CHL hits key milestones during the 2023-24 campaign, including increases in attendance and CHL TV viewership
During the 2023-24 season, the CHL’s 60 clubs also collectively invested over $7 million to support 930+ CHL graduates pursuing post-secondary education, while the league also raised more than $205,000 for several worthy causes at its national events
The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) capped off its 2023-24 season with record viewership numbers on its streaming platform CHL TV, and saw increased attendance figures across all of its three member leagues: the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
Throughout the regular season and playoffs, the CHL’s 60 affiliated clubs collectively welcomed more than 8.9 million fans into their arenas – the most since the 2018-19 season. More specifically, when looking at the regular seasons of the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL, all three leagues saw an increase of more than four percent in the stands compared to last season – which meant the CHL welcomed 360,000 more fans through its doors during the 2023-24 season.
At the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow, from May 23 – June 2 in Saginaw, players were treated to sellout crowds inside the Dow Event Center as close to 40,000 fans attended the eight games of the historic tournament in Michigan. Between the semi-final and final of the 104th edition of the Memorial Cup, over 10,500 witnessed the Saginaw Spirit win their final two games to become the first club from Michigan ever to hoist the Memorial Cup.
In addition to these attendance figures, the CHL saw an increase in viewership on the league’s streaming service CHL TV. Featuring more than 2,000 regular-season and playoff games from across the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL, CHL TV totaled over 4.4 million views throughout the 2023-24 campaign, including an 18-percent and 13-percent increase above last year’s regular season and postseason respectively. The CHL also experienced over 400,000 downloads of the CHL app across iOS and Android devices this past year, along with a 15% increase in the viewership of games through the app.
Thanks to significant fan support in both Moncton and Saginaw for the CHL’s national events – the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow – the league alongside its partners was able to raise more than $205,000 for several worthy initiatives, including over $55,000 for the Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command Poppy Trust Fund, $28,000 for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), and $50,000 USD for the Memorial Cup Legacy Scholarship Program.
Speaking of education, the CHL and its member leagues continue to be leaders in this space. This past season, the CHL’s 60 clubs collectively invested over $7 million to support more than 930 CHL graduates pursuing post-secondary education – once again making this scholarship program one of the most comprehensive of its kind in North America. When also considering the almost $3 million invested by CHL teams in the schooling of current players on their roster, the total invested by CHL clubs on education came close to $10 million in 2023-24.
Finally, the CHL continued to showcase why it is the best development league in the world. As the top supplier of talent to the NHL, the CHL saw 430 of its alumni play a game in the NHL this season, which is the most of any development hockey league in the world. At the 2024 NHL Draft, 88 CHL players were drafted, which accounted for nearly 40% of the 225 picks made by the NHL’s 32 clubs. According to the NHL, the 88 selections from the CHL were more than the combined 38 players chosen out of the United States Hockey League (USHL) and USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (NTDP).
The 2024 NHL Draft represented the fourth year in a row that the CHL exceeded 80 draft picks and the 17th time in the last 20 years that it has achieved this feat. Additionally, there were 14 CHL skaters taken in the first round of this year’s draft, including six in the top 10. Over the last year, CHL players also showcased their world-class talent on the international stage, as together more than 85 of them won medals at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, 2023 U17 World Challenge, 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship, and the 2024 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.
