I’m saving to go to Canada for next hockey season (so September to April). The aim is to watch as many games as I can and also see Canada. I reckon I’m gonna do Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal over 10 to 12 days.
What’s the best time to visit? I’m cautious about games being cancelled due to rubbish weather
Don’t plan on renting a car to drive to those destinations. It’s certainly possible to drive from Montreal to Vancouver in 10 days but it won’t leave much time for hockey games.
I see everyone offering NHL advice here, but there are also leagues below the NHL, and you can often see some pretty good hockey for not much money. Where I live (not in Canada), we had an AHL team, which is 1 level below the NHL. The hockey was fun to watch, and good tickets could be had for less than $100/person.
Mate I didn’t know that! I could see more hockey that way which is glorious
if you haven’t seen the show Shorsey yet, it’s a funny send-up of the kind of hockey I’m talking about.
Funnily enough I heard about it a few weeks ago and smashed the first 2 seasons! I was mildly hysterical a few times it’s fucking excellent
The precursor to is was called Letterkenny. Not as much about hockey, but similarly weirdly funny. Made by the same guy (who plays Shorsey). Shorsey also makes an appearance.
I just started watching it this week! First season was ok but the 2nd it’s really come into it’s own
If you’re doing some long term planning and want max hockey, this is probably something you want to look into for 2027/28. Will be expensive but can probably do some multi game deals: https://www.nhl.com/news/world-cup-of-hockey-2028-to-be-played-in-calgary-edmonton-prague
Other than that I strongly recommend looking into some WHL and OHL seasons - all young players trying to get into the NHL, so on average the hockey is grittier and more interesting. NHL players have already made it so, though it always draws a crowd, you get more “phone it in” type games in the regular season. Playoffs are another monster entirely in both levels.
I haven’t read the other comments yet, but the budding PWHL has the skill of the NHL with the scrappiness of professional women’s sport. Phenomenal hockey.
Happy travels!
Ooooh good tip on the world Cup! Think it’s hard to get tickets though
That’s a lot of flying in 10 days. Vancouver is great but there’s one NHL team in driving range. Ontario/Quebec have 3.
Skip the NHL or book one game. Check out PWHL or even university/college games. They’re orders of magnitude cheaper and I think the play is more engaging. Games are better closer to the end of the season and the fans are more involved as the stakes go up. University/college hockey is pretty much over by now.
Pro games don’t get cancelled unless the stadium is destroyed. Your flights and travel plans on the other hand…
Excellent tips thanks
Early April might be snowy in some places, but any other time in that range you’ll be fine for travel. I would pick late August or September. You won’t see trees turning colours, but late summer is more tolerable and comfortable (in Ontario).
The key to getting affordable Hockey Games tickets like all pro sporting games is timing.
Last year my wife and I wanted to see a Capitals Game (NHL team in Washington DC) so we made dinner reservations across the street from the rink and saw that the tickets were like 350 a head. So we decided to just do dinner and roll home. While getting our apps she checked the price of the tickets and they were now 120 a head. We got the tickets and missed a bit of the start of the game, but the seat were three rows from the glass and we got to see Ovechkin tie Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record.
Not being a big hockey follower we were oblivious that was even happening. So Gretsky was at the game.
The next time the Capital were playing was in New York at the islander’s rink and the tickets were going or 3500 bucks a piece.
Sooooo… plan your stadium trip around games and just be willing to be flexible about getting tickets and you should be able to do it for pretty affordable.
Also look for teams that have loosing records then tend to not sell out…
3500 for the sports team. That is a symptom of a sick society,
Yeah it certainly blew my mind…
Depends on how much you want to spend. Do you want to include pre season games, mid season, or chance the play-offs? Do you want to see the Canucks thrash the Leafs? Pick some games where there’s some big rivalries and you’ll enjoy it. These will help you decide where you want to be when. The entire stadium singing of the national anthem gets me every time.
I’m assuming you’ll do plenty of other things in each of the cities. I’m from the West, so I can guarantee you’ll get rained on (umbrella is a must), but the blue sky days are glorious and you won’t freeze like you would back east. The Canucks play in an enclosed stadium, so you’ll enjoy it, but still bring warm clothes. Unless the roof caves in, they won’t likely cancel games.
You can see if you can catch some local games at the Colosseum, too.
Check the cost of seats. Level 100 vs 300 nosebleeds. They can get pricey.
Happy to suggest all sorts of things to do in Vancouver when you’re ready to plan everything else!
Edit: Spelling is hard.
And to be honest, I would pick September or March. September because you get to see the pretty autumn colours, and March because same thing except Spring. Just be aware that there’s two weeks in March that is spring break for the kiddos and uni students. Might want to plan around it so you can do some touristy things without them being overrun.
Edit again: The excuse is that I’m sick and my brain wires crossing so I’m remembering things in pieces. Anyway, season schedule usually is released mid July, so if you’re waiting for the schedule before booking, then you’ve got only a few months to book for flights before December. Going in March/April gives you more leeway for flights. April also gets in to play off season, but you don’t know out of your three cities if they’ll make the play-offs.
Oooooh good tip on spring break! I’m British so didn’t know that. What’s the chances of getting stuck in a city and not getting to the next due to weather? I would love to see the autumn foliage how much do you reckon it’s worth it?
Not likely, though I have not lived in Vancouver full time for some time (about 8 years), I don’t know what the weather is like day to day. It used to be really predictable, but in the last few years, there’s been wild cold snaps. Generally, the lower mainland is pretty sheltered from the weather in the rest of Canada so unlikely to get stuck. Though if there’s a dusting of snow, the rest of the country makes fun of us because most people don’t know how to drive in it.
Someone mentioned the AHL games. Sorry, that’s what I meant when I said Colosseum games. That’s where they host the AHL games. It’s at the Pacific National Exhibition, which is on the east end of Vancouver. Some great tips from the other commenters. I would vouch for not driving across Canada. I’ve done a part of it for work, and though the Rockies are pretty, I wouldn’t do it in mid/late autumn until summer unless you’re comfortable driving in snow, ice and fog.
The autumn foliage will be more October. I love it because I love the cold. If you’re looking to spend a few coins (especially since your currency trumps ours by a lot), the Rocky Mountaineer might be something to look in to.
Nice one thanks!
