Canada’s relationship with hockey is world-famous, and few countries can claim to have such love for their national sport. The only issue for Canadian hockey fans is the sheer size of the country, which makes it difficult to see their favourite teams play.
The solution is to get your planning hat on and put together a road trip that fuels your passion for hockey without becoming a logistical nightmare. So, here’s how to do just that.
Settle on a Sensible Route
While you could drive coast-to-coast, the best way to absorb the culture without spending weeks straight behind the wheel is to target one of Canada's two major hockey corridors.
First, there’s the eastern route, taking you from Toronto to Ottawa and on to Montreal, with Highway 401 forming the underpinnings for your journey. This is sensible if you’re interested in exploring the rivalry between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens, which is defined both by the team’s historic competitiveness as much as it is by the contrast between Canada’s English and Francophone regions. Moreover, now that Canada sports betting is available online in Ontario, you can make game outcomes interesting with a wager or two while en route.
Then, there’s the western route, linking Vancouver to Calgary via the Okanagan Valley, and on to Edmonton. Once again, you’ll find decades-deep rivalries between teams along the way, and you can experience the intensity with which hockey culture is celebrated in every small settlement you pass through along the way. Catching the Calgary Flames laying into the Edmonton Oilers will always get your blood pumping, even if you’re not a dedicated fan of either team.
Pick Stopping Points
Major hockey arenas are all well and good, but you need a few small-town locations dropped into your road trip plans so you can really connect with Canada’s hockey obsession.
For any East Coast trips, a flying visit to Windsor, Nova Scotia, could be worth it, since it’s a town often cited as the place where ice hockey in its modern form was born. There’s also Plaster Rock in New Brunswick, a town that’s made a name for itself thanks to the annual World Pond Hockey Championships, an event which brings hundreds of people out onto the ice for energetic games during the coldest parts of the winter.
Over in Ontario, you might benefit from a stop at places like Kirkland Lake and Thunder Bay. These northern mining and port towns have produced a statistically staggering number of NHL players per capita. Visit local community rinks, such as Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, to see championship banners dating back a century.
The last thing to say about anyone planning a road trip in Canada in which hockey will form a central part is that you’ll need to be properly geared up for the weather and ready for whatever might happen on the road. A well-maintained car, a well-stocked supply of snacks, and access to numbers for breakdown repair and recovery services will protect you from the worst disasters.