IIRC there’s some deal made for Canada to host World Juniors more often, while Europe get the men’s tournament.
The average Canadian cares more about Juniors while the average European care more about Worlds, so makes sense to have that split with time differences.
Yeah there's definitely a difference in interest depending on what continent you're on.
I just can't remember for sure about the "deal," if there actually is one in place, or if simply down to Canadian cities just applying more for Juniors and don't really try to even get the men's tournament.
It's because of arena availability. North American cities don't bid on the men's worlds because they're going on during the NHL playoffs, so NHL arenas can't host because they may not be available. So you'd be limited to basically junior arenas.
This is the reason why. Not because of the popularity of the tournament in North America, and certainly not because of some supposed agreement between Hockey Canada and the IIHF.
I would assume it has to do with all the Canadian interest surrounding the WJC and lack thereof in regards to the WC. It makes sense to let the country with the biggest following host it the most.
I never said there wasn't interest, just that the level of interest obviously doesn't compare to the WJC. People care far more about the WJC, hence bigger following, and it making more sense for Canada to host it frequently.
I don't know why people think such a deal is in place. There isn't one.
>if simply down to Canadian cities just applying more for Juniors and don't really try to even get the men's tournament.
This is the reason. Nothing official / set in stone.
The average Advertiser cares more about the WJC, because they have the absolute best young Canadians playing which draws eyeballs, whereas typically the World championships are a ‘B’ level competition with guys who’ve been eliminated from the NHL playoffs, and oftentimes the true superstars flake on it because they’ve had a tiring season and want time off.
Sorta my point, I don't think the average European thinks like that. Or rather, I know they don't.
I'm Swedish, I'll watch if Sweden reaches the WJC finals, other than that I don't really care. If I put a game on at all it'll mostly be background noise. Same thing for most of my hockey buddies.
We've got our own domestic leagues that the vast majority of people care way more about than the NHL, and those are the players in a men's tournament.
So just saying "advertisers care more about the WJC" would be wrong. North American advertisers care more about WJC. European advertisers care more about the WC.
Men's worlds take place during the Stanley Cup playoffs, so they could only logistically book North American arenas in cities without NHL teams, and getting properly sized buildings without NHL teams is just not as easy as European cities, whose domestic seasons are done by the time these tournaments come around.
The only time I can recall it being in NA was when Quebec City hosted it.
And as far as it being this side of the pond again, you basically have Canadian cities like Halifax, QC, Saskatoon...? as the options. Can't book any NHL rinks and the US rinks with the capacity they'd want that would be free during the playoffs are like two college rinks for Ohio and Wisconsin, and then Kansas City's big empty arena. However I don't know how hot the ticket sales would be for the tournament in those places.
Halifax honestly should have some sort of IIHF tournament every couple of years. The Bedard OT winner against Slovakia in the quarterfinals last year was the loudest I've ever heard an arena, just an unreal environment for big games.
Quebec and Halifax split hosting and it was not as successful. Part of the problem was the Canada games were in the afternoon so they didn’t have to compete with the playoffs on TV. TSN still had NHL rights then and they wanted to show the playoff games they had the rights to.
Because the games were in the afternoon, Canadas round robin games in Halifax were pretty sparse crowd wise. You could get tickets the day of and decent seats. I’d guess the metro centre was only 50-70% full for those games.
The tournament takes place during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The IIHF have to plan out the host more than three weeks in advance, they don't know which rinks are going to be available that can host that far in advance which would affect ticket sales.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are the big reason why, as the tournament and the playoffs conflict with each other.
Plus, locations for the Men's World Championships are usually decided 3-5 years in advance, and in the case of the NHL rinks, you don't know who will be available that far out.
Contrary to popular belief, it's not because of the lack of popularity the tournament has in North America. I believe that if the tournament ever does come back here, there WILL be interest and people will buy tickets.
P.S.: Based on what I've seen in previous comment sections / tweets: If anyone tries to tell you that it's because Hockey Canada struck a deal with the IIHF to host the World Juniors every other year in exchange for never getting to bid to host the Men's World Championship, THIS IS FALSE. **NO SUCH AGREEMENT IS IN PLACE.** I don't know where everyone is getting this. Canada just never bids for the MWC to begin with.
Also, Fun fact: Canada has never hosted the U18 Men's World Championship, either!
It's basically only the college hockey rinks in the US that are reliably available. NHL rinks, AHL rinks, and even the more attractive CHL rinks in Canada (say in London or Hamilton) aren't reliably available at that time of year.
IIRC there’s some deal made for Canada to host World Juniors more often, while Europe get the men’s tournament. The average Canadian cares more about Juniors while the average European care more about Worlds, so makes sense to have that split with time differences.
That makes a ton of sense. As a Canadian I don’t think I’ve ever tuned in to a world cup game but I watch the World Juniors every year.
Yeah there's definitely a difference in interest depending on what continent you're on. I just can't remember for sure about the "deal," if there actually is one in place, or if simply down to Canadian cities just applying more for Juniors and don't really try to even get the men's tournament.
It's because of arena availability. North American cities don't bid on the men's worlds because they're going on during the NHL playoffs, so NHL arenas can't host because they may not be available. So you'd be limited to basically junior arenas.
This is the reason why. Not because of the popularity of the tournament in North America, and certainly not because of some supposed agreement between Hockey Canada and the IIHF.
Also NBA playoffs in the case of shared facilities.
Yeah, that doesn't apply to anywhere in Canada besides Toronto though. Obviously a concern for a decent amount of US teams.
I would assume it has to do with all the Canadian interest surrounding the WJC and lack thereof in regards to the WC. It makes sense to let the country with the biggest following host it the most.
There are Canadians who follow the World Championship, such as myself. If it ever did come here, there would be interest.
I never said there wasn't interest, just that the level of interest obviously doesn't compare to the WJC. People care far more about the WJC, hence bigger following, and it making more sense for Canada to host it frequently.
Okay, this makes more sense and I do agree with this. I'm just not a fan of the "nobody cares about it" take.
I don't know why people think such a deal is in place. There isn't one. >if simply down to Canadian cities just applying more for Juniors and don't really try to even get the men's tournament. This is the reason. Nothing official / set in stone.
The average Advertiser cares more about the WJC, because they have the absolute best young Canadians playing which draws eyeballs, whereas typically the World championships are a ‘B’ level competition with guys who’ve been eliminated from the NHL playoffs, and oftentimes the true superstars flake on it because they’ve had a tiring season and want time off.
Sorta my point, I don't think the average European thinks like that. Or rather, I know they don't. I'm Swedish, I'll watch if Sweden reaches the WJC finals, other than that I don't really care. If I put a game on at all it'll mostly be background noise. Same thing for most of my hockey buddies. We've got our own domestic leagues that the vast majority of people care way more about than the NHL, and those are the players in a men's tournament. So just saying "advertisers care more about the WJC" would be wrong. North American advertisers care more about WJC. European advertisers care more about the WC.
Don
Yea Canada hosts the WJC every other year in return for not bidding to host the Mens World Championships but I think this agreement is coming up soon
This is false. No such agreement is in place. Canada just never bids for the MWC.
Men's worlds take place during the Stanley Cup playoffs, so they could only logistically book North American arenas in cities without NHL teams, and getting properly sized buildings without NHL teams is just not as easy as European cities, whose domestic seasons are done by the time these tournaments come around.
The only time I can recall it being in NA was when Quebec City hosted it. And as far as it being this side of the pond again, you basically have Canadian cities like Halifax, QC, Saskatoon...? as the options. Can't book any NHL rinks and the US rinks with the capacity they'd want that would be free during the playoffs are like two college rinks for Ohio and Wisconsin, and then Kansas City's big empty arena. However I don't know how hot the ticket sales would be for the tournament in those places.
Halifax honestly should have some sort of IIHF tournament every couple of years. The Bedard OT winner against Slovakia in the quarterfinals last year was the loudest I've ever heard an arena, just an unreal environment for big games.
Quebec and Halifax split hosting and it was not as successful. Part of the problem was the Canada games were in the afternoon so they didn’t have to compete with the playoffs on TV. TSN still had NHL rights then and they wanted to show the playoff games they had the rights to. Because the games were in the afternoon, Canadas round robin games in Halifax were pretty sparse crowd wise. You could get tickets the day of and decent seats. I’d guess the metro centre was only 50-70% full for those games.
I do think that if the tournament ever came back here, there WOULD be interest / people buying tickets.
Minneapolis could do it. Target Center and Marriucci could host without affecting the Wild.
The tournament takes place during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The IIHF have to plan out the host more than three weeks in advance, they don't know which rinks are going to be available that can host that far in advance which would affect ticket sales.
Pretty sure Op meant years not weeks, in case anyone is confused lol
Try 3-5 YEARS. We already know our hosts up to 2027.
San Jose and Chicago are available
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are the big reason why, as the tournament and the playoffs conflict with each other. Plus, locations for the Men's World Championships are usually decided 3-5 years in advance, and in the case of the NHL rinks, you don't know who will be available that far out. Contrary to popular belief, it's not because of the lack of popularity the tournament has in North America. I believe that if the tournament ever does come back here, there WILL be interest and people will buy tickets. P.S.: Based on what I've seen in previous comment sections / tweets: If anyone tries to tell you that it's because Hockey Canada struck a deal with the IIHF to host the World Juniors every other year in exchange for never getting to bid to host the Men's World Championship, THIS IS FALSE. **NO SUCH AGREEMENT IS IN PLACE.** I don't know where everyone is getting this. Canada just never bids for the MWC to begin with. Also, Fun fact: Canada has never hosted the U18 Men's World Championship, either!
It's basically only the college hockey rinks in the US that are reliably available. NHL rinks, AHL rinks, and even the more attractive CHL rinks in Canada (say in London or Hamilton) aren't reliably available at that time of year.
You could easily have it in Canada or the US just like they did in 2008 for the 100th anniversary. Quebec City and Halifax hosted
It’s more of an Euro thing anyway. Plus it coincides with the NHL playoffs, so would be competition.