I don' think the Olympics are a good analogy for the World Juniors.  I
don't believe for a minute that the NHL would be willing to shut down
if the Olympics happened every year.

I think that what helps "hockey" and what helps "college hockey" are
not necessarily the same thing.  Many (and I think the participants in
this list may be an exception) college hockey fans are fans because of
an association with a school rather than because of an association with
hockey.

I was a volunteer helper a few years ago when the World Junior
Championships were in Boston.  The hockey was wonderful, but the
"crowds" were embarrassing.  I'd bet there was one round robin game
(US/Canada) that filled more than 25% of the seats.  The finals weren't
a sellout and the only thing that kept them from being an absolute
attendance disaster was that there were a lot of Canadian youth hockey
teams in town for Christmas tournaments.  Ain't no TV network who'd
pick it up with crowds like that.

Clay


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