The past 10 plus days, I've seen more hockey than you can imagine. From Pittsburgh and the exciting Sidney Crosby to Johnstown, PA of Slap Shot movie fame to Broadway and the New York Rangers. I was at Yale, which hosted the first U.S. college hockey game ever so many years ago, and even at the New Jersey Devils opening of their new arena, the Prudential Center. And I've even been to Burlington, Vermont, home of the University of Vermont and former home of hockey players John LeClair, Aaron Miller and others.
But there's no place to experience hockey quite like Canada, the home of hockey. I experienced this last week as I traversed from Toronto and the Hockey Hall of Fame (http://www.hhof.com) to French-speaking Quebec and back to Ontario for games in Peterborough and Hamilton and a visit to a great new museum, Total Hockey (http://www.total-hockey.ca/).
What I enjoyed most about the whole week in Canada was just witnessing the variety of hockey on display, and the total passion Canadians have for the game. My first stop was Toronto, Canada's largest city and perhaps its most passionate for hockey, behind Montreal. Toronto is "Leafs Nation" and every game is sold out. But first I had to make a stop at the Hockey Hall of Fame, which had a great exhibit on Stanley Cup Dynasties. That night, fans huddled in front of Air Canada Centre in anticipation of another win for their Leafs who had been riding a winning streak. Sadly, the Leafs stunk up the building and lost to the visiting Capitals, 7-1.
What most struck me about Leafs Nation was how similar they are to the Chicago Cubs of MLB. Toronto hasn't won the Stanley Cup since the late 1960s while their rival, Montreal, has won more Cups since, although not one since the early 1990s. The Cubs haven't won the World Series since, well, 1908, so the Leafs aren't doing that bad, but you get the point.!
Shawinigan, Quebec and Chicoutimi, Quebec were up next, home to a team each in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. I really loved my time in Quebec even though I don't speak a lick of French. The arena in Shawinigan is named after Jacques Plante, and it was a classic, old-style barn-like venue that I loved. Chicoutimi's arena is named after another Hall-of-Fame goalie, George Vezina, but it was the atmosphere here that I most enjoyed as the rival Quebec City Remparts were in the house. Former NHL goalie and Stanley Cup winner Patrick Roy is the Remparts coach and his boys proved victorious.
The overall thing that stood out during my two days in Quebec was the hospitality and genuine kindness of the French Canadians. Both the Shawinigan and Chicoutimi clubs helped me secure hotels after the game, and I want to thank each of them for their help.
I headed back to Ontario province, seeing a game at Peterborough Memorial Centre which has probably the best museum in the Canadian junior league ranks I've seen. Another awesome museum I saw was the next day in Bowmanville called Total Hockey.
Former Hockey Night in Canada voice Brian McFarlane has lent his name and likeness to this museum, which truly chronicles the passion of hockey and its meaning in the cultural fabric of Canada. Many of the artifacts on display are McFarlane's, and the museum does a fabulous job of explaining the history of hockey's origins in Canada, with unique photos and ancedotes. For example, did you know that had Wayne Gretzky not scored a single goal in the NHL, he would still be the game's all-time scoring king just for all of his assists? Wow. The museum has only been open a year and it's only 45 minutes east of Toronto, and it's well worth a visit if your travels take you to Toronto. What's most cool about the museum is that it's fun for not just adults and hockey historian types, but it also has a lot of great interactive displays and activities for the kids.
My final stop on the latest Canadian circuit was Hamilton, which has been rumored as a potential future NHL city. I seriously doubt this will happen. Hamilton is an fine town, but I don't think it has the financial capability to meet NHL standards. Still it was nice to visit Copps Coliseum, which hosted the awesome Canada Cup series back in the 1980s when Gretzky and Mario Lemieux played together.
From the Great White North, I crossed the border back into New York State and saw a great college hockey venue: Lynah Rink at Cornell where the Hall-of-Fame goalie Ken Dryden once suited up. Without question, Cornell is the best college hockey venue I've experienced so far, but I still have stops to Michigan, Wisconsin, Princeton, Maine, UNH and BU still on the docket. The place is so intimidating for the opposition and the student section is by far the loudest and best I've experienced.
Having more fun than should be allowed by law - US or Canadian!