It doesn't get said much but Wisconsin is a great basketball state. Interest in college basketball is much higher than most places. Lots of quality talent generated from the high school level. Hockey, in contrast, has never really caught on in Wisconsin. Maybe not having an NHL team is a part of that, but there simply are way less kids playing hockey in Wisconsin compared with neighboring states. Only 18,000 kids in youth hockey in WI compared with 50,000 in Michigan and 57,000 in Minnesota. Even Illinois has more. Obviously there are many dedicated hockey fans in the state, but an NHL team would have major work to do in order to increase hockey interest from casual sports fans.
