THN Archive: Analyzing the Love Canadians Have for the World Juniors

The world juniors never fail to draw huge attention from hockey fans. This 2006 story from THN's Archive breaks down all the factors that make the tournament a national obsession for Canadians.

There’s no question the IIHF World Junior Championship is an annual must-see for hockey fans. And in this feature story from THN’s Jan. 1, 2006 edition, writer Michael Traikos analyzed the particularly intense obsession Canada has with the world juniors.

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The world juniors’ appeal isn’t just about the best-on-best showdown between under-20-year-old players. It also previews what fans can expect to see at the NHL level. It never leaves fans and hockey observers dissatisfied.

“The hockey is so special,” said veteran hockey executive and analyst Pierre McGuire in the 2006 issue. “You’re talking about the best young players in the world. This is their dress rehearsal.”

The tourney is also a guaranteed ratings hit, no matter where the games are staged. It’s an exercise in nationalism, and TV rights holders are one of the chief beneficiaries.

“When ratings go over the top, it tends to be when we wave the Canadian flag,” then-TSN president Phil King told Traikos. “That’s when you get the casual or non-sports fans, like with the Olympics. It unites the country.”

The timing of the world juniors also contributes to its popularity.

“One of the main reasons (the tournament) gets watched is it’s during the Christmas break,” King said. “If it wasn’t, nobody would be home to watch it. It’s the perfect time of year.”

Canadians aren’t always the most tribalistic nation, but when it comes to the WJC, fans across the nation come together to root for their fellow country people. That’s at the heart of the tournament, and it’s why Canada will always embrace the World Junior Championship.

“In the U.S., you have the (NCAA football) bowl games (during the holiday season),” McGuire said. “In Canada, it’s our bowl games. It’s a big celebration of hockey…Whether you’re a Senators fan, a Leafs fans, a Canucks fan or whatever, when it comes to the world juniors, you’re a fan of Canada.”

By Michael Traikos

January 1, 2006

Like many Canadians, Pierre McGuire has a hard time narrowing down his favorite memory from the World Junior Championship.

“There’s too many,” McGuire said. “I remember watching Sidney Crosby score his first goal in Helsinki. I remember the big hits of Dion Phaneuf. One time, I had goosebumps in Halifax before the puck dropped – the amount of noise there reminded me of being in the Stanley Cup final in Pittsburgh.”

McGuire, color commentator for the tournament the past three years, has fond memories of watching the world’s elite young skaters since 1989.

“The hockey is so special,” he mused. “You’re talking about the best young players in the world. This is their dress rehearsal.”

Since TSN began broadcasting the tournament in 1991, the WJC has become a tradition. The gold medal game between Canada and Russia at the 2003 tourney in Halifax remains TSN’s most-watched program ever, bringing in 3,453,000 viewers.

Shortly after TSN began broadcasting the event, Canada started a stretch of five consecutive gold medals. “It was a smaller tournament (when CBC had the rights),” said TSN president Phil King. “Team Canada came of age – that helped.”

The better Canada performed, the more people watched. Of TSN’s top-watched programs, six WJC games are in the top 10.

“When ratings go over the top, it tends to be when we wave the Canadian flag,” King said. “That’s when you get the casual or non-sports fans, like with the Olympics. It unites the country.”

In the beginning, TSN broadcast medal games exclusively, before upping its coverage to the point where – last year – games which did not include Canada were shown for the first time.

It proved to be a success.

“It’s like a World Cup,” King said. “The fans know Team Canada will be playing one of these teams, so they want to follow them and be knowledgeable about their future competition.”

While the 1999 WJC gold medal game in Winnipeg between Canada and Russia brought in 1,816,000 viewers, last year’s final between the same two teams in Grand Forks, N.D., was a highly anticipated event watched by 3,227,000.

For a tournament that centers around players who have yet to become household names, the ratings success is no small feat.

“We’ve got to educate every-one around Canada about every player,” McGuire said.

Of course, with most of the country enjoying winter holidays, the tournament has a strangle-hold on viewers hungry for live sports. “One of the main reasons (the tournament) gets watched is it’s during the Christmas break,” King said. “If it wasn’t, nobody would be home to watch it. It’s the perfect time of year. The World Championship doesn’t have the same meaning, because it’s on during the playoffs. It gets lost in the mix of things.”

McGuire agrees. “In the U.S., you have the (NCAA football) bowl games (during the holiday season),” he said. “In Canada, it’s our bowl games. It’s a big celebration of hockey…Whether you’re a Senators fan, a Leafs fans, a Canucks fan or whatever, when it comes to the world juniors, you’re a fan of Canada.”

Here are the 10 most-watched TSN programs and number of viewers:

1. 2003 gold-medal game WJC (Can vs. Rus) 3.45 million

2. 2005 gold-medal game WJC (Can vs. Rus) 3.23 million

3. NHL season opener (Oct. 5, 2005) 2.10 million

4. 2003 semifinal WJC (Can vs. USA) 2.01 million

5. 2005 semifinal WJC (Can vs. Czech) 1.89 million

6. 1999 gold-medal game WJC (Can vs. Rus) 1.82 million

7. Blue Jays Baseball (Sept. 29, 1989) 1.81 million

8. Blue Jays Baseball (Oct. 2, 1991) 1.59 million

9. World Cup Soccer (July 12, 1998) 1.55 million

10. 1991 gold-medal game WJC (Can vs. Rus) 1.44 million

The Hockey News Archive is a vault of 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 articles exclusively for subscribers, chronicling the complete history of The Hockey News from 1947 until today. Visit the archives at THN.com/archive and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com