap publicity all over less tv breaks and especially less trap dump and chase cheap shots and gloves to the face, stuff that keeps viewers away from nhl hockey. It's tournament for real hockey fans, people that loved to play or still play and want to watch skilled hockey players not the barbaric dumb anti-hockey nhl. Basically it's like comparing international soccer to mls soccer...

 

[Blank]

A bold prediction

USA-Finland game tonight is going to break ratings records for a WC game. Toronto having the 1oa for the first time in ages and the fact that the top 2 prospects are facing off should net a huge rating from the Leafs enthusiast that have had very little to cheer in spring time.

 

[snipes]

Well I was up at 3 am because I live in western Canada to watch the games. No idea how many other western Canadians were. I love this tourney and I'll watch it whenever and wherever.

TSN is playing every single game for all teams, plus replaying it again in the afternoon/evening. I think most hockey fans will be aware of what's going on and catch some of the action. The diehard fans will watch mostly every game either live or on replay later in the day.

 

[Canuckistani]

A bold prediction

USA-Finland game tonight is going to break ratings records for a WC game. Toronto having the 1oa for the first time in ages and the fact that the top 2 prospects are facing off should net a huge rating from the Leafs enthusiast that have had very little to cheer in spring time.

I don't see it beating the Canada-Russia ratings in 2008 for a Sunday afternoon final in Quebec City.

Canadian fans are interested in Laine vs Matthews but not that much.

 

[Blank]

I don't see it beating the Canada-Russia ratings in 2008 for a Sunday afternoon final in Quebec City.

Canadian fans are interested in Laine vs Matthews but not that much.

Oops.. Shoulda specified Group Phase ratings.

 

[JA]

It really was the Matthews vs Laine show all along.

 

[Uncle Rotter]

http://www.bellmedia.ca/pr/press/ts...ack-gold-at-the-2016-iihf-world-championship/

TORONTO (May 25, 2015) – Led by Connor McDavid, Team Canada’s second consecutive gold medal win at the 2016 IIHF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP was a record-breaker. Preliminary overnight data from Numeris confirms a record average audience of 1.56 million viewers tuned in to TSN and RDS on Sunday to watch Team Canada’s dominating defensive performance over Team Finland to capture back-to-back gold.
...
More than 4.6 million unique Canadian viewers tuned in to TSN and RDS to watch Team Canada win gold. Audience levels peaked at 2.6 million viewers late in the game as Canada closed out the 2-0 victory.

Overall, Team Canada’s quarter-final, semifinal, and final games on TSN and RDS were up 13% compared to last year.

In total, more than 11 million Canadian viewers tuned in to watch some part of TSN and RDS’s exclusive live coverage of the 2016 IIHF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.

 

[habsrule4eva3089]

Nearly 5 million Canadians.

1 in every 7 Canadian. More Canadians watched this tournament then the Stanley Cup playoffs.

So much for ''not caring''.

 

[snipes]

Nearly 5 million Canadians.

1 in every 7 Canadian. More Canadians watched this tournament then the Stanley Cup playoffs.

So much for ''not caring''.

And 1 in 3 Canadians tuned it at some point during the tournament. NHL should realize the hockey world is bigger than them.

 

[jj cale]

Nearly 5 million Canadians.

1 in every 7 Canadian. More Canadians watched this tournament then the Stanley Cup playoffs.

So much for ''not caring''.

Well, all least we had a team to cheer for at this thing.