Is Canada losing its title as “Hockey Nation?”

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Hockey: It’s as Canadian as maple sugar, poutine and Celine Dion. But the Americans are beating us at our own game.

A report in this week’s Maclean’s magazine suggests we may be losing our title as “Hockey Nation.” The problem, according to the article by Charlie Gillis, is the Americans are getting far more kids into the game, despite the high costs.

He believes USA Hockey is succeeding at getting kids hooked by offering ice time to them and their parents.

“It’s not a cheap sport to play but I think USA Hockey has done some things that are very clever. It’s created a lot of programs to get families out on the ice for the first time and providing the equipment for them,” Gillis tells us.

“In doing that, you identify the youngsters that are going to play. At the same time, you’ve given them the chance to play and get out there. Those people — if they love the game and their kids love the game — there’s the belief that they will purchase hockey equipment.”

Gillis says the governing body for amateur hockey in the States has been so successful, enrollment in non-traditional hockey markets like Texas, California, Arizona, the Carolinas and Florida has been exponential.

“We’re talking hundreds of per cent [in growth]. It’s easy say that they didn’t have many to begin with but you’ve got 40,000 to 50,000 players in an area like the southeast States. If you’ve got tens of thousands of players in Texas and that many and more in California, you’ve got a critical mass to create competition,” he explains.

“I think that’s what’s going on right now and they’ve got a lot of success at getting younger people to play, which is critically important to getting growth of your program,” he adds.

Gillis admits he’s spoken with a number of people at Hockey Canada, who’ve told him they’re going to take a hard look at what the Americans are doing and adapt some of the more successful initiatives.

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