We Are Witnessing The Fall Of Hockey Canada

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[@RobTalksHockey]

How much does hockey cost in your area?

[@TheMostTruth]

In my close vicinity here in Sweden, for kids and youth the player fee can range from 150-1000 USD yearly. The teams set their prices on their own pretty much.

[@christhompson625]

It really depends on the age group, organization and league. The lowest I have paid is 200 for a season, but also know people that have paid 6000 for single season and player. There are also other opportunities to pay well over 30k/season. The more appropriate question seems to be "how much do you want to pay?" Do your Canadian numbers factor in players that are not playing in leagues that pay royalties to Hockey Canada (private leagues)? Those have become allot more popular in the last 5 years as people have become more disillusioned with Hockey Canada or their local clubs.

[@jdowell2009]

I spent between 10-15 k a year but that was AAA plus all camps and equipment. Was worth every penny for the memories.

[@jaydengroom7798]

@@jdowell2009 academy?

[@mqh8879]

hockey is too expensive and soccer, among other sports, is getting a lot of traction from kids these days in Canada.

[@whitegd4100]

“Hockey is for everyone!” Except poor people and Russians

[@frozone2366]

And most asians

[@Theo-lt7vy]

@@frozone2366and people in Africa

[@neeltheother2342]

@@frozone2366 The most successful Asian country in hockey has been Kazakhstan which is kinda like Russia-lite lol

[@kingofmemes5017]

And the British :(

[@Nickh4929]

​@@kingofmemes5017britian has 1 rink lol

[@oZxrvon]

50k is nuts, A lot of families can hardly afford 4-5k, I'm surprised that there's as many players as there are at that price. Also people trying to profit off of kid hockey is crazy

[@Asymmetrical-Saggin]

LOL? Businesses don't stay open to break even..... Density level: maximum.

[@peterlawrence7427]

@@Asymmetrical-Saggin its a non profit or did you not hear that part? so yes, them trying to make money off it is disgusting 🤣

[@seen48]

Totally agree about those that are profiting from the kids needs to be investigated! How can parents afford this….they can’t!

[@rmacgregor9]

thats just it, trying to get our childern into hockey even house leauge or whatever its called now a days is difficult on a 6 figure salary especially as the cost of housing and grocheries and gas skyrocketed and shows little to no signs of decline.

[@spartaleonidas7132]

Only about 1-2% of the total hockey players are triple A hockey. The other 99% isn't paying 50k.

[@williamdubinski5180]

I played in the MTHL (which became the GTHL). Rob you are bang on. Minor Hockey has essentially become big business. As a goalie I had some very nice families support me as I progressed through the years since my family could not afford it. They were a blessing to me so I'll mention their names: Thank you Jim Garvey, Rob & Rick Gosling, and Spencer Kirton. You made hockey possible!

[@Spanluver]

Are you talking billet? I see the cost breakdown say $500 and I weep for my goalie son whose gear costs a LOT more than that. Plus players have 2 sticks, and I’m talking Bauer proto-R the new stuff like $300 for a twig

[@STEPHENisSTEPHEN]

@@Spanluverwhats the benefit of being a billet family? i thought they just provide housing & rides

[@tomfilipiak3511]

Even in the 70s I am a 75 year old ex goaltender,played in the 60 s 70 s 80 s and early 90s!I had sponsors who got me some of my equipment,my last pair of DandR,top of the line goalie pads,my son who was 18 at the time I was 36,got a settlement for a injury he sustained as a child!He got them for me just before he went into the Marine Corp,for 6 years!I think they were over 5 hundred dollars! This was 1985,it has to be a killer now,the sticks are crazy expensive!

[@jayandrusiak]

@@SpanluverYou buy your son new equipment every year and spend $300 per stick? That’s on you. I grew up middle class and got used equipment that could be traded in. You can get decent new brand name sticks for $150. Used skates $40, pads should last 2 years. Stop over spending.

[@keir13]

1998: My dad was a carpenter and managed to own his own house for our family of mom, dad, and three boys. All three boys played hockey and I managed to play for a Canadian team that went on a three week tour of Scandinavia to play against other teams over there. 2024: I have three kids and a wife. I’m working two jobs in the healthcare field and I have a monthly pension plus my wife runs her own business. We can’t afford our rent let alone to sign our kids up for sports.

[@lukebruce5234]

Brutal. I grew up in the Czech Republic during Nagano and the triple WC golds and never got to play myself. Nobody in my class did either.

[@keir13]

@@lukebruce5234 do you still live in Czech Republic (or is the preferred name Czechia now?)? I will always remember how amazing Dominik Hasek was during that Olympic run. Here in Canada people remember the shootout vs the Czech Republic as the one where the coach didn’t put Gretzky out there. But I think it wouldn’t have mattered. Hasek was so dialled in that no one was going to beat him. Man, he was absolutely amazing. By far the best goalie I ever had the opportunity to see in my lifetime.

[@Jupex]

Future truly looks bleak.

[@justapatriotwithabag__5956]

​@@jaystatiionbot

[@Puukkki]

@@jaystatiionamen brother as soon as I saw “rent”

[@benguin_]

We don’t give enough credit to The Mighty Ducks movies. They had a huge impact on hockey brand awareness.

[@dixonhill1108]

Leafs have the opposite effect. I'm a blue eyed white Canadian and even I feel like I have the wrong heritage to be a leaf's fan, despite being in Ontario for a decade. I mean don't get me wrong every male in my family loves the leafs, but I didn't grow up liking hockey. You always feel like a 2nd class citizen. The Leafs are not appealing to immigrants on so many levels. Contrast that with the Raptors. The Leaf organization is built by wannaba corporate alpha males. It's just so alienating on so many levels. They fans and the team are a perfect mate, too soft and want to pretend they're the big show. Don't get me wrong leaf fans by an large are cool in the sense they are harmless, nice people and all that. But the weird insecure superiority complex is just ew. Like I get it, liking the leafs is a super generic thing, it's like rooting for microsoft, but the way they have to double down on it by proving they're better than average fans is what I can't stand.

[@ryanjames4740]

mate im from australia and the mighty ducks had all of us wanting to play ice hockey haha

[@JB0i]

@@dixonhill1108the leafs are the biggest NHL market. They are one of the main reasons the NHL is even alive right now.

[@dixonhill1108]

They're are also the reason there's only 1 team in southern ontario when we could easily support 3 or 4 teams. The leafs cost the league millions by blocking expansion on s.ont@@JB0i

[@HufflepuffBaseball42313]

@@ryanjames4740I watch the Ducks movies every year. I haven’t played organized hockey since 2020. I still want to play hockey every time I watch the trilogy lol

[@KevinHasSpoken]

I honestly think this just more speaks to the state of Canada. The affordability of living has reached a crisis level, people can barely afford to pay for their kids food & their mortgages much less paying thousands of dollars for equipment, registration fees ect. It’s sad. I’m a Canadian actively looking to move to the USA.

[@JohnnyL22420]

Dont come to usa its almost as bad as canada has gotten funny us americans used to say wed leave for canada. Go to a white european counrry with closed borders

[@CamF64]

100%. I played hockey growing up, as did my dad and brother. The wife and I might have kids in the next few years. Unless I win the lottery or get a massive raise at work, I will do my best to steer my kids to a sport other than hockey. Obviously if it’s what they really want to do I’ll make it work, but even house league now runs a few thousand a year in my area between team fees, equipment, tournaments, etc. I’d rather they go play rugby or soccer or something for

[@JohnnyL22420]

Usa same isssues

[@CamF64]

@@JohnnyL22420 the USA is definitely seeing inflation right now, but Canada is off the charts, even compared to the rest of the world. Very basic houses in upstate New York might be $200k, but drive 5 minutes across the border and a nearly identical house will be $1 million+. Similar stories with cars, groceries, etc. Again, not saying the US isn’t bad as well, but Canada is bizarro world at the moment

[@JohnnyL22420]

@Cfischl lol i dont see the reason to even make that reply except to try and make Canada look worse. Canadas biggest problem is your ruler and lack of freedom of speech. Luckily you have guns. Btw median price for a house in ny is over 500k groceries amongst everything have tripled. Were not here to talk inflation beyond hockey though at least im not. So back to the subject. Good luck with your situation

[@gordonbgraham]

I coach hockey in Japan. We practice 3 times a week, 90 minute practices and have games on weekends. It costs kids $150 a month to play. Coaching is volunteer. Our team won bronze in a AAA tournament in Canada, with our players winning the top scorer and best defenceman. If I were still in Canada, I couldn't afford to have my kids play hockey

[@Mulukkis]

I'm glad youre talking about this. Turning sports into a scene for only the financial elite has too many downsides. Missing out on so much talent makes the sport itself worse.

[@13yearsofawsome]

canada probably has more cricket players now LMFAO

[@lennoxleader695]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@fringeminority3224]

Yup India 2.0

[@robm9581]

Whats your point; guess you need to have more kids; or better yet welcome them and teach them about hpckey

[@Entername-md1ev]

@@fringeminority3224isn’t cricket British though?

[@cohengamertv6548]

@@Entername-md1evyes, but its played in all of the former british colonies

[@Danny-pd4fj]

as an american living in NYC, i could only find one hockey program (not sure what level they were) and it was RIDICULOUSLY expensive. as a kid all i wanted was to play hockey i played other sports and was good at them but never got a fair chance to even play hockey at a serious level. all i got was a summer of in-house games against kids either way better or way younger/worse so i really couldn’t learn the game. there’s not even practices!!! basketball is such a fast growing sport because of how accessible it is, if hockey wants to reach those levels the barrier of entry needs to be lowered. costs need to go down if the sport wants to grow

[@SylveonMujigae]

A part of me wishes that I wasn’t from Kansas, because I have always loved ice hockey, where everyone else mostly loves American football, which I sort of call “handball.”

[@sonnymartin2350]

As someone who played in these leagues I can confirm the corruption is out of control. I have heard stories of parents paying 20-30k just to get there son on the team so they can sit on the bench and wear the jersey. This corruption also leaks into the OHL draft as I know some prospects parents have given donations to teams or agencies so they can be selected. So many kids get shafted and are not given the correct spotlight because of corruption. What I realized as I got further into my AAA career was it wasn’t how good you were but how connected to trainers, agencies, coaches, scouts. All of which cost stupid amounts of $$$ (unless you were a top prospect). I hope to see more kids play hockey but there needs to be more accessibility and some intervention into corruption.

[@williammontroy9024]

I know for a fact that during the 90s and 2000s youth hockey in Michigan surged due to the red wing’s success.

[@garystover5387]

I saw youth hockey programs explode around the Pittsburgh area in the early 90s after Cup wins. I think you're absolutely correct in your assessment.

[@williammontroy9024]

@@garystover5387 I’m sure it did especially with Mario and jager leading the way

[@colinyork2215]

Hockey was big in Illinois after the Blackhawks' success in tthe 2010's

[@Linus_Haglund]

Where I’m from (Sweden) no sports organisation is permitted to be owned by any individual or company. We have this thing called the 50+1 rule which means the fans must own 50% plus one share in any given club. This means they also have at least the majority of the vote on what to do with the club. This does unfortunately mean that big investors cannot come in and help the team out. But we don’t really value success to the same extent it seems. Cuz it more importantly means there is barely any capitalisation on sports. Which in this case means that most parents can afford for their kids to play a sport. Hockey obviously is expensive but I’d say at least 50% of parents can afford it. What I’m trying to say is that there are solutions but that it kinda based on what you value as a society. And it seems to me that the North American stride towards money is killing sports. This situation in Toronto is just proof of it in my view

[@filelps1178]

people would call it socialism or communist and laugh if u suggested doing that here. sad stuff.

[@todoldtrafford]

@@filelps1178the nhl is already socialism. It’s a single entity that shares revenue. There’s no promotion relegation in USA Canada. Ironically, Europe is more capitalistic in sport

[@chrisd4112]

​@@filelps1178lol I have come to terms that most Canadians are stupid. I was in a debate with someone at work the other day trying to explain to him why privatized Healthcare isa a bad thing for little workers like us. At this point I cam even blame rich people anymore. My goodness most workers can be dumb.

[@joshbigwoo]

I relate to this a lot, back when I was 16 I was at the peak of my hockey career playing AA hockey coming off a Hudson valley championship. I was offered to play out in Long Island for the AAA royals but it was an upfront cost of $15,000 to be the goalie. I’ve wrote essays about this topic in my undergrad of the price influence on hockey and it shows in this video. This was in 2016, hopefully it changes

[@midgetplant281]

It’s actually such an issue. Tryouts themselves involve so many problems as it is, but when you bring money into it, it gets even worse. In western Canada there’s the CSSHL, which literally costs between 20-40k per year to play. The teams end up being filled with good hockey players, but not great hockey players bc it becomes a contest to see who can pay to play there. The kids who play there have an automatic spot at AAA without having to deal with the month and a half long tryout process that is involved in minor hockey leagues, simply because they can pay more than everyone else. It’s literally so garbage

[@raffitorres1714]

I know so many sick players that should’ve been playing in the CSSHL when it first started but simply couldn’t afford it. I remember always thinking “(insert player name) is playing in that league???”. Not that they were bad, but there was much better players that should’ve been playing.

[@harrisonnorton6006]

Something that's going to grow this number is how accessible it has become to play the game in other places than just the Northern USA. I live In Nashville and we have had so many ice rinks built here recently. In ten years pro players will start coming from TN, FL,GA ECT.

[@fredsystra7584]

this isn’t just a canada issue. it’s a hockey issue. Jumpstart helps families out so much in canada with this too

[@Onlytheclouds]

Yeah a lot of things in Canada started going downhill in 2015 and this is a microcosm

[@coastaku1954]

Sounds like you have some dubious political views

[@Onlytheclouds]

@@coastaku1954 if living in reality is having dubious political views then yes

[@carterwebster5866]

​@@coastaku1954its just pattern recognition a lot of things in canada have gotten worse since 2015

[@coastaku1954]

@@Onlytheclouds Lemme guess, you hate Trudeau

[@PedroSantana-ii9bg]

@@coastaku1954Most sane people do.

[@Rippersshow]

Canada has a shrinking “domestic” population. A lot of families are having less kids. And the foreign families being brought in have no interest in hockey.

[@lennoxleader695]

Indians and Ukrainians don’t play hockey 🤣🤣🤣

[@jasonpatrick5660]

Great video. I've been saying for years that we're pricing ourselves out of our own game, as well as the population issue. I've noticed the last few years that Canadians don't have as many star goalies and star goalie prospects that we used to. We need to become like some of the European counties that aren't afraid to use second-hand equipment. Brand new equipment every year is outrageous. I hate to say that I don't see it getting better anytime soon.

[@dsc4178]

Yes, the lockdowns and money hurt young Canadians a lot.

[@ClawieArmy]

Thanks Trudeau

[@robm9581]

lol lockdowns were in evey country around the world; guess trudeau makes $$ off the GTHL lol​@@ClawieArmy

[@JarodJoseph]

@@robm9581that’s total BS. I travelled the entire time. Lockdowns were not in every STATE let alone every country.

[@MikePurdue-ky9pm]

All by design.

[@videogamevalley7523]

I knew hockey was expensive to get into but 50k is insane and ridiculous, wth.

[@MPacheco-np4bl]

One important factor your video is missing that has been reality in the GTHL and other leagues especially in southern Ontario. Is the fact that favouritism and nepotism is run rampant in these leagues. I am not talking about the generational or super star talented kid. But the other ones. The thousands of kids that don't make the cut because of the some coach, GM or wife of such team who has a son or close friend not as talented as the kid that was cut make the team. These people are the ones ruining the game. Having this unchallenged power to choose whom they want and leaving the more deserving kid a spot on a team so they could develop their game and who knows maybe make it to the big leagues. In Nova Scotia read up on why Sidney Crosby went to Shattuck St Mary's: In his biography on Wikipedia is also this: During his midget season, Crosby appeared on the CBC's Hockey Day in Canada telecast.[4] He has recalled numerous instances in which opposing players intentionally attempted to injure him, as well as constant verbal abuse from parents on and off the ice. Parents taunted and threatened Crosby so harshly, he took to not wearing his jersey between tournament games while he waited to play so that he would not be recognized.[15] Due to this treatment, he elected to play for the American hockey program at Shattuck-Saint Mary's Boarding School, Minnesota for the 2002-03 hockey season.[15] In 57 games with the Sabres, he recorded 72 goals and 162 points, leading the team to a U18 AAA national championship.

[@neeltheother2342]

I feel like so much more can be said about this topic, like about hockey marketing in the US, the dominance of the Russian goalie, how European leagues play a part in this, etc.

[@timmholl9238]

Taxation. Inflation. Politic$ also contributes to sports; maybe not directly, but certainly outside influences.

[@Martin.Jensen]

I basically bankrupted my family back in the day when i played hockey. This was in the late 80's into the 90's.

[@haydenoec945]

The sport has become way too expensive. As someone who didn’t start playing until 16 because I had to save up to pay for hockey myself I couldn’t agree more. The sport is becoming a “pay to win” sport because of this. I believe for me to join house league it was around $2.5k in Ottawa. For house league! That is ridiculous, some people can’t even afford for their kids to play it for fun let alone competitively.

[@dsc4178]

And a few years ago I listened to a talk on the radio of how many players, all pro team sports, had individual coaches from a young age. They asked if anyone could think of any baseball, basketball, football, hockey player who made it on their own, no rich parents, no individual coaches. Only Vladimir Guerrero.

[@IhaveaDoghouse]

I grew up with 2 NHL players one captained team Canada to gold at juniors and the other was rookie of the year in the AHL, got called up a few different times but ended up fighting ryan reaves in the playoffs (and losing) and that slowed his progress. He's played 3 years in the AHL since then making 1 million per year so still a great career. The captain of world junior team's mom was my high school drama teacher, definitely not rich and definitely no "personal coaches". They both had to move in their teens to play better hockey since my hometown was only 3000 people and hundreds of km from big competition but there are literally hundreds if not thousands of pro athletes who didn't have it handed to them like you think.

[@jeanjacques9365]

​@@IhaveaDoghouseThe truth is more inbetween, you mention the mom's job but not the dad's (assuming one was present) my mom was a middle school teacher which still made around 70-80k before taxes and my dad made 120k before taxes not "rich" i was usually the lowest income familly in my teams (which shows the average income of top level hockey when and where i played) but by no means were there any player that had both parents make the median canadian income. I have seen in other teams some players who were rocking some old gear (probably by needs more than style choice) but in top level its a very very very small minority and most have some sort of exceptionnal help from a friends familly, a coach, etc. To help them stay with the team.

[@spencerjohnson5382]

My jaw hit the floor when you said 50k for one season

[@simonreilly213]

You didn’t even scratch the surface of why Canada isn’t developing goalies, and you didn’t touch on the most important reasons. 1 - goalie coaching: in our child leagues it is still rare to have goalie coaches, and if they do they often know nothing. Head coaches have final say on goalie stuff and all they do is put the bigger kid in nets. Other countries, specifically Northern European countries, have dedicated plans for goalie development from youth hockey to pro. Canada is like 20 years behind their development system, as we don’t have one. 2 - pathway through minors & pro. Again, since coaches make the decisions, and all coaches care about is winning now, goalies new to an age group don’t spend their time developing they spend in on the bench. The older, more experienced player is always the safe option, and is taken time and time again. This leads to stagnated development for even goalies with the greatest potential.

[@jyhina]

In Europe the coaches have final say. In the minors, if an NHL team wants their goalie to start, it's hard for the coach to have say in the matter

[@Josh-tx8sj]

It costs around 4k for each of my kids to play hockey... Canada is a declining country so it's understandable NHL representation is going down

[@rockandrollemergency]

Great video. Cool knowing you're an Alberta boy. Love the channel fella.

[@robm9581]

what does that have to do with any thing; he could be from China for all I care; just give us good insight to this issue

[@rockandrollemergency]

@@robm9581 it doesn't actually matter where he's from. A moot point In the grand scheme. But it's interesting knowing where people are in the world. And that little detail made the world feel a bit smaller and more connected for me personally.

[@dawgbone98]

To me theres' a couple reasons why Canada hasn't been producing goaltenders at nearly the same level they used to. 1. Coaches at the prime goalie development years (16-19) are risk averse and often lean on ones with more experience. So at 16 you'll probably be playing U18. At 17 you might be playing Jr A (probably as a backup behind a 20 year old), then 18 you'll be a backup in major junior and 19 you get your chance to be a starter. You have basically 1 year to show what you can do. If you do really well, you might get that 20 year old spot in major junior. If you don't kill it then you end up back as that overager in Jr A, with a 17 year old backup who is going to follow the same path. Any stumbles and your chances at the NHL are gone. 2. North American pro development is just as bad. Unless your team is bad, younger goalies don't get looks and even ones who are tracking good end up beind guys with long term deals. A guy like Shesterkin played 3 years of top end pro hockey in Russia before coming over. He didn't have to worry about the Rangers goalie situation at the NHL level and have to go through the typical North American progression of ECHL starter-AHL backup-AHL starter-NHL backup. It also helped that he came around right at the end of Lundqvist's time (who followed a similar path). Think about this. Most goalies really don't graduate to an NHL backup until 23 at the earliest, so if you were a mid round pick, you graduate major junior at 21 and your attend NHL camp and you are most likely going to end up in the ECHL to start. You might not even be the starter because the team has 6+ other goalies in their farm system. On the flip side, a European goaltender is usually on the parent team of the system they grew up in, so there's probably a lot more trust in the goalie and the goalie probably has the same goaltending coach now that they did at 14. They play some games, become a starter and at 23 they have a rep as a starting goalie in a good league and get brought over. NCAA goalies typically start for 2 years in the NCAA before jumping to pro. Basically, the NCAA and European goalies get a few years where they aren't at the whim of their NHL team and their farm teams and aren't in stuck in situations where the ECHL coach is trying to win to get promoted/keep their job. The AHL isn't trying to win to get promoted/keep their job and the NHL team doesn't have thier own goalie issues they are trying to deal with, as an example, Olivier Rodrigue in Edmonton (Bakersfield), where this is his starting AHL season and Jack Campbell gets sent down and gets like 8 starts in a row to "fix his game".

[@m13579k]

The US also has one huge advantage in junior hockey: the collegiate system. The NCAA is a monster and as hockey grows in the states so does the money being pumped into it. All of the money every major junior league in Canada has is peanuts compared to division-1 hockey schools. Funding = better training, equipment and coaches.

[@larrywatson499]

Excellent insight and 100% spot on. Had a son play into first year midget. Have a daughter, goalie, still playing U22. It's very expensive and sad at the amount of talented kids who fall through the cracks. Search What happened to the lower lakes female hockey league?

[@wolfdreams1545]

That "Way to go, Paul" is one of my favourite clips ever haha

[@MrTurboCrafter]

My parents literally pulled me in my siblings out of hockey and made us play baseball because it was wayyyyy cheaper. Unfortunately hockey is too expensive for middle class families.

[@scottymacdewder5229]

Back in the late 90s on Long Island, NY HS hockey was 4 grand a season, HS football was free...

[@Itsthemoof]

Great video as usual Rob! Hope i can meet you at a game or an ODR someday! :) and yeah that cold snap was awful

[@theseviolentdelightz]

Hockey was always about money... thats why i never played growing up. Parents couldnt afford the equipment. Plus you grow out of it, so have to keep replacing stuff.

[@kendramcleod6097]

Ethan bear and matt barzel donate to an organization that fund low income kids to play hockey. Maybe more of these millionaires could do the same in their communities.

[@selfloathinggameing]

The $50k price tag is absolutely absurd. The American system of athletics always being tied to schools is a blessing and a curse in a lot of ways. I played high school varsity (the highest regular youth tier) ice hockey in Wisconsin, which is a pretty competitive state, and I think the season cost my family $1000 (which included travel costs but not equipment). Sports being subsidized by the school district definitely helps with accessibility. Even though most schools are affiliated with a team, the top teams tend to be either private schools or in very wealthy areas, as it was in the conference I played in. But even private school tuition is less expensive than that Toronto youth league. Interestingly American football is starting to have the same problem as hockey in Canada. The market is completely saturated, so in order to play professionally a lot of players have to go to sports academies which is SUPER expensive and necessitates moving to a city with one so it's becoming less and less accessible.

[@L3GHO5T]

I played AA just outside of the GTA for the TNT tornados. The last year I played was 2005 and it was just under 20 grand. Being 35 now and both of my parents being factory workers I have no idea how they made things work. I also played box lacrosse at a high level and quit hockey to play box because of the price. Doesn’t surprise me it’s weaning out.

[@jlo2o199]

Aja! Now we know why Canada wants that population increase! They’re bringing in new hockey prospects from overseas!

[@dirk903]

Oh no, you figured it out 🤣

[@RayzorFilms]

Sikh helmet exemption coming to the NHL next

[@seniormale]

No, the imports want to play soccer and cricket...😂

[@dixonhill1108]

Perfect plan if it weren't for the economic chaos caused by such immigration rates. It's so bizarre listening to boomers about this stuff. My indian coworkers are screwed, they'll never make enough money to support their families, they don't have rich parents etc.

[@poejavelski148]

Immigrants don’t have the genetics to be hockey players.

[@camanderson9954]

The cost to play hockey is insane in Canada. But also since 2015 we have had a mass flood of immigrants and Canadians are having less kids. The immigrants arent playing hockey, but we are seeing other sports doing well like basketball and soccer.

[@MrQuasarPhil]

I got to play one season in the GTHL (U18 AAA, go Don Mills Flyers!) and couldn't carry on because the fees were just way too much for a single parent low income family, and this was over 10 years ago. Even switching to playing at college was rough unless you qualified for bursaries or a scholarship.

[@tigerramcharitar7178]

I played aaa in the G for one year. Last place team. I think we paid 10 grand but this was in 2018, still brutal

[@a1way5watch1ng9]

I live in minnesota, and we have towns here like schatack st Marie's, and Edina who literally pay parents to live there and have their kids play. Hockey performance is often directly related to how much money is invested into your development. If you got rich parents or get lucky enough to get noticed by hockey academies, your likelihood of going pro greatly increases.

[@yeetyeet9045]

The price tag is insane, in Poland ( where i live) its much cheaper even though there is much less opportunity. I play u18 hockey here in the national league and its still not that expensive though that may be because many teams have a system where you can donate old gear which then goes to people just starting out, meaning that they dont have to pay for equipment at first and can just decide if they even want to play the sport. Crazy price tag though anyways compared to sports like football (regular not american). Great vid.

[@j1mster3]

Here in canada, tennis has gained crazy traction thanks to a few canadian players winning trophies on the world stage, it literally started just before where hockey started to dip, parents now dont want kids engaged in a high risk brain trauma activity.

[@cohengamertv6548]

But the let there kids play Canadian Football?

[@GD-ue4ty]

As a scout in the Q, most of this is accurate. Well presented.

[@MatsLM]

In the beginning of the video you mentioned about competing against powerhouses by Sweden. Don’t get me wrong - I’m Norwegian so I might not be able to talk a lot but very few Swedes were able to make it to the NHL in the 90s due to many reasons which are gone today. A better representation would be just sticking to Canada in my opinion.

[@Uncle24Bobby]

@9:24 Your map of GTHL leagues shows only 6 teams east of Vic Park, although there is a seventh in the easternmost part of the city. Two of those organizations do not operate house leagues. There used to be more than a dozen, the vast majority of which had to operate a house as a part of their mandate. The cost of those house leagues was (adjusted for inflation) $90 in 2024 dollars fifty years ago. House league now costs $700/year, select $2000, rep $3500-$10000. Most of the inflation is due to the cost of ice in municipal rinks.

[@jlo2o199]

Never change the James Bond music please

[@leatherbound4233]

I'm from Chicago and hell even in the early 80's my parents could barley afford Hockey. I had to collect aluminum cans just to get tape, sharpen my skates or the big cost get a new stick. Also back then we didn't think much about flex, weight, curve we got the one we thought would last the longest. I look at Hockey today and just the cost of those sticks WTH! Great video and yea making money of youth Hockey is just wrong. It will also lead too more pressure put on them to win when all the kids want to do is have fun.

[@maximlab24]

As a canadian, I find it incredible how much decline we are seeing in every sphere of our lives

[@trey_3333]

congrats on the subs rob🎉❤

[@slowmo7993]

loved the golden eye music

[@DanglesforDays]

its crazy sticks have jumped to 350. especially playing at a high level and how often they break

[@dabootvv]

I used to play goalie with old equipment from the storage of our club, it was horrible and I had to challenge the coache's son who got a glove for 800€ that weighed half of mine and was 0.5 times bigger :DD (dont get me started on pads...)

[@body_by_depuy]

I was one of those kids. I always loved hockey, from the first time I ever saw the sport as a toddler. I wasn't able to start playing until I became an adult because I grew up poor. I played soccer because all I needed was a pair of shoes and kids' boots are pretty cheap. Now, I'm not saying that I would have been in the Show, but there was never an opportunity to find out. It really hit home when I was in high school and my mom married my stepdad. My new school in a much more affluent town had every sport you could want and participating in one cost the student's family exactly $0. Every school I had previously attended required a pretty hefty cost to the student's family for any sport, regardless of the equipment required. It really showed how much more opportunity a kid had based on wealth.

[@ghouston6950]

I also think that the USNTDP also had a big part in making US Hockey what it is today. A ton of good players came out of that program. I am surprised Canada has not developed something similar.

[@RobTalksHockey]

My theory is that it would take away too much talent from the CHL, which would hinder league revenue

[@gordieparenteau6555]

​@@RobTalksHockey So it all comes back to money.

[@kingofmemes5017]

I was surprised to see field hockey as #3 and I play it myself. I guess the billion or so people in India make up a lot of numbers. It's generally only played extensively in the Commonwealth and Europe.

[@kylepollard8727]

$500 just to register one child where I live…not sure we’re going to give it a go.

[@tylerj6589]

I played hockey most of my life when I was 15 or 16 the local league in my small town of 2000 people was like $1500 for non rep that’s when my parents drew the line and said no no you wanna play you gotta pay not to mention that we would generally drive about and hour for every away game and they were jury the evening when they had to work there second job just to put food on the table I’m so grateful for jumpstart and the opportunity’s I was given to play Canada’s game I feel so bad for the young kids nowadays who won’t be able to play due to the costs and current economy

[@shaylelarue787]

Yeah it sucks how much it costs. I grew up in a large poor native family that didn’t have a car growing up so I never stood a chance to play the sport I love

[@Denimsmith2023]

Thanks for this

[@254zero]

When I was a kid I was asked to pick a sport to play, I picked hockey. Since I grew up in a poor house hold, my mom made me go with volleyball. Who knows, I could of been the next great one, but never had the opportunity

[@trendshredder]

Definitely seen this unfolding in recent times

[@anonymousrex5207]

I grew up playing roller hockey in Arizona back in the day when we had very few ice rinks in the Phoenix area simply because it was vastly more expensive and had long wait lists just to play at the few ice rinks in town. However, even for roller hockey 30 years ago, they wanted thousands of dollars to play on the travel team for the rink I played at. My family didn't have much money, so I couldn't play on the team and I just remember thinking to myself back then 'if this is how much it costs to play roller travel hockey, imagine how expensive it must be to play for an elite team in one of the junior leagues'. Opening the sport up to everyone is important so we are not missing any potential big players out there who are forced to stay away because of costs. Hockey in general is more expensive than most sports because of the extra equipment, so we should work on finding more ways for youth to play at local rinks for free or at least a minimal cost.

[@reckless4268]

It’s funny because I was just talking and explaining this to my cousins during my visit back home in Uruguay. As football (soccer) is embedded in the culture in Uruguay, they asked if hockey was the same for Canadians. For the majority of people it is, but over the years it has been decreasing more and more. With more people being interested in Basketball and Soccer over the years. A big reason for that is as Rob mentioned, there is a big price to get into it, a price that for majority of Canadian’s is out of reach. Add in the fact that Canada’s mens team made it to the last Fifa world cup, and will be hosts in 2026, Hockey may not be #1 in the next 4 years

[@Moonshine1147]

If this continues, eventually Hockey will become as inaccesible as Formula 1... 👀

[@user-em1ds2sr7q]

Karting will just go up

[@DrFearCo]

I refuse to believe AAA hockey in the gthl costs $50,000… just checked the website… reg fees for up to U18 are $1000. Unless you are non stop travelling the world and staying at the ritz… you aren’t spending $50,000. Tournament fees and equipment don’t add up to 50,000 per player.

[@jeanjacques9365]

I find it hard to beleive as well but back when i played hockey was 5k a year + 1-2k in equipement per year so you can add food while traveling (transportation and hotel were included in the 5k) and you reach almost 10k in 2015 so i would not be too surprised to see a pricetag of 15k-20k for top level hockey.

[@robm9581]

Thunder Bay Kings are playing in the GTHL this season; flying down every 2nd weekend and it doesnt cost that much

[@callmebawk]

I'll add that goalies can get fees waived. My brother was a 6'6 AAA and juniors prospect and teams in Chicago were offering him free seasons and free ice constantly. He played mission and fury.

[@Phrovide]

When I played juniors, years 15-17) in the states my parents paid 7,500 per year 🙄 I can guarantee they wouldn’t allow me to play anything past 7.5k for as low as AA.

[@95VideoMan]

This kinda random but a fun video would be to do mock lineups for a 2025 NHL with only 6 teams (like the PWHL). Would be interesting to see what kind of lineups would exist and speculate about how insane that hockey would be to watch.

[@Matt-mk8ph]

I think immigration has definitely played a role in the dwindling interest in hockey. Many people raised on hockey aren't even having kids, and the people coming here are either not interested in the sport or it's prohibitively expensive for them. I wouldn't be surprised if soccer and even cricket became more popular over the years. Hockey just doesn't have the global interest that a lot of other sports do.

[@mack9294]

Convenient that the steep decline is after Trudeau took office. Hockey has always been an expensive sport but his policies and terrible governing of the country has caused a cost of living crisis here and many are too strapped for money to afford to put their kids in hockey.

[@Mensessentials]

The G doesn’t cost 50 k, ur looking at 15 max, it’s ridiculous, but yea it’s not 50 k, I play juniors now I used to play in the g like 4 years ago and it’s nowhere near 50, it’s still extremely expensive regardless

[@armen5480]

politics is not only ruining Canada but also Canadian hockey and it sucks hockey is like all we have 😭

[@cohengamertv6548]

We have the CFL

[@mpreuss2]

Bro! I played AA hockey in the late 90’s in the USA and that cost was over $7000 (USD) per season. I bet that my parents wished that it was only $1500. 😅

[@Jenna-Tailya]

It’s gonna be a Lamb Roast

[@obi-wankenobi8413]

I think with the cost of gear and that I play both high school and travel hockey my dad told me it totaled to 4k this year

[@IhaveaDoghouse]

that's very cheap all in. How much travel does your team do? Can end up being thousands more than that if you're from a rural town that has to travel for every game but your home tournament because you need to factor in hotels and eating at restaurants instead of being home.

[@obi-wankenobi8413]

@@IhaveaDoghouse oh yeah for sure I was doing strictly gear and fees to play, if we add the traveling and hotels food, prob getting into the 10k range, in St. Louis most weekebds

[@kerryeff407]

We had to abandon that dream for our 12yr old because costs were around $8k/yr for the b team

[@chadwickmason9851]

When I played in Alaska it was free through my high school I played on A team in Canada previously and it was too expensive what our school did was sell tickets to the game to fund the program travel and ice time it was a good level of hockey I stopped playing shortly after but a lot of my friends went further in there hockey careers I think that is a good system although it can create corruption

[@ethansucksatcuphead]

i live in the states, i played AAA in 2019 and i think it was about 10 grand. last year played AA on a team that did half the training the AAA team did and barely squeaked into state playoffs and it was the same price. AAA club i played at costs over 20 grand per season now, its absolutely ridiculous. i'd love for my future kids to play hockey if thats what they want to do, but at this point i don't know how they expect us to afford even rec league hockey.

[@terrysommer3592]

I'm American and we struggled just having 2 boys who played del hockey year round. I couldn't afford ice hockey like my parents did.

[@timfronimos459]

I just found your channel and as an American, I couldn't agree with you more. Most fans cant see the trouble that hockey is in. I actually believe that one of the major sports leagues will bankrupt themselves or at least become economically irrelevant in near future. Also, the embrace of gaming is a ticking timebomb that will ruin sports across the board.

[@mitchellkraus4504]

Thank you, this is such a blanent factor that NO ONE considers. Any world sports event is always technically the USA's to loose.

[@bravepotatoe7513]

care to elaborate ?

[@mitchellkraus4504]

@@bravepotatoe7513 yeah, the US’s population and overall industrialization/development puts them at a major advantage in most sporting events. Thus, competitions are theirs to loose because they already have such a large advantage.

[@davekimball3610]

Now I'm curious about the Hughes brothers parents occupation.

[@jonmendelson1104]

Depends which Hughes brothers you're talking about. Jack and Riley Hughes' dad is Kent Hughes, the GM of the Habs. Jack, Quinn, and Luke Hughes' parents were both involved in hockey and his dad was an assistant coach in college hockey starting in the 1992-93 season and has had stints as NHL assistant coach as well as KHL and AHL head coach. He was the head of player development for the Leafs from 2009 to 2015.

[@chrislaverick6413]

I am a father of two young boys, and the price of their hockey leagues scares me from when they are old enough to play, which could start as early as next year, yikes

[@clarkcant4818]

did you run out of blood supply in your hands when typing the title? "of" and "in" take up 6 character spaces counting spacing

[@moxy4926]

If you can’t afford groceries and your rent or mortgage you’re not putting your kid in hockey. AAA is unaffordable for many people.

[@jaakkonykyri]

I guess this is somewhat about the fact that facilities will always be limited, meaning that if hockey becomes popular in a given area, prices are bound to skyrocket. Football is the flagship sport in Britain, but while expensive, the barrier of entry vs. average income is lower. This is because it is easy to have - and there are - a lot of good enough fields for kids to play in. This means that even if the best and most competitive clubs may be out of reach for most, there is still a big and healthy pool of leagues and players who may not have that high 6-figure salary background, from which those elite clubs have at least a small chance to find and pick up those with the best talent and passion. In hockey however, even the lower athletic level is hard to get into (in every country pretty much), meaning it is much harder to maintain a big and diverse player pool. Youth sports are in my opinion a great canary in a coalmine when it comes to income inequality. When it’s alright, lower middle class can afford kids in at least some sort of sports. When it’s bad, almost all structured sports become unavailable for regular people and their children. In most western countries, in the past a lot more kids did play or practice some sports. Some of this wasn’t super official either, it was just normal to play x sport in summer and y sport in winter just as a thing to do, not as an athletic career. Nowadays we have pretty much only structured play with official clubs, which all have competitive aspirations, politics and seriousness baked into them, and the more recreational side is seen as lame and treated as a complete side thought. I don’t know what the solution would be, but the nightmare timeline would pretty much mean that the critical mass of hockey popularity has been reached, and it is destined to become an elitist, closed off sport, much like karting or horseback show jumping. I hope this is not the case, and I do believe hockey shares more similarities with football and basketball than with karting or horse polo, but only time will tell if it can achieve what the former have without becoming too much like the latter when it comes to accessibility.

[@ittirutak1058]

I've been saving money for couple years to finally play ice hockey. I love hockey. I play floor hockey when I can and it's so much fun. It's just sad that I still haven't played ice hockey yet, I just need couple more stuff but it's still super expensive just to start. It's sad that people more concerned about making kids sports about money. That's my first time hearing about it and it's crazy

[@noahw.9379]

This is the perfect time for inline hockey to take over

[@crackericeproductions]

I miss in-line I can’t find a league though

[@dylanreisky1004]

where do you get 50k per player, thats insane, when I played AAA a year ago it was no where even close to 50k

[@RobTalksHockey]

Depends on where you live. A big factor is also tournament play. Provincials where I live for a weekend was $3,000. Lots of teams go out of country or across Canada which can cost $10,000 for a single tournament

[@jeanjacques9365]

​@@RobTalksHockeybut its all a matter of perspective, back when i played past 12 years old parents typically dont come to out of province tournaments and you are 4 players per hotel room transportation is done by bus (10-14hours in a bus wont kill you) that is nowhere near 10k its at most 1k per player. Now if you teavel with the entire family, book buisness class on a flight + oversized luggage + 1 hotel room for the family + you eat out every day + you rent a car yeah you can make it a 10k trip but its not required.

[@callmebawk]

Yeah I played AAA in 2008-2012 and dues were about 7.5k a season in chi. But add travel, private ice, summer teams, gear, etc I could easily see a season costing a family 20-30k. 50k seems insane though

[@1BYEBYE1]

Its been over 30 years since a canadian nhl team has won the stanley cup, doesnt look good for canadian intrest in hockey.

[@joeyparker4287]

good googly moogly!

[@TheMirodyn]

Really intetesting to see that. In Czechia, we face similar issues for years now. Hockey has become prohibitively expensive for most of the families. The corruption you have mentioned was, at least for some time, public secret. Rich families would bribe the teams to imsure theirs kid spot on a roster... All of that lead to lower concurrency, weaker players etc. Czech hockey did not recover yet. It seems that there are some brighter times before us, but i doubt that all of those issues were solved. On top of that we habe like 1/4 of canadas population and much lower avg. Income. Its surreal for me to hear that canada is facing the same issues.

[@josefharasek7487]

meles hovna v cesku je vsechno levny