Hockey Canada hopes better sales strategy will fill seats at world juniors

“I don’t know if we paid close enough attention to the culture of the Montreal Canadiens and their fanbase and hockey in general and the fanbase. We needed to identify with that better. And from the cultural perspective, we need to understand it better and I think we do.”

Hockey Canada thought it would hit the jackpot by holding the popular tournament in NHL arenas in Canada’s two biggest cities and were shocked when fans in Montreal balked at paying top dollar for junior hockey, despite the chance to see a then-17-year-old Connor McDavid in action.

While sales for games in Toronto were strong, including more than 19,000 to see Canada win gold in the final at Air Canada Centre, attendance at the Bell Centre was disappointing for Canada’s round-robin games. Only 14,142 turned out for the tournament opener against Slovakia and 12,733 watched Canada’s next game against Germany, although a solid crowd of 18,295 showed for a New Year’s Eve meeting with the United States.

For most non-Canada games, barely a quarter of the seats were sold. Canada’s games were played in Toronto starting with the quarter-finals.

This time it is reversed. Canada’s preliminary round games are set for Toronto and the team’s playoff games would be played in Montreal.

Some prices have been cut and there are a wider variety of ticket packages available. Also, single game tickets will go on sale much earlier.

Only seats in the 12,000-seat lower bowl of the Bell Centre will be used for round-robin games in a group that has the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, while the upper tiers will be covered so the arena doesn’t look empty.

Despite the soft sales in 2015, the event drew a total of 366,370 spectators, the third-highest total for the tournament behind the 453,000 in Ottawa in 2009 and the 444,000 in Calgary and Edmonton in 2012.

“I was a little disappointed two years ago but I should not have been disappointed,” said International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel, who attended a promotional event with tournament organizers. “It was still a very high number of spectators.

“I’m sure people will come back.”

But Canada won’t have a star attraction like McDavid this time around. In fact, he and a recent bumper crop of teenage stars that includes Americans Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk and Finland’s Patrik Laine are already in the NHL.

“It hurts the teams, but I don’t know that it hurts the tournament,” said Renney. “All it does is present opportunities for more great players that have maybe gone under the radar so far.

“The event brings out the best in everyone. They’ll put themselves in a position to be more recognizable.”

Usually, it is Canada that is missing top junior-aged players who are in the NHL, but in recent years it has hit other countries as well.

It is up to the NHL teams to decide whether to release players for world junior duty. Renney is hoping to see some eligible Canadians loaned to the national junior squad.

“(Mitch) Marner, (Lawson) Crouse — there are a fair number of Canadians in the NHL that we hope will be with us,” said Renney. “But this a global game and Canada can take great pride in the fact that we take personal the growth of the game around the world and not just inside our own borders.”

Bill Beacon, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Hockey Canada hopes better sales strategy will fill seats at world juniors

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