International TournamentsDiscuss International Tournaments like the WJC, Olympics, and World Cup, as they take place, or discuss past tournaments. performances.
well, great for Koledow who outplayed Tryamkin and Zadorov...Glad logic prevailed and he cut Vasilevskiy, best of luck to him playing in the realms of VHL...I wouldn't exclude Kazakhstan or Ukraine either.
Canada has far more junior hockey players than Russia, Russia may be competitive but this is not like in the USSR where they had great depth in every position. Russia may be competitive and produce elite players but in terms of depth Russia is far behind Canada, participation numbers play a role in this. Just have to look at the large amount of sports Russia is strong at and realise that not everyone chooses to play hockey in Russia. Things will change over the next 10 years if Hockey continues booming here and we may see Russia having similar depth to Canada. I don't see Hockey becoming the number one sport in Russia but kids playing hockey is surging which is very good.
You are talking about registered hockey players, as opposed to players who are being prepared to be professionals in the NHL, KHL, etc. Regardless of the number of junior players from ages 6 to 16 in the US or Canada, what matters is the players who end up in high level junior leagues like the CHL or MHL. These are the players, with only a few exceptions, who are moving on to professional and high level international competition. The CHL, with 60 teams, probably has about 1,500 players. The MHL probably has close to 1,000 right now. IMO, those are the numbers that make up the core of the next generation of professional players. It is not a 7 to 1 or 8 to 1 ratio, as the numbers you are referencing would suggest.
Agreed. Frankly speaking, I didn't expect Varnakov to do so, but I guess there is too much at stake to take connections over the logic.
Oh man, stop those "connections" talks... please, because I don't know if we can weather the s-storm when Tretiak is old enough for the U20 team. What if he really has it? But that seems to be out of the question for some ppl. What "connections" would put Vasilevsky in that position? Please enlighten me.
The team looks solid. The forwards seem to be the best part of the team, but the defense looks pretty good as well. I would like to have seen Naumenkov, Tryamkin and Zadorov on the team. Hopefully, the coaches had plausible reasons for picking this group of defensemen over Tryamkin and Zadorov. I guess we'll find out in a few days.
what matters is the players who end up in high level junior leagues.
It does matter for assessing the number of professional players a country can generate, but it doesn’t really matter for gauging the country’s general interest in hockey. The real popularity of any sport depends on the total number of people participating and the availability of the sport (the total number of facilities, the average price of using them and the cost of the required equipment) for the general population. The Russian soccer national team hasn’t won any major soccer tournaments since 1960, but soccer is still# 1 sport in Russia as it’s more popular in Russia than hockey. By popular I mean the number of people playing at all levels, field and equipment availability, and the average attendance (13K for a Premier League game comparing to the KHL’s 5K per game) per league game.
In regards to hockey, the numbers are really in favour of Canada:
If you say that his dad has nothing to do with him making the national team, so be it. Andrey is a good goalie, but Alexei is a mediocre d-man. There were better players who were cut at the earlier stages.
If you say that his dad has nothing to do with him making the national team, so be it. Andrey is a good goalie, but Alexei is a mediocre d-man. There were better players who were cut at the earlier stages.
It does matter for assessing the number of professional players a country can generate, but it doesn’t really matter for gauging the country’s general interest in hockey. The real popularity of any sport depends on the total number of people participating and the availability of the sport (the total number of facilities, the average price of using them and the cost of the required equipment) for the general population. The Russian soccer national team hasn’t won any major soccer tournaments since 1960, but soccer is still# 1 sport in Russia as it’s more popular in Russia than hockey. By popular I mean the number of people playing at all levels, field and equipment availability, and the average attendance (13K for a Premier League game comparing to the KHL’s 5K per game) per league game.
In regards to hockey, the numbers are really in favour of Canada:
Russia
Total Registered Players 64,326
Indoor Rinks 346
Outdoor rinks 2,000
I agree with your point here. Hockey is definitely the No.1 sport in Canada, and no country matches the amount of resources and interest that Canadians invest in the sport, at least not yet. I never questioned the idea that attendance, even on a per capita basis, is heavier in Canada than anywhere else. In terms of competitive hockey, my point is that the numbers don't translate into a huge competitive imbalance, because other countries with fewer players (e.g., Sweden, Russia, Finland, the Czechs) are very competitive with Canada and the US. Also, higher levels of interest should not persuade the IIHF to turn the WJC over to Canada exclusively. International hockey, particularly youth hockey, is about hockey, not generating revenue. Revenue for what, if some countries who participate never get to host?
Also, higher levels of interest should not persuade the IIHF to turn the WJC over to Canada exclusively.
I absolutely agree with you. The best scenario would be to have a different host country every year. The reality is that a country’s National hockey association/federation is supposed to pick up a huge chunk of the organizational expenses without generating enough revenue to cover them. It seems that Canada is the only country which can make this event profitable. So it’s either to have it every second year in Canada or not to have it at all.
Also, higher levels of interest should not persuade the IIHF to turn the WJC over to Canada exclusively. International hockey, particularly youth hockey, is about hockey, not generating revenue. Revenue for what, if some countries who participate never get to host?
I like seeing the tournament rotated around and would love to see some of the lower placed teams have a chance to host it too. Now that there is only one team relegated each year, I think there is a chance that a consistent 6-8 place finisher gets to host. A tournament in Latvia would be fantastic.
Higher levels of interest have persuaded the IIHF to turn the WHC over to European nations exclusively.
Oh, have no doubt that the IIHF will aprove any new country willing to host this event. Although the IIHF's approval won’t mean they’ll pick up the tab as well. Somebody will have to pay. It’s either the national hockey body (trying to generate enough cash from selling tickets and advertisement) or eventually the state itself (from the sports budget money) I remember in 2010 Switzerland was approved to host the WJHC but couldn’t afford to do that. Guess what country stepped in to have it and pay the bill.
I absolutely agree with you. The best scenario would be to have a different host country every year. The reality is that a country’s National hockey association/federation is supposed to pick up a huge chunk of the organizational expenses without generating enough revenue to cover them. It seems that Canada is the only country which can make this event profitable. So it’s either to have it every second year in Canada or not to have it at all.
And yet Russia bid on the tournament this year, and Sweden is hosting it next year. The Czechs and Finns (and I think maybe the Slovaks) have hosted the tournament as well. There is financial payback in the local communities (hotels, restaurants, shopping outlets, etc.) for any money invested, and the same country would maybe only host it once every 6 or 7 years. Canada spends the money not because they think that it is money lost, but rather because there is plenty of money to made from the tournament. TSN and their sponsors make a huge amount of money from this tournament. But it should never be a matter of money. It should be about fair and equal competition. Otherwise, you have a Canada Cup type situation.
I like seeing the tournament rotated around and would love to see some of the lower placed teams have a chance to host it too. Now that there is only one team relegated each year, I think there is a chance that a consistent 6-8 place finisher gets to host. A tournament in Latvia would be fantastic.
Higher levels of interest have persuaded the IIHF to turn the WHC over to European nations exclusively.
Canada hosted it in 2008, and their application for future dates would no doubt be smiled on favorably by Rene Faisel. But the membership wouldn't tolerate it being hosted by Canada every 2 or 3 years, as you have with the WJC. Attendance is not a problem for European hosts of the WHC.
