Minor League Hockey Research Articles

Sport attendance behavior spectrum: motivators, constraints and context

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to explore a new sport attendance behavior spectrum framework where sport consumer behavior is not derived from just a dichotomy of a motivator positively impacting attendance or a constraint negatively impacting attendance. Rather, when accounting for the context of the setting (e.g. sport, playing level, locality, patron type, etc.), some areas belong on a spectrum that fluctuates between positive and negative impacts on attendance that are dependent on the context of the given environment.Design/methodology/approachThrough factor analysis and structural equation modeling, the proposed model attempted to explain relationships between five second-order factors and game attendance, which expanded to include the new internal contextual and external contextual factors, and ultimately team fandom.FindingsThe results indicated three significant main effects where internal contextual exhibited a positive relationship with attendance, while constraints and external contextual demonstrated a negative relationship. Internal and external motives were not significant. Further, the moderating effect of high and low sport interest groupings largely indicated no significant spectator differences. The model explained 24% of the variance in attendance, and attendance accounted for 41% of the variance in team fandom.Originality/valueAttendance is intricate, and this study highlighted the importance of considering and adapting to the sporting context as some factors exist on a sport attendance behavior spectrum and differently impact spectators positively or negatively, given the context of the setting. Further, in this lower-level sport setting, consumers viewed minor league hockey more as a leisure commodity than a premier sport contest.

Quest for a Hockey Franchise

This study documents the history of attracting and maintaining a hockey franchise for the City of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador from 1991-2019. In that period, the City has been granted four franchises. Three have been relocated, while the fourth has completed its inaugural season which resulted in a league championship. It examines: the St. John’s Maple Leafs (1991-2005) of the American Hockey League (AHL); St. John’s Fog Devils of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) (2005-2008); the St. John’s IceCaps (AHL), affiliated with the Winnipeg Jets (2011-2015) and Montreal Canadiens 2015-2017); and the Newfoundland Growlers in the ECHL, (2018-ongoing). The study focuses on the economic, marketing, strategic planning, and business modelling for a hockey franchise in three hockey leagues, AHL, QMJHL, and ECHL to gauge the long-term sustainability of a hockey franchise in St. John’s. It analyzes key success factors for minor league hockey franchises and speculates on the future direction of the current franchise.

When Culture Meets Capital: Commercialism, National Identity, and Vancouver’s Initial Attempt to Join the NHL

In 1966, the National Hockey League (NHL) expanded for the first time since the 1920s, doubling its size from six teams to twelve. Although hockey was still perceived as a distinctly Canadian passion, none of the NHL’s six new teams were located in Canada. The disappointment across the country was palpable, especially in Canada’s third-largest city, Vancouver, which had applied to be one of the expansion locations. A stable presence in minor league hockey on Canada’s west coast for decades, it seemed only natural that Vancouver, as the lone bidder from the ostensible birthplace of ice hockey, would be tapped for NHL expansion. This paper examines Vancouver’s attempted entry into the NHL and argues that the forces of commercialism and national identity, combined with political maneuvering among NHL owners, not only influenced the content and trajectory of the Vancouver bid, but also contributed to its ultimate failure.

Texas Sport Leadership Consultants, LLC: A Case of Cases

This immersive, multi-case experience consists of four distinct cases and one meta-case that require students to engage with several organizational behavior topics. First, the meta-case takes the form of Texas Sport Leadership Consultants (TSLC), a fictitious company which consults with local sport management professionals in a variety of contexts. Students participate as temporary members of the company to analyze the issues and challenges associated with working as a member of TSLC. TSLC work groups are hired by four different clients, each of whom has a unique organizational behavior challenge. These clients include: (1) a combat-oriented sport company; (2) a company that provides luxury sport experiences for business travelers; (3) Division II athletic directors; and (4) a minor league hockey team. The clients face challenges related to mission and vision, group dynamics, change leadership, and power and politics. Student groups analyze the case and provide recommendations, which are presented as the basis for discussion among TSLC colleagues.

Chill Factor: How a Minor-League Hockey Team Changed a City Forever

Chill Factor: How a Minor-League Hockey Team Changed a City Forever

Chill Factor: How a Minor League Hockey Team Changed a City Forever

Chill Factor: How a Minor League Hockey Team Changed a City Forever

Fighting, winning, promotions, and attendance in the ECHL

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of fighting (in addition to other variables) as it relates to attendance at minor league hockey games (ECHL). Design/methodology/approach – Building upon previous research on hockey attendance, a regression model is specified with attendance as the dependent variable and fighting (measured as a running average of fights-per-game) as an independent variable. The sign and statistical significance of fighting is tested through the regression model. Findings – Despite recent tragedies in the hockey world and public outcries against fighting, fighting is found to have a positive and significant effect on attendance at ECHL games. Practical implications – Findings suggest that if fighting is removed from hockey in North America that teams will suffer attendance wise and it will hurt the overall profitability of teams and leagues. Teams in the ECHL that do not fight often may wish to have more “enforcers” on the team which would increase the number of fights and increase attendance. Social implications – Despite calls for its outright ban, fighting is popular with hockey fans. Even in a world where many game-day promotions are aimed at families, fighting appears to have a place in the game and is a desired attribute of this sport in terms of its entertainment value to fans. Originality/value – First study of the ECHL (AA-equivalent minor league for professional hockey) on a game-by-game basis. This paper examines the role of fighting and violence in the world of professional sports. The regression model also includes highly detailed data on game day promotions used by all of the teams. The value of the paper lies in the public debate about fighting in hockey. The findings and implications of this paper are also of value to team and league management as it relates to fighting in hockey.

Effectiveness of an educational video on concussion knowledge in minor league hockey players: a cluster randomised controlled trial

BackgroundWith the heightened awareness of concussions in all sports, the development and implementation of effective prevention strategies are necessary. Education has been advocated as an effective injury prevention intervention.PurposeTo examine...

Influence of viewing professional ice hockey on youth hockey injuries

Most televised National Hockey League (NHL) games include violent body checks, illegal hits and fights. We postulated that minor league players imitated these behaviours and that not seeing these games would reduce the rate of injuries among younger hockey players. Using a quasi-experimental design, we compared 7 years of televised NHL matches (2002-2009) with the year of the NHL lock-out (2004/2005). Data from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) were used to identify the injuries and to ascertain whether they were due to intentional contact and illegal acts including fights. We found no significant differences in the proportions of all injuries and those involving intentional contact, violations or illegal acts among male minor league hockey players during the year when professional players were locked out and the years before and after the lock-out. We concluded that not seeing televised NHL violence may not reduce injuries, although a possible effect may have been obscured because there was a striking increase in attendance at equally violent minor league games during the lock-out.

Hip Labral Tears among Asymptomatic Professional Hockey Players Identified on MRI

Objectives:We have previously reported on the prevalence of pathologic hip findings on the MRIs of asymptomatic professional hockey players. The significance of these findings, found in the asymptomatic player, is unknown. The purpose of this study is to report clinical follow-up of this cohort at four years.Methods:21 professional hockey players with no previous hip/groin pain underwent hip/pelvis MRI. Self-reported symptoms were measured using a modified Oswestry Disability Questionnaires at one and two years following MRI. Games played for each player were followed over a four-year period. Variance of games played greater than five per year compared to baseline (games played year prior to MRI) were explored for specific injury.Results:16/21 and 14/21 minor league hockey players were available at one- and two-year follow-up, respectively. 19/21 players remained active within four years. Fourteen remained at same level, four advanced to higher level of play, and one was demoted to a lower level at the end of four years. At one-year follow-up, two players (both with labral tear) admitted to groin pain; one, who also had bilateral adductor tendinosis, eventually missed games due to lateral hip pain in the third season after the MRI. At two-year follow-up, one other player (bilateral labral tears) admitted to hip tightness for a week but did not miss any games. Of the15 players that had an asymptomatic labral tear, two players advanced to NHL, ten remained at same level, one demoted, and two retired within four-year follow-up period. Among 9 players with labral tears on original MRI and available for questioning at two years, seven had no hip or groin symptoms and only one of 3 “symptomatic” players missed any games or sought treatment. Only four players had no abnormalities on MRI. None developed symptoms within two years. 3/4 remained at same level while the other advanced to the NHL.Conclusion:Although common on MRI among asymptomatic professional hockey players, hip labral tears produce symptoms in 20% within two years, but only 6.7% result in missed games within four years due to hip-related pain.

Effect of a lockout of professional ice hockey players on injuries among minor league players

ObjectiveBased on the assumption that professional hockey is violent and that this influences the behaviour of children viewing it on TV, we investigated whether the absence of televised National Hockey...

Canadian Minor Hockey Participants’ Knowledge about Concussion

In Canada and the USA, ice hockey is a cause of traumatic brain injury. Post-concussive symptoms are the most important feature of the diagnosis of concussion in sports and it is recommended that athletes not return to play while still symptomatic. Lack of knowledge of concussions could therefore be one of the main detriments to concussion prevention in hockey. The purpose of this research is to describe what minor league hockey players, coaches, parents and trainers know about concussion and its management. A questionnaire to assess concussion knowledge and return to play guidelines was developed and administered to players at different competitive levels (n = 267), coaches, trainers and parents (total adults n = 142) from the Greater Toronto Area. Although a majority of adults and players could identify mechanisms responsible for concussion, about one-quarter of adults and about a quarter to a half of children could not recall any symptoms or recalled only one symptom of a concussion. A significant number of players and some adults did not know what a concussion was or how it occurred. Almost half of the players and a fifth of the adults incorrectly stated that concussion was treated with medication or physical therapy. Nearly one quarter of all players did not know if an athlete experiencing symptoms of concussion should continue playing. This study demonstrated that a significant number of people held misconceptions about concussion in hockey which could lead to serious health consequences and creates a need for better preventive and educational strategies.

Whatever Happened to the Marvelous Importance of the Unimportant?: A Plea for Putting Today's Baseball and All-Sports Mania in Proper Perspective

Keynote Speech to the Fifteenth Annual NINE Spring Training Conference, March 15, 2008 I was moved one of Bill Kirwin's last acts as NINE conference organizer was to ask me to deliver this year's keynote address. have heard so much about Bill this week, and I for one can never hear enough stories about him because he was such a rare combination of mind and heart, spirit and humor. At the risk of repeating some stories you have already heard, I remember one time here at the convention he mentioned that as a baseball-loving boy growing up in Boston he dreamed of being the Red Sox batboy but his father discouraged him, citing an urban legend: Son, you have to be an orphan to be a Boston batboy. I also smile I think of how Bill relished telling the story of a road trip that his minor league hockey team in Germany took to Austria and how some of his teammates thought they were going to Australia. During my last phone conversation with Bill after the 2007 World Series, he made the astute observation that Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun could make a good manager one day because he told a Canadian TV audience before Game 1 of the Series that if Colorado starter Jeff Francis hid the baseball well, the Rockies would do all right, but if he didn't, look out! It was a prophetic remark because Francis got bombed by the Red Sox and the Series never really got competitive. I'm sorry that Bill isn't around to comment on a less fortunate statement by Gregg Zaun, his recent belated explanation for being named in the Mitchell Report. Responding only via e-mail and thus able to avoid eye contact, Zaun claimed that he wrote a blank check for five hundred dollars to Jason Grimsley to pay off a basketball bet, adding that he was a generous fellow who often wrote blank checks to people. I can imagine Bill's bemused reaction Zaun explained his continuing allegiance to Grimsley, who was not only a key baseball steroid conduit but also the loyalist who once tried to hide Albert Belle's corked bat. We were both old-school, Zaun said, when it came to clubhouse hierarchy and the way the game should be played. (1) Don't worry, I am not going to launch into yet another finger-wagging, hand-wringing diatribe against the destruction of baseball's purity (that we all should know by now was never that pure to begin with) and the ruination of the game's hallowed records (that, in my opinion, have been compromised since the expansion of 1961 anyway). But I do have a public health concern about steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs on the major league level, not to mention the danger of a possibly near-epidemic situation on the schoolboy level that must be addressed. I don't have an answer for these problems, and I don't think anyone has for an issue that goes to the core of a pervasive winning is the only thing philosophy that has spread throughout our culture. My theme tonight may be less morally urgent but I think equally pertinent to the current state of affairs in baseball: Whatever Happened To the Marvelous Importance of the Unimportant? I have lifted the phrase from the opening chapter of Leonard Shecter's The Jocks, an expose written nearly forty years ago by one of the charter members of the so-called chipmunks, irreverent New York sportswriters who brought the challenge authority mindset of the 1960s to the ballpark. Known primarily for his outstanding work as the editor of Jim Bouton's Ball Four, Shecter, who sadly died from leukemia in 1974, opened his book telling the story of an argument that raged among some of his baseball-loving friends about how Pete Gray, the St. Louis Browns' one-armed outfielder in the World War II years, caught and threw the ball. Back and forth went a spirited discussion about Gray's technique in playing the field with only one arm, a glove, and a stump. The argument turned the most persuasive fellow convinced everyone that Gray caught the ball in his glove, threw it in the air while putting the glove under his stump, caught it again with his bare hand, and then quickly threw it back to the infield. …

A comparison of motivational factors affecting attendance between avid and casual fans at minor hockey games

In North America, hockey is a popular minor league sport. Minor league hockey brings in an estimated 35 million fans annually, just three to four million less than affiliated minor league baseball (McKeon, 2004; Ross, 2004). In this study, to assess minor league hockey attendance motives overall, and to examine if casual and avid fans have different motives, the literature on sport spectator motivation was utilised to select the following motivational variables: team success, game quality, star players, fan relations, price affordability, game day presentation and community involvement. The results of this study empirically support the results of previous studies that marketing managers in minor league hockey should strive for high quality games, present a variety of game-amenity activities, keep prices low and maintain an active community involvement.

Analysing motives of minor league hockey fans: the introduction of violence as a spectator motive

For minor-league hockey to attract new customers, it is important to explore attendance motivation. Given the controversy over the role of violence in attracting spectators, this study included violence among other traditional motives in addressing why spectators are attracted to attend minor league hockey. Specifically, spectators' motives were explored on the basis of gender and ticket type as well as their relationship to behavioural intentions to attend games. Spectators (n = 270) at a Southern Professional Hockey League game completed a questionnaire that assessed demographics, spectator motives and behavioural intentions. The results indicated (a) the spectator motive of violence appears relevant in the context of the sport of ice hockey, (b) spectator motives for the sport of minor league hockey varied on the basis of gender and ticket type and (c) the relationship of spectator motives to behavioural intentions to attend future games were somewhat varied on the basis of gender and ticket type.

Agenda-setting in minor league hockey: a strategic justification and practical guide

Maintaining a favourable image is important at all levels of sport, but it is especially key at the minor league level where budgets and resources are often limited. The symbiotic relationship between sport and the media provides a unique opportunity for minor league franchises to play an active role in influencing public perception through agenda-setting. Minor league franchises must be particularly strategic in the manner in which they interact with the media and with members of their respective communities. This study examined media coverage, demographics and fan perception relative to the franchise's role within the community, team performance and support for the team. A strategic justification and practical guide was provided for minor league hockey teams to use as a guide in agenda-building and in interactions with the media.

Fan Substitution and the 2004-05 NHL Lockout

This study estimates fan substitution in sports using the 2004-05 National Hockey League (NHL) season-long lockout as a natural experiment. The authors find that NHL fans substitute minor league and junior league hockey for the NHL. Because this is not due to a change in the price of a substitute good, the findings point to pure substitution effects without income effects. The findings have implications for future work on fan demand, especially for those studying habit and loyalty, or sports policy.

Fan satisfaction and segmentation: A case study of minor league hockey spectators

Given that it has been well documented that satisfied customers are important to an organisation's bottom line, steps that can be taken to increase the likelihood of having satisfied customers and retaining them should be taken. This is true across industries, but is especially critical to sports organisations. Of interest, consequently, for a sports marketer, should be how best to develop a fan satisfaction research study and based on the results of the study, how to understand satisfaction through respondent segmentation, in order to provide this necessary information and insight into the fan base. The steps involved in conducting this research are presented in an illustrative fashion by conducting an in-depth examination of this process undertaken by a minor league hockey team in the Southeastern United States.

Relationship between Broadcasting Media and Minor League Hockey Game Attendance

This study assessed the relationship between broadcasting and the attendance of minor league hockey games in terms of 5 media forms: cable television broadcasting, commercial television broadcasting, radio broadcasting, broadcasters, and overall broadcasting media. A random sample of spectators (N = 2,225) responded to a survey on attendance level and media use conducted in the arena during the intermissions of games from 6 second-half 1994-1995 season home games of an International Hockey League (ML) team. CM-square, f-test, and regression analyses revealed that viewing home games on cable television and away games on commercial television, listening to games on radio, and the quality of television and cable broadcasters were all positively associated with attendance, with approximately 6-11% game attendance variance explained. It is concluded that the current broadcasting arrangement is positively related to game attendance in providing information for and increasing the interests of spectators.

Traded, Waived, or Gassed: Failure in the Occupational World of Ice Hockey

Data presented from participant observation among minor league hockey players reveals how workers react to individual and collective failure in their occupational world. Failure on the group level refers to losing hockey games. Failure on the individual level involves not making the team. A player can fail to make the team by being gassed, by being traded, or by being placed on waivers. Each of these ways has a separate meaning with a distinct set of experiences, consequences, and reactions. A continuum of failure in this occupational world is presented by describing the consequences of failed performance and the differing reactions among co-workers to each type of failure. Group reactions to failure in hockey involve the interruption of social relationships based on the ensuing separation from the status position previously held by the failed player. As one moves along this continuum of failure, co- workers view the failed player and react to him as if the failed no longer existed, as socially dead or at least socially very ill. This continuum of failure points out the interrelatedness of group and personal reaction to failure and how one feeds off and reinforces the other.