EDMONTON — As the Edmonton Oilers prepare to hit the ice for their much-anticipated season opener in St. Louis Thursday night, Twitter Canada has released data on how Canadian Twitter users are experiencing hockey on the social network.
“When hockey games are being played, Twitter is the social soundtrack,” said Christopher Doyle, director of media partnerships with Twitter Canada.
According to Twitter Canada, Canadian NHL teams have 40 per cent more followers than teams in the U.S., further proving the fact that hockey is truly Canada’s game.
“Canadian Twitter users are hockey super fans. They are more likely to identify themselves as super fans, they’re more likely to watch hockey on television and more than three times as likely to watch hockey live,” said Doyle.
“There’s really this personal connection between the teams that they follow and hockey fans.”
Canada’s seven NHL teams have a combined four million Twitter followers. Of those teams, the Winnipeg Jets have the largest Twitter following, when indexed against the population of their market. The Edmonton Oilers come in second.
Doyle said there are a couple of things drawing Oilers fans to Twitter, one being the team’s energy.
“There is a lot of energy around some of the new players and younger stars that the Oilers have. And of course, with the addition of Connor McDavid, there’s this real connection now to a younger set of players.”
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The other factor is that Edmonton is just really good at Twitter, Doyle said.
“They use it as a tool to engage fans in a real positive way and they’re bringing fans into the arena experience if they can’t be there,” said Doyle. “And fans at the arena are getting fans who can’t be at the arena this experience through Twitter.”
Doyle said another interesting statistic to come out of the research was that when it comes to getting an autograph from their favourite player, the majority of Canadian hockey fans on Twitter would prefer a retweet or follow from that player.
“It goes back to that personal connection,” he said. “When they get a retweet or a reply or a favourite from one of their favourite players, it means a lot to them.”
More than 70 per cent of hockey fans in this country follow more than one Canadian NHL team.
According to the 1,000 Canadian hockey fans surveyed for the study, their favourite NHL personality on Twitter is Montreal Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban.