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The US will overtake Canada in hockey in the next decade
Posted on 2/16/25 at 12:00 pm
Posted on 2/16/25 at 12:00 pm
I think the political drama has overshadowed this a bit but serious props to the progress US hockey has made over the last 15 or so years. It wasn’t that long ago when the US couldn’t hold a candle to Canada. I saw some numbers that were very impressive for US hockey.
In 2005, the US had 160 NHL players and Canada had 471. Last year there were 335 Canadian NHL players vs 241 US. The gap is closing, and fast.
US hockey has adapted a style of play and essentially perfected it. They stress dominant defensive play and physical forechecking. A lot like the great Kings teams of the 2010’s. They play the same way at the JR level as well. And the Jr teams have dominated in recent years. Sprinkle in better and better talent and awesome goalie development and you see what happened yesterday.
It really highlights the power the US has when it invest heavily in something and keeps things consistent. Sticks to a style and perfects it. The US Men’s national team for Soccer could learn a thing or two from their ice friends.
In 2005, the US had 160 NHL players and Canada had 471. Last year there were 335 Canadian NHL players vs 241 US. The gap is closing, and fast.
US hockey has adapted a style of play and essentially perfected it. They stress dominant defensive play and physical forechecking. A lot like the great Kings teams of the 2010’s. They play the same way at the JR level as well. And the Jr teams have dominated in recent years. Sprinkle in better and better talent and awesome goalie development and you see what happened yesterday.
It really highlights the power the US has when it invest heavily in something and keeps things consistent. Sticks to a style and perfects it. The US Men’s national team for Soccer could learn a thing or two from their ice friends.
14
Posted on 2/16/25 at 12:03 pm to ChiGator
quote:
The US Men’s national team for Soccer could learn a thing or two from their ice friends
The difference is hockey has American values, soccer does not. Strength, pace, physicality, toughness.
Kids are never going to gravitate towards soccer if they have other options. Kids will pick hockey
This post was edited on 2/16/25 at 12:04 pm
Posted on 2/16/25 at 12:04 pm to ChiGator
US hockey has made siginificant strides. idk if they will overtake a place where its literally their culture but theres no reason why we should go on another losing streak against Canada like we had up until last night
Posted on 2/16/25 at 12:10 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
Soccer is growing tremendously in the US with the youth. The problem is the US has no structure on how it wants to develop talent and it doesn’t have a consistent style of play they teach kids at a young level. There is also way too much pay to play for top levels.
Also the MLS is a joke and all the best talent goes oversea’s to play. Not sure how possible it is to change that any time soon.
Also the MLS is a joke and all the best talent goes oversea’s to play. Not sure how possible it is to change that any time soon.
This post was edited on 2/16/25 at 12:12 pm
Posted on 2/16/25 at 12:52 pm to ChiGator
A Canadian team hasn't won the Stanley Cup in over 30 years.
Canadian players are the smallest share of NHL players currently that they have ever been, about half the rate of just 45 season ago. Americans in the game have almost tripled in the same time.
American hockey dominance is already here. Really, once the oldest few years of players sorts itself out into retirement, a group where Canada still has a decided edge, the league may end up with a plurality of American players within 5 years.
Canadian players are the smallest share of NHL players currently that they have ever been, about half the rate of just 45 season ago. Americans in the game have almost tripled in the same time.
American hockey dominance is already here. Really, once the oldest few years of players sorts itself out into retirement, a group where Canada still has a decided edge, the league may end up with a plurality of American players within 5 years.
This post was edited on 2/16/25 at 1:13 pm
Posted on 2/16/25 at 1:20 pm to ChiGator
Hockey IS the national sport in Canada. Your topic will not happen.
Posted on 2/16/25 at 1:24 pm to dukke v
The US JR team has won 3 of the last 5 gold medals. Canada hasn’t even medaled the last two years. What I said is absolutely on the table
Posted on 2/16/25 at 1:29 pm to ChiGator
Maybe….
Posted on 2/16/25 at 1:32 pm to ChiGator
quote:
Soccer is growing tremendously in the US with the youth. The problem is the US has no structure on how it wants to develop talent and it doesn’t have a consistent style of play they teach kids at a young level. There is also way too much pay to play for top levels.
Was looking at a discussion on the soccer subreddit and their theory was the USSF has way too much backstabbing/organizational politics.
Agree that MLS is a joke.
Posted on 2/16/25 at 1:46 pm to dukke v
quote:
Your topic will not happen.
to
quote:
Maybe….
So which is it?
Posted on 2/16/25 at 2:26 pm to ChiGator
You realize hockey is not the most popular sport in Canada?
Posted on 2/16/25 at 2:27 pm to ChiGator
quote:
Soccer is growing tremendously in the US with the youth.
This same chestnut is trotted out when talking about the future of sports in America all the time, dating back to the mid 1970s. The problem is, that while youth soccer has been the most popular participation sport in the country for over a generation, it has simply abysmal player retention and development-- soccer is the sport that a kid plays for a year and never plays again.
Its not the future of American sports, and hasn't been, no matter how hard this nonsense has continued to be sold.
Posted on 2/16/25 at 2:28 pm to auisssa
It won’t happen.as much as I love how American kids like hockey, the amount of athletes in Canada is overwhelming compared to the U S…as far as hockey goes…
Posted on 2/16/25 at 2:31 pm to BoardReader
quote:
The problem is, that while youth soccer has been the most popular participation sport in the country for over a generation, it has simply abysmal player retention and development
Kids play “soccer” from 4-8 until they are coordinated enough to play the American sports they want to play. Most gifted athletes never play real organized soccer, but almost every one of them plays baseball, football, and basketball at some point.
This post was edited on 2/16/25 at 2:32 pm
Posted on 2/16/25 at 2:32 pm to ChiGator
You aren’t going to dominate a sport 90% of kids have never played. Hockey is too expensive.
Posted on 2/16/25 at 2:54 pm to ChiGator
Soccer’s problem is title ix. The best athletes stop playing soccer in middle school or high school because there’s not many scholarship soccer teams in college sports. Title ix greatly limits the number of mens sports opportunities outside of football, so parents steer their kids towards sports where they could potentially go to college for free (or even get paid thanks to NIL). No college soccer means no soccer scholarships, means no motivation to develop soccer players in high school, so they play other sports instead.
Hockey has the same problem in much of the US, especially the South.
Hockey has the same problem in much of the US, especially the South.
Posted on 2/16/25 at 3:02 pm to dukke v
quote:Overwhelming? More kids in the US play hockey than Canada, and our number has been trending up while theirs has been going down. Canadian youth participation has fallen nearly 35% from a little over a decade ago (ironically mostly due to cost trends similar to US soccer, playing other sports, and injury concerns like with our football)
It won’t happen.as much as I love how American kids like hockey, the amount of athletes in Canada is overwhelming compared to the U S…as far as hockey goes…
We’ve finished better than them in 8 of the last 10 under-18 championships, and better in 6 of the last 10 under-20. So clearly they’re getting developed too
Perceiving a massive gulf just isn’t consistent with reality. We have the numbers (and trends) and we’re getting the results. We’re overtaking them, it’s just a matter of how quickly
This post was edited on 2/16/25 at 3:36 pm
Posted on 2/16/25 at 3:26 pm to ChiGator
It's indeed growing, but I think it's burning out kids by the time they are mid teens. Plus there is no club level leagues in the U.S. Agree that the MLS is a joke.
Posted on 2/16/25 at 3:35 pm to ChiGator
I believe I read hockey participation is way down in Canada. A lot of people priced out.
And yes, when the US sets its mind to something and puts in resources, there’s nothing we can’t do.
And yes, when the US sets its mind to something and puts in resources, there’s nothing we can’t do.
Posted on 2/16/25 at 3:35 pm to kingbob
quote:This creature doesn’t exist in meaningful numbers
parents steer their kids towards sports where they could potentially go to college for free
The kind of potential the US lacks in volume to compete with the rest of the world at the highest level in soccer is discovered closer to middle school anyway
This post was edited on 2/16/25 at 6:23 pm
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