POSTFINANCE ARENA in Bern, Switzerland. Nationalliga A squad SC Bern again finished first in average attendance per game for all European professional ice hockey clubs. At right on the second level would be the popular (and steep) standing-room-only section; PostFinance Arena has an official capacity of 17,131 but only 6,709 fixed seats.

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IIHF Press Release — IIHF.COM — March 22, 2010

“AUSTRIAN LEAGUE CRACKS TOP SEVEN — SWISS SC BERN UNCHALLENGED AS TOP EURO DRAW”

Swiss National League A club SC Bern tops the IIHF’s annual list of Europe’s top drawing clubs for the ninth consecutive season. Despite dropping by around 500 fans per game from last year, SC Bern is still the unchallenged leader averaging 15,709 in the 17,131 PostFinance Arena during the 2009-10 season.

The list is compiled by the IIHF and is based on the numbers submitted by the leagues, which all have now completed their regular-season campaigns.

Second-placed EISBAEREN BERLIN (German DEL-league) is the only among the top clubs that shows an increase from last season. The German champion has for the first time climbed above the 14,000 mark, averaging 14,060 in their 14,200 02 World Arena, 99.01% of the arena capacity.

Swedish Elitserien club Frolunda Indians (Gothenburg) has regained third place with 11,399 fans per game, but the number is boosted by the December 28 game at the Ullevi Stadium which attracted a new European club outdoor record of 31,144 spectators. Frolunda has dropped in attendance for the second consecutive year after recording an all-time high of 11,688 in 2007-2008.

The clubs who are playing in the 2010 IIHF World Championships venues in Germany — ADLER MANNHEIM and KOELNER HAIE — round up the top five positions on the list, being the last two clubs who average over 10,000 spectators. But the Cologne club, playing out of the 18,500 Lanxess Arena, has seen a continuous attendance drop in the last three years, going from 12,711 fans per game in 2007 to the current 10,076.

Russian KHL-club SKA St. Petersburg is the biggest climber of the top clubs, advancing from position 18 to six, thanks to their increase from last year’s 6,614 to 9,400 in the current season. It should be noted that many of the KHL clubs announce estimated attendance figures after each game. 

Swedish Malmo Red Hawks is the highest non-top-league club on the list. The second-tier Allsvenskan club is 39th with an average of 5,592 spectators.

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TOP 25 EUROPEAN CLUBS BY AVERAGE ATTENDANCE :

• 15,709 — SWZ — SC Bern
• 14,060 — GER — Eisbaeren Berlin
• 11,399 — SWE — HC Vastra Frolunda Goteborg
• 11,094 — GER — Adler Mannheim  
• 10,076 — GER — Koelner Haie
•   9,400 — RUS — SKA St. Petersburg
•   9,202 — RUS — Avangard Omsk
•   8,682 — CZE — HC Pardubice
•   8,594 — RUS — Torpedo Yaroslavl
•   8,241 — RUS — Salavat Yulayev Ufa
•   8,233 — FIN  —  Jokerit Helsinki
•   7,749 — SWZ — SC Zurich
•   7,500 — LAT —  Dynamo Riga
•   7,158 — CZE —  HC Brno
•   7,100 — RUS —  Amur Khabarovsk
•   7,034 — SWE — Djurgarden Stockholm
•   7,020 — CZE —  HC Plzen
•   6,993 — GER — Hamburg Freezers
•   6,969 — SWZ — HC Fribourg Gotteron
•   6,939 — SWE — HV 71 Jonkoping
•   6,899 — SWE — HC Linkoping
•   6,784 — SWE — BK Farjestad Karlstad
•   6,557 — RUS —  Sibir Novosibirsk
•   6,554 — SWZ — HC Servette Geneva
•   6,525 — CZE —  Sparta Prague

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The SCANDINAVIUM ARENA in Goteborg, Sweden, which is home to HC Vastra Frolunda --- the Indians.

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A shot from inside the Scandinavium Arena in Goteborg. Note there is a ring of separation between the spectators and dasherboards.

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 AVERAGE ATTENDANCE BY COUNTRY (LEAGUE) :

• 6,190 avg — SWEDEN — Elitserien
• 6,181 avg — SWITZERLAND — Nationalliga A
• 5,807 avg — GERMANY — Deutsche Eishockey Liga
• 5,474 avg — RUSSIA — Kontinental Hockey League *
• 5,240 avg — CZECH REPUBLIC — Extraliga
• 4,951 avg — FINLAND — SM Liiga
• 3,301 avg — AUSTRIA — Erste Bank Eishockey Liga *
• 2,364 avg — SLOVAKIA — Extraliga

* NOTES — The 24-team Kontinental Hockey League is primarily based in Russia but does have one team each from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Latvia.

The majority of the ten Erste Bank Eishockey Liga teams are located in Austria; two EBEL teams are from Slovenia and the league also boasts one squad each from Croatia and Hungary.

SC BERN of Switzerland's National Liga A will lead all of European professional ice hockey in average attendace per game this year for no less than the ninth consecutive season.

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Although the official pronouncement from the International Ice Hockey Federation will still be a little while in forthcoming, it is certain that SCHLITTSCHUHCLUB BERN of Switzerland will, once again, reign as the Emperor of Attendance for European professional ice hockey clubs.

For a 9th consecutive season now, the National Liga A side sets the standard at the box office for an entire continent boasting a figure — 15,709 — which certain National Hockey League clubs would easily envy. This despite the fact that attendance for SC Bern at the PostFinance Arena actually fell by an average of four hundred fans per game from last season’s number. Currently, no fewer than 11 National Hockey League clubs are carrying an average per-game attendance total lower than that of  the 11-time Swiss champion.

Last spring, SC Bern established a new record for all of Europe at the gate by attracting an average audience of 16,172 per game after just missing the magic sixteen thousand mark by only six people three years prior for the 2005-06 slate :

• 2004-05 — 15,360 avg
• 2005-06 — 15,994 avg
• 2006-07 — 15,815 avg
• 2007-08 — 15,939 avg
• 2008-09 — 16,172 avg
• 2009-10 — 15,709 avg

POSTFINANCE ARENA, is the largest rink in Switzerland as well as one of the largest indoor facilities used for ice hockey in all of Europe. The ice rink was originally built in 1967 and known as the Eisstadion Allmend until 2003. Later, the stadium was referred to as the Bern Arena until the change to its present name to start the 2007-08 season.

In light of the arena’s age and with the 2009 IIHF World Championships scheduled to take place in Switzerland, the stadium owners in Bern invested 105 million Swiss francs (CHF) for extension and restoration of the building. This work was completed successfully before and during the 2008-2009 league schedule. The overall spectator capacity remained largely unchanged; the majority of construction focused on renovation and expansion of the so-called VIP Zone, which now includes 21 luxury boxes. 

The total capacity now for PostFinance Arena would be 17,131. Oddly enough, the stadium still has only 6,709 fixed seats. The facility does, however, host a world-famous standing-room-only section that is traditionally well-stocked with SC Bern supporters for each and every game.

The city of Bern proper has a population of roughly 130,000 and is the fourth-largest Swiss city. The metropolitan area surrounding Bern, which comprises 43 municipalities, has a population of approximately 349,000.

Bern serves as the Bundesstadt, i.e, the capital city, for the nation of Switzerland. 

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An excellent shot of the main grandstand (the second level) at the POSTFINANCE ARENA located in Bern, Switzerland. One unique characteristic the SC Bern’s home rink is that PostFinance Arena’s grandstand is the largest standing-room-only section in the world for an indoor ice hockey rink. The steep grandstand officially holds 10,422 people and is reputed to be extremely popular with the local club’s supporters. (de.wikipedia photo) 

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Fans at the PostFinance Arena proudly display a huge banner stating "Hier Spielt Bern" --- Bern plays here. (EQ Images)

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NHL roster status as of Dec 12

• $ 7,450,000 — 39 — def — Nicklas LIDSTROM — Detroit
• $ 6,875,000 — 27 — gk — Henrik LUNDQVIST — NY Rangers
• $ 6,100,000 — 29 — for — Daniel SEDIN — Vancouver
• $ 6,100,000 — 29 — for — Henrik SEDIN — Vancouver
• $ 6,083,333 — 29 — for — Henrik ZETTERBERG — Detroit
• $ 5,400,000 — 37 — for — Daniel ALFREDSSON — Ottawa
• $ 4,875,000 — 37 — for — Mikael NYLANDER — Washington
• $ 4,850,000 — 33 — def — Kim JOHNSSON — Minnesota
• $ 4,750,000 — 31 — for — Kristian HUSELIUS — Columbus
• $ 3,954,545 — 29 — for — Johan FRANZEN — Detroit
• $ 3,750,000 — 25 — def — Tobias ENSTROM — Atlanta
• $ 3,607,142 — 33 — def — Mattias OHLUND — Tampa Bay
• $ 3,500,000 — 18 — def — Victor HEDMAN — Tampa Bay
• $ 3,500,000 — 28 — def — Johnny ODUYA — New Jersey
• $ 3,250,000 — 35 — for — Fredrik MODIN — Columbus
• $ 3,250,000 — 23 — def — Alexander EDLER — Vancouver
• $ 3,000,000 — 28 — def — Niklas KRONWALL — Detroit
• $ 2,650,000 — 31 — for — Samuel PAHLSSON — Columbus
• $ 2,562,000 — 30 — def — Henrik TALLINDER — Buffalo 
• $ 2,500,000 — 29 — def — Douglas MURRAY — San Jose
• $ 2,500,000 — 25 — gk — Jonas GUSTAVSSON — Toronto
• $ 2,500,000 — 32 — for — Mikael SAMUELSSON — Vancouver
• $ 2,400,000 — 22 — for — Nicklas BACKSTROM — Washington
• $ 2,250,000 — 36 — for — Tomas HOLMSTROM — Detroit
• $ 2,250,000 — 24 — for — Fabian BRUNNSTROM — Dallas
• $ 2,000,000 — 24 — for — Robert NILSSON — Edmonton
• $ 1,725,000 — 34 — def — Niclas WALLIN — Carolina
• $ 1,600,000 — 24 — for — Loui ERIKSSON — Dallas
• $ 1,300,000 — 19 — def — Erik KARLSSON — Ottawa
• $ 1,246,666 — 21 — for — Patrik BERGLUND — St. Louis
• $ 1,250,000 — 34 — def — Andreas LILJA — Detroit
• $ 1,087,000 — 36 — gk — Johan HEDBERG — Atlanta
• $ 975,000 — 24 — def — Nicklas GROSSMAN — Dallas
• $ 900,000 — 25 — def — Jonathan ERICSSON — Detroit
• $ 875,000 — 20 — for — Oscar MOLLER — Los Angeles
• $ 818,333 — 22 — for — Nicklas BERGFORS — New Jersey
• $ 800,000 — 28 — gk — Johan BACKLUND — Philadelphia
• $ 800,000 — 29 — for — Rickard WALLIN — Toronto
• $ 800,000 — 23 — def — Carl GUNNARSSON — Toronto
• $ 750,000 — 26 — for — Fredrik SJOSTROM — Calgary
• $ 750,000 — 27 — gk — Erik ERSBERG — Los Angeles
• $ 731,666 — 23 — def — Anton STRALMAN — Columbus
• $ 713,333 — 22 — for — Patric HORNQVIST — Nashville
• $ 643,333 — 22 — def — Niklas HJALMARSSON — Chicago
• $ 600,000 — 22 — for — Tom WANDELL — Dallas
• $ 500,000 — 27 — def — Staffan KRONWALL — Calgary

KIMMO TIMONEN was a 10th round draft pick (# 250 overall) by the Los Angeles Kings in 1993. Timonen, who was a runner-up at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, has collected three silver medals from the World Championships ('98, '99, '01) in addition to a silver medal from the Olympics ('06). Timonen, who was selected to the All-Star squad at the Turin Games, will be looking to strike gold in Vancouver.

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NHL roster status as of Dec 11

• $ 6,333,333 — 34 — def — Kimmo TIMMONEN — Philadelphia
• $ 6,000,000 — 31 — gk — Niklas BACKSTROM — Minnesota
• $ 5,833,333 — 33 — gk — Miikka KIPRUSOFF — Calgary
• $ 5,250,o00 — 31 — for — Olli JOKINEN — Calgary
• $ 4,000,000 — 26 — def — Joni PITKANEN — Carolina
• $ 4,000,000 — 32 — gk — Vesa TOSKALA — Toronto
• $ 3,800,000 — 26 — for — Tuomo RUUTU — Carolina
• $ 3,500,000 — 35 — def — Sami SALO — Vancouver
• $ 3,250,000 — 35 — for — Saku KOIVU — Anaheim
• $ 3,250,000 — 26 — for — Mikko KOIVU — Minnesota
• $ 3,200,000 — 22 — gk — Tuuka RASK — Boston
• $ 3,000,000 — 30 — for — Niklas HAGMAN — Toronto
• $ 3,000,000 — 26 — gk — Kari LEHTONEN — Atlanta
• $ 3,000,000 — 25 — for — Valtteri FILPPULA — Detroit
• $ 2,875,000 — 32 — def — Toni LYDMAN — Buffalo
• $ 2,625,000 — 39 — for — Teemu SELANNE — Anaheim
• $ 2,500,000 — 36 — for — Jere LEHTINEN — Dallas
• $ 2,333,333 — 29 — for — Antti MIETTINEN — Minnesota
• $ 1,700,000 — 26 — for — Jussi JOKINEN — Carolina
• $ 1,300,000 — 34 — for — Jarkko RUUTU — Ottawa
• $ 875,000 — 25 — def — Ilkka HEIKKINEN — NY Rangers
• $ 862,500 — 25 — for — Sean BERGENHEIM — NY Islanders
• $ 850,000 — 23 — for — Petteri NOKELAINEN — Anaheim
• $ 826,875 — 26 — gk — Antti NIEMI — Chicago
• $ 800,000 — 26 — for — Ville LEINO — Detroit
• $ 725,000 — 27 — gk — Pekka RINNE — Nashville
• $ 700,000 — 23 — for — Lauri KORPIKOSKI — Phoenix
• $ 612,500 — 25 — def — Anssi SALMELA — Atlanta
• $ 600,000 — 29 — gk — Antero NIITYMAKI — Tampa Bay
• $ 550,000 — 25 — def — Sami LEPISTO — Phoenix
• $ 500,000 — 28 — for — Ilkka PIKKARAINEN — New Jersey
• $ 500,000 — 28 — for — Miko PYORALA — Philadelphia

NOTE — Players are listed according to NHL club’s salary cap hit for 2009-2010 season.

Belarus center ANDREI KOSTITSYN (23) keeps his eye on the airborne puck at the 2008 IIHF World Championships in Canada. Sweden defeated Belarus 6-5 in this match. The two nations are drawn together in Group C at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games this February in Vancouver.

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NHL roster status as of Dec 10

• $ 3,250,000 — 24 — for — Andrei KOSTITSYN — Montreal
• $ 3,025,000 — 35 — def — Ruslan SALEI — Colorado
• $ 2,900,000 — 25 — for — Mikhail GRABOVSKI — Toronto
• $ 816,666 — 22 — for — Sergei KOSTITSYN — Montreal

NOTE — Players are listed according to NHL club’s salary cap hit for 2009-2010 season.

JOCHEN HECHT has appeared at 10 major international tournaments for Germany (54 ga, 15 go 6 as, 21 pts) beginning with the 1996 IIHF World Championships in Vienna, Austria.

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NHL roster status as of Dec 7

• $ 3,525,000 — 32 — for — Jochen HECHT — Buffalo
• $ 3,500,000 — 31 — for — Marco STURM — Boston
• $ 3,100,000 — 27 — def — Christian EHRHOFF — Vancouver
• $ 2,250,000 — 28 — def — Dennis SEIDENBERG — Florida
• $ 833,333 — 27 — def — Christoph SCHUBERT — Atlanta
• $ 650,000 — 25 — def — Alexander SULZER — Nashville
• $ 550,000 — 26 — for — Marcel GOC — Nashville
• $ 550,000 — 23 — gk — Thomas GREISS — San Jose

NOTE — Players are listed according to NHL club’s salary cap hit for 2009-2010 season.

Two-time Olympian KARLIS SKRASTINS (7), now 35, appeared at the C Pool IIHF World Championships as an 18-year-old for Latvia in 1993.

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NHL roster status as of Dec 7

• $ 1,375,000 — 35 — def — Karlis SKRASTINS — Dallas
• $ 600,000 — 30 — for — Raitis IVANANS — Los Angeles
• $ 500,000 — 22 — def — Oskars BARTULIS — Philadelphia

NOTE — Players are listed according to NHL club’s salary cap hit for 2009-2010 season.

ALEXANDER OVECHKIN, the highest paid Russian in the National Hockey League, sports a retro jersey on opening day opposite Italy at the 2008 IIHF World Championships. Russia defeated Italy 7-1 on the way to their first IIHF WC title since 1993.

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NHL roster status as of Dec 4

• $ 9,538,461 — 24 – for – Alexander OVECHKIN — WASHINGTON
• $ 8,700,000 — 23 – for – Evgeny MALKIN — PITTSBURGH
• $ 6,700,000 — 31 – for – Pavel DATSYUK — DETROIT
• $ 6,389,300 — 26 – for – Ilya KOVALCHUK — ATLANTA
• $ 5,750,000 — 30 – def – Andrei MARKOV — MONTREAL
• $ 5,375,000 — 34 – gk – Evgeny NABOKOV — SAN JOSE
• $ 5,000,000 — 36 – for – Alexei KOVALEV — OTTAWA
• $ 5,000,000 — 35 – def – Sergei GONCHAR — PITTSBURGH
• $ 4,600,000 — 25 – for – Alexander SEMIN — WASHINGTON
• $ 4,250,000 — 29 – gk – Ilya BRYZGALOV — PHOENIX
• $ 3,750,000 — 36 – gk – Nikolai KHABIBULIN — EDMONTON
• $ 3,666,666 — 37 – for – Vyacheslav KOZLOV — ATLANTA
• $ 3,150,000 — 26 – def – Denis GREBESHKOV — EDMONTON
• $ 2,900,000 — 27 – for – Alexander FROLOV — LOS ANGELES
• $ 2,843,750 — 26 – def – Fedor TYUTIN — COLUMBUS
• $ 2,533,333 — 31 – for – Sergei SAMSONOV — CAROLINA
• $ 2,500,000 — 27 – def – Anton VOLCHENKOV — OTTAWA
• $ 1,487500 — 23 – for – Nikolai KULEMIN — TORONTO
• $ 1,325,000 — 19 – def – Dmitri KULIKOV — FLORIDA
• $ 950,000 — 26 – for – Evgeny ARTYUKHIN — ANAHEIM
• $ 850,000 — 21 – for – Vladimir ZHARKOV — NEW JERSEY
• $ 845,333 — 19 – for – Andrei LOKTIONOV — LOS ANGELES
• $ 821,666 — 21 – for – Artem ANISIMOV — NY RANGERS
• $ 821,666 — 21 – gk – Semyon VARLAMOV — WASHINGTON
• $ 800,000 — 30 – for – Maxim AFINOGENOV — ATLANTA
• $ 790,000 — 23 – for – Enver LISIN — NY RANGERS

NOTE — Players are listed according to NHL club’s salary cap hit for 2009-2010 season.

Slovakia defenseman TOMAS STAROSTA (# 19) controls the puck in front of goaltender JAN LASAK at the 2008 IIHF World Championships in Halifax, Canada. Lasak, now with HK Kosice in his native land, played six NHL games over two seasons for the Nashville Predators several years ago. Starosta, never drafted by an NHL club, is in his sixth season with Russian club Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.

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NHL roster status as of Dec 1

• $ 7,500,000 — 27 – for – Marian GABORIK — NY Rangers
• $ 5,600,000 — 33 – def – Lubomir VISNOVSKY — Edmonton
• $ 5,233,333 — 30 – for – Marian HOSSA — Chicago
• $ 4,000,000 — 35 – for – Pavol DEMITRA — Vancouver
• $ 4,000,000 — 32 – for – Michal HANDZUS — Los Angeles
• $ 4,000,000 — 24 – def – Andrej MESZAROS — Tampa Bay
• $ 2,050,000 — 27 – for – Marek SVATOS — Colorado
• $ 1,375,000 — 26 – def – Milan JURCINA — Washington
• $ 1,250,000 — 27 – gk – Peter BUDAJ — Colorado
• $ 1,200,000 — 27 – for – Tomas KOPECKY — Chicago
• $ 1,000,000 — 23 – def – Andrej SEKERA — Buffalo
• $ 762,500 — 23 – def – Boris VALABIK — Atlanta
• $ 775,000 — 24 – gk – Jaroslav HALAK — Montreal

NOTE — Players are listed according to NHL club’s salary cap hit for 2009-10 season.

Czech Republic national team star JAROMIR JAGR left the New York Rangers following the 2007-08 National Hockey League season to sign with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.

Jagr, 37, inked a two-year deal worth a reported $ 5,000,000 per season to play in Russia.

Jagr, who started fast this KHL season with ten goals from his first fourteen games for Avangard, has been slowed somewhat by injury since but still leads Omsk with 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) in 25 games.

Despite the two-time Stanley Cup champion Jagr’s defection, there are still 40 Czech players currently active on NHL rosters.

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NHL roster status as of Dec 1

• $ 6,000,000 — 33 – for – Patrik ELIAS — New Jersey
• $ 5,700,000 — 33 – gk – Tomas VOKOUN — Nashville
• $ 5,500,000 — 35 – def – Roman HAMRLIK — Montreal
• $ 5,000,000 — 32 - def – Pavel KUBINA — Atlanta
• $ 5,000,000 — 31 – def – Michal ROZSIVAL — NY Rangers
• $ 5,000,000 — 28 – for – Martin HAVLAT — Minnesota
• $ 4,500,000 — 28 – for – Martin ERAT — Nashville
• $ 4,333,333 — 24 – for – Milan MICHALEK — Ottawa
• $ 4,250,000 — 31 – def – Tomas KABERLE — Toronto
• $ 4,100,000 — 26 – for – Ales HEMSKY — Edmonton
• $ 3,900,000 — 33 – for – Milan HEJDUK — Colorado
• $ 3,833,333 — 35 – def – Jaroslav SPACEK — Montreal
• $ 3,750,000 — 23 – for – David KREJCI — Boston
• $ 3,700,000 — 32 – def – Filip KUBA — Ottawa
• $ 3,350,000 — 32 – def – Marek ZIDLICKY — Minnesota
• $ 3,125,000 — 24 – for – Rostislav OLESZ — Florida
• $ 3,000,000 — 30 – for – Ales KOTALIK — NY Rangers
• $ 3,000,000 — 28 – for – Radek VRBATA — Phoenix
• $ 2,750,000 — 27 – for – Tomas PLEKANEC — Montreal
• $ 2,000,000 — 31 – def – Jan HEJDA — Columbus
• $ 1,700,000 — 32 – for – Radek DVORAK — Florida
• $ 1,600,000 — 32 – for – Petr SYKORA — Minnesota
• $ 1,600,000 — 27 – def – Rostislav KLESLA — Columbus
• $ 1,500,000 — 33 – def – Radek MARTINEK— NY Islanders
• $ 1,433,333 — 22 – gk – Ondrej PAVELEC — Atlanta
• $ 1,300,000 — 23 – def – Ladislav SMID — Edmonton
• $ 1,275,000 — 21 – for – Michael FROLIK — Florida
• $ 1,270,833 — 20 – for – Jakob VORACEK — Columbus 
• $ 1,250,000 — 26 – for – Zbynek MICHALEK — Phoenix
• $ 1,200,000 — 27 – for – Petr PRUCHA — Phoenix
• $ 1,150,000 — 34 – for – Vaclav PROSPAL — NY Rangers
• $ 1,100,000 — 26 – def – Lukas KRAJICEK – Tampa Bay
• $ 1,100,000 — 23 – def – Roman POLAK — St. Louis
• $ 1,000,000 — 38 – for – Robert LANG — Phoenix
• $ 980,000 — 22 – for – Martin HANZAL — Phoenix
• $ 750,000 — 22 – for – Vladimir SOBOTKA — Boston
• $ 725,000 — 25 – for – Tomas FLEISCHMANN — Washington
• $ 682,500 — 24 – for – Kamil KREPS — Florida
• $ 575,000 — 30 – def – Martin SKOULA — Pittsburgh
• $ 575,000 — 28 – for – David KOCI — Colorado

NOTE — Players are listed according to NHL club’s salary cap hit for 2009-10 season.