TORONTO

In a tournament where we’ve seen a lot of passing the puck, Sunday was the time for officials to pass the buck.

Front and centre was International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel, who barely had time to sit at the podium for his scheduled press conference when was peppered with comments about the sea of empty seats that were a common sight for games at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Fasel attempted to stickhandle around the claims that ducats were far too expensive, claiming during his opening remarks that the lack of butts in the seats at the cavernous Bell Centre could have been the result of a “marketing issue.”

Huh?

Finally, after being informed by reporters of the onslaught of bitter fans on twitter complaining about the lofty cost of going to games at the 2015 World Junior Championship, Fasel finally came clean, consistently pointing out that Hockey Canada was responsible for establishing the market value of ducats for the public.

“I was really surprised,” Fasel said. “If you would have done this pricing in Europe, you would have nobody in the arena.”

Ouch.

Of course, with the tournament being held back in Canada in 2017 - Canada would play all its preliminary round games in Toronto while the medal round primarily would take place in Montreal - it was suggested to Fasel that perhaps the entire event might be shifted to Hogtown.

“Everything will be evaluated in the next few months,” Fasel said. “There will be discussions with Hockey Canada and the organizing committees.”

There was a suggestion that maybe, just maybe, some of the Montreal games might be shifted to Quebec City. Perhaps another good option is one by my Ottawa Sun colleague Bruce Garrioch, who said Ottawa also might be an alternative given the success of the 2009 event there.

“I think we really have to sit down with all the parties and discuss the issue because it is an issue to bring forward to Hockey Canada and the IIHF, partners and sponsors in Montreal,” 2015 tournament director Frank Gonzalez said. “I’m sure Hockey Canada will do its best for the game, especially for the juniors and the country.

“I hope we don’t have to move out of Montreal. It’s a great city for hockey ... we would love to go back there. It’s just that this time the numbers were not the same as expected as we got in Toronto. So we have to look at it and see (if it’s feasible).

“If not, we will have to look at other options.”

Only time will tell how that plays out.

Meanwhile, Hockey Canada has strangely remained silent on the issue. A Hockey Canada spokesperson has repeatedly said the issue will be addressed at the conclusion of the tournament.

The capacity of Bell Centre is 21,273. Just 14,142 fans were in attendance for Canada’s opening game against Slovakia on Boxing Day, while there were almost 3,000 empty seats for the New Year’s Eve clash between Connor McDavid’s Team Canada and Jack Eichel’s Team USA.

Ducats for Canada’s first three round-robin games - against Slovakia, Germany and Finland, respectively - ranged from $66 to $261.

All is not gloom and doom, however. Fasel was quick to point out that this Toronto/Montreal-hosted championship would finish as the third-most-attended world junior championship in history with an estimated total attendance of between 365,000 and 385,000, trailing only Ottawa (2009- 453,000) and Edmonton/Calgary (2012- 444,000).

Packages for all 19 games in Toronto ranged from $626 to $1,746. The packages for 13 games in Montreal ranged from $431 to $1,191.

Until Hockey Canada discusses the matter, the issue will remain up in the air. That’s too bad, considering the empty seats in Montreal are the only warts on what otherwise has been a wonderful event.

mike.zeisberger@sunmedia.ca

@zeisberger