Jake Ryan 1 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 Which country do you think is the number 1 country and why? I think the USA is the number one country for hockey because it's home to the NHL and hockey wouldn't be nearly as popular if Americans weren't keen on it to some degree. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redwingfan19 293 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jake Ryan 1 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 That's a good picture! But which country do you think is #1? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rice 42 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 Canada, easily. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echolalia 2,961 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 Iceland, because it has ice in the name. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toby91_ca 620 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 I have no idea what you mean by best country, but if you are going to look at it from an NHL perspective, which you seem to have done, stats will show that the vast, vast, vast majority of NHL players were born in Canada (I'm looking at historically, so every player that has ever playd the game). Also, per capita, Canada far exceeds the USA in both players and in viewership and interest in the game. If you look at the birth country of today's NHL players, about 55% are Canadian. This number used to be closer to 80 or 90% back in the 80s and prior. So, even today, Canada turns out 3 times as many NHL players than the US, with a general population only 1/10th of that of the US. To put that in perpsective, out of 100,000 general population Canadians, approx. 1.8 become NHL players. Out of 100,000 general population Americans, you'd only get 0.06 NHL players (i.e. 1/30th of the Canadian number). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newfy 695 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 Easy answer. Canada Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
servo 15 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 Iceland, because it has ice in the name. I agree! Also, Greenland is pretty environmentally friendly! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drw138 6 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 USA??? give your head a shake Canada lives and breathes hockey. (just wait and see at the olympics) hockey in the US is maybe 4th behind NFL, NBA, MLB not to mention nascar, tennis, golf hell i'm pretty sure darts and dog shows have a bigger following than hockey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RedArmy 4 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 I would say based on combination of popularity, contribution to sport and quality of athletes... 1. Canada 2. USA and Russia tied (soccer is very popular in Russia and Hockey is the 4th most popular organized sport in United States) 3. Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic and Slovakia 4. Norway and Switzerland Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SweWings 45 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 Which country do you think is the number 1 country and why? I think the USA is the number one country for hockey because it's home to the NHL and hockey wouldn't be nearly as popular if Americans weren't keen on it to some degree. ...Joke? That's a good picture! But which country do you think is #1? Probably not a joke then. Well, as much as I love Swedish hockey, the number 1 hockey country is most certainly Canada. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jake Ryan 1 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 While I agree that Canada loves hockey, started the game, and still has the highest majority of players, I don't think hockey would be anywhere without the USA. Even though hockey is still behind football and baseball, it's still better to be in 3rd or 4th place in the USA instead of 1st place somewhere else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gordie Howe hat trick 110 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 I'm going to go off the charts here and say the Czech Republic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,803 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 If you ask Bettman, the answer is easily USA. If you ask anyone else, the answer is easily Canada. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doc Holiday 0 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 Italy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yzerfan1999 81 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 (edited) While I agree that Canada loves hockey, started the game, and still has the highest majority of players, I don't think hockey would be anywhere without the USA. Even though hockey is still behind football and baseball, it's still better to be in 3rd or 4th place in the USA instead of 1st place somewhere else. The answer to your question is simple - its Canada. Anyone who questions that is not paying attention. Look at what Gary Bettman has done; basically proven that American's don't give a tinkers cuss about hockey. Of course there are a handful of well established Hockey markets that have been around for a while, but look at the southern and western States. To most (NOT ALL) Hockey is a second rate sport to Football, Basketball, and Baseball. You ask a Canadian what the most important sport here is? Hockey. Here is an attendance chart for the NHL - obviously has no bearing on our friends over in Europe, but if the debate is between Canada and USA, it matters that every Canadian franchise has a sellout percentage of at least 100% http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?s...t&year=2009 While I'm positive hockey is growing in some markets in the USA, at this point id still say people in Russia and Sweden are more into it. Oh, and before you say "BUT HEY CHICAGO IS #1" take a look at the sellout percentages for the last 4 years. While the American cities change dramatically depending on the caliber of their team, all 6 Canadian teams remain 100% sold out. Edited November 30, 2009 by Yzerfan1999 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yzerfan1999 81 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 Even though hockey is still behind football and baseball, it's still better to be in 3rd or 4th place in the USA instead of 1st place somewhere else. ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doc Holiday 0 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 (edited) ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? I think he is talking about with profit and fanbase. The US has a much larger population than Canada, therefore it makes more money than a primarily Canadian league would. Doesn't mean the US is much more of a hockey country than Canada. Edited November 30, 2009 by Doc Holiday Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reds4Life 51 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 US? are you kidding? Most people in US do not give flying f*** about hockey. Canada is the only answer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Mule 0 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 Is this a serious question? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jake Ryan 1 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 The answer to your question is simple - its Canada. Anyone who questions that is not paying attention. Look at what Gary Bettman has done; basically proven that American's don't give a tinkers cuss about hockey. Of course there are a handful of well established Hockey markets that have been around for a while, but look at the southern and western States. To most (NOT ALL) Hockey is a second rate sport to Football, Basketball, and Baseball. You ask a Canadian what the most important sport here is? Hockey. Here is an attendance chart for the NHL - obviously has no bearing on our friends over in Europe, but if the debate is between Canada and USA, it matters that every Canadian franchise has a sellout percentage of at least 100% http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?s...t&year=2009 While I'm positive hockey is growing in some markets in the USA, at this point id still say people in Russia and Sweden are more into it. Oh, and before you say "BUT HEY CHICAGO IS #1" take a look at the sellout percentages for the last 4 years. While the American cities change dramatically depending on the caliber of their team, all 6 Canadian teams remain 100% sold out. This argument fails because the Canadian cities are limited to their major cities. Hockey has a great chance to flourish in cities like Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Ottawa. The same goes for New York, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and most other MAJOR cities in the U.S. But remember that hockey died out in Winnepeg and in Quebec, the same way it is dying out in Phoenix. And in response to your last few remarks, do you remember what the Vancouver arena (Pacific Coliseum) used to be nicknamed? Canadian teams have their share of fairweather fans, as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 Previous American NHL franchise failures: St. Louis, New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Oakland, Cleveland, Denver, Kansas City, Atlanta, Hartford and Minneapolis / St. Paul. Sure are some "MAJOR cities" in that group, eh? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jake Ryan 1 Report post Posted November 30, 2009 Previous American NHL franchise failures: St. Louis, New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Oakland, Cleveland, Denver, Kansas City, Atlanta, Hartford and Minneapolis / St. Paul. Sure are some "MAJOR cities" in that group, eh? The New York Americans also failed. Ottawa, which is Canada's capital, failed. Of the Original 6, 4 of them are from the United States. So the best hockey has a history of being played predominantly in the United States. The fact remains that the US has 24 teams while Canada has 6. If Canada is such a bad ass hockey country, why doesn't it have more of the NHL? The NHL is talking about expanding to Europe more than they are talking about expanding within Canada. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Four Report post Posted November 30, 2009 The New York Americans also failed. Ottawa, which is Canada's capital, failed. Of the Original 6, 4 of them are from the United States. So the best hockey has a history of being played predominantly in the United States. The fact remains that the US has 24 teams while Canada has 6. If Canada is such a bad ass hockey country, why doesn't it have more of the NHL? The NHL is talking about expanding to Europe more than they are talking about expanding within Canada. Because you have 50 states and we have only the bottom half of our country. And you also have 308,049,000 people while we have roughly 33,860,000, where not all of them even live remotely close to an NHL arena (Think PEI, New Foundland, Nova Scotia, NWT, Nunavut, etc). You have roughly 9.1x more people than in Canada (including all the people that cannot drive to see games), yet you only have 4x more arenas. You're comparison is complete waste, as you are comparing two completely different sized populations in regards to where teams are located. We technically have less people per arena than you do @ 5.6M people per arena, while you have 12.8M people per arena, thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Shoreline Report post Posted November 30, 2009 (edited) Mexico. More hockey fans per capita -- Source. Edited November 30, 2009 by Shoreline Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
