Thousands of Tickets Still Available for World Junior Championship in Edmonton

With the 2022 World Juniors set to commence tomorrow, there are still loads of tickets still up for grabs. Under normal circumstances, the World Junior tournament sells out anytime it is hosted in Canada, no matter what.

However, the set of circumstances around the 2022 WJC is anything but usual. First off, it is summer. And like a million degrees in North America today. Second, lots of players who would normally be present at the tournament are not due to the NHL season being so close. Lastly, there is not one, but two giant sexual assault scandals being unearthed day by day, which has seriously affected Hockey Canada's credibility, likely detracting thousands of fans from the tournament.

Most fans are probably soaking up the sun rather than sitting in a hockey arena. The weather is only warm in Canada for ~25% of the year, so that is not a trade in which Canadians are likely to be interested. Surely, the TV and social media audiences will still tune in, but that won't fill seats or generate concessions.

Furthermore, there are several players absent from this tournament, who under normal circumstances, would likely be present. To name a few absentees, Juraj Slafkovsky, Simon Nemec, Dylan Guenther, Kaiden Guhle, and Xavier Borgault are just some of the players who elected to skip the summertime tournament. The fact that the tournament will not feature each country's best true lineup could be contributing to lack of fan interest in spending money on tickets.

Now for the big one. The pair of scandals casting a shadow over Hockey Canada this summer have shaken public trust in the organization. Fans, parents, and Canadians everywhere are irate that public funds were deployed in settling these lawsuits, and lots of people might hesitate to just give Hockey Canada more fan-fare before serious changes are made.

The whole purpose of the postponement was for the IIHF to recoup the losses incurred after the original tournament was called off due to a COVID spread. Well, with thousands of tickets unsold, they probably will not fully recoup their losses. However, TSN's Gord Miller suggested that the point was never to make up 100% of the losses, just a portion, and that ticket sales are right around where organizers expected:

Miller continued, saying the impact of the Hockey Canada investigations on this summer's ticket sales are not as exaggerated as it seems. The true impact will be measured in ticket sales for the 2023 World Juniors, scheduled for December.

Opening puck drop for the 2022 WJC is set for 2pm tomorrow afternoon. While ticket sales probably won't be at typical levels, fans worldwide will definitely be tuning in and following the tournament.

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