We’re talking about practice (facilities).
The Vancouver Canucks’ lack of a practice facility has become a significant story this summer after departing head coach Rick Tocchet gushed over the Philadelphia Flyers’ practice facility and admitted it was a factor in his decision to leave the Canucks.
When Jim Rutherford first joined the Canucks as president of hockey operations in 2021, he said building a practice facility was a priority, but four years later, the Canucks don’t seem any closer to accomplishing that goal.
That’s not too surprising. The previous two management groups also tried to get the Canucks a dedicated practice facility, but couldn’t get it done. As soon as the Calgary Flames finish their new arena, the Canucks will be the only team in the NHL without a dedicated practice facility.
It does seem noteworthy that the Aquilinis have not built a single new sheet of ice in the city of Vancouver since buying the Canucks. In theory, an ownership group whose primary portfolio is property development shouldn’t have so much trouble developing property.
There’s an element of “be careful what you wish for,” however.
Tom Gaglardi, who was supposed to partner with the Aquilinis in the early 2000s to buy the Canucks, went on to purchase the Dallas Stars instead. The Stars have partnered with municipalities in the area to build multiple taxpayer-funded rinks, while the team has purchased several others, establishing a near monopoly on ice time in northern Texas.
The Stars came under fire for this monopoly in an article from USA Today last week, which alleged that the team has jacked up prices, reduced the quality of services, and threatened anyone who spoke out against these actions.
Of course, developing a monopoly on ice time in Vancouver would be a tougher task with so many stakeholders already involved. Besides, land is awfully difficult to come by in Vancouver compared to the vast tracts available in Texas.
Still, the Canucks have lots of options available to them. Let’s take a look at a few.
1 | Share the PNE Agrodome with the PWHL
The Canucks will be sharing Vancouver with another professional hockey team next season, as the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is coming to town. The team will be playing out of the Pacific Coliseum and will use the PNE Agrodome as their practice facility, which means, somewhat embarrassingly, PWHL Vancouver will have a practice facility before the Canucks do.
Or maybe not.
According to Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston, the Canucks have enquired into also using the PNE Agrodome as a practice facility.
With the city of Vancouver and the PWHL planning renovations to the building to modernize the facilities, the Canucks could piggyback on those plans like Jan Bulis on Niklas Hagman, going halfsies with PWHL Vancouver. Of course, with the Canucks primarily using Rogers Arena for practices, they would only need the Agrodome for the few times per season that Rogers Arena is otherwise booked, so it wouldn’t exactly be halfsies.
The Agrodome is an old building that needs a lot of work and sharing a practice facility isn’t ideal, but maybe it could be a stopgap solution while the Canucks look to build a proper, dedicated facility.
2 | Build a new practice facility at the Plaza of Nations
For a city where land is at a premium, there sure is a whole lot of undeveloped land sitting right next to Rogers Arena. The majority of the Plaza of Nations site has stood empty for nearly two decades.
The original plans for the Plaza of Nations redevelopment included a practice facility for the Canucks before the Aquilinis backed out of the deal for reasons that remain unclear. The property has since been sold to a new owner, but their development plans are currently unknown.
Are there any reasons why the Canucks couldn’t partner with this new owner on a development that includes a new hockey rink? I mean, probably. I can think of lots of reasons why this wouldn’t happen, but it just makes so much sense to have a practice facility right next door that could be shared between the Canucks and the community.
3 | Like Aragorn, look to the East
If the Canucks can’t get a practice facility right next door, perhaps one could show up like Gandalf in the east.
The Canucks have reportedly looked at the Britannia Community Centre in East Van. The ice rink is currently closed through the end of 2025 for “maintenance and upgrades,” but it would need a lot more work before it’s ready to host an NHL team; if the Canucks could kick in some money to revitalize the facility, that would be a big boon to the community.
The Canucks have also looked further east in Burnaby, checking out the Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre, which opened just last year. I’ve skated there myself, and it’s a very nice facility. It’s also a long way from Rogers Arena, and could be a prohibitively long drive for the players.
They’ve also looked into the Burnaby Lake Recreation Complex, which is closer to downtown Vancouver. It’s currently adding a new NHL-sized arena as part of an extensive redevelopment, though construction isn’t expected to be complete until 2028.
There's still time, then for the Canucks to get in quite literally on the ground floor to create a facility that could serve their needs, as well as those of the community.
4 | Go back to school
The Canucks’ current Plan B for practices when Rogers Arena is in use is to head to the University of British Columbia to practice at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. It’s a significant drive from downtown Vancouver (and an even more significant one for certain members of the media), which makes it a little bit less than ideal.
The facility itself is pretty nice, though it lacks some of the locker room and workout space that the Canucks would like. There have been talks of the Canucks building their own dedicated space near or attached to the rink or even adding another sheet at UBC, but it doesn’t look like those talks have gone anywhere in recent years.
The other option is Simon Fraser University. The SFU Red Leafs currently play at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre in Burnaby, which is further east than Burnaby Lake, but there was talk a couple of years ago that the Canucks were looking into building a practice facility at SFU, which also happens to be the alma mater of Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini.
The SFU has long been interested in bringing NCAA Div. 1 hockey to the school, so a new rink would be mutually beneficial.
Of course, SFU has a similar distance problem as UBC, except it’s even further from the airport.
5 | Nordstrom
Let’s get a little bit creative.
Nordstrom Canada closed all of their stores in 2023, including their massive location in downtown Vancouver on the corner of Granville and Georgia. Since then, the space has remained empty.
There has been all kinds of speculation of what could go into the space, with the most recent plans to split it into four separate retail spaces. But what if it was instead converted into an ice rink right smack dab in the middle of downtown Vancouver?
Okay, okay, this idea is a little bit out there, but I feel like it could work. I think there’s enough space there to host an ice sheet or two, locker rooms, weight rooms, and even some retail space for a sports-themed store or even a sportsbar.
And it’s already got a Swedish name. It’s perfect for the Canucks.
6 | BC Place
Hey, where you going? Hear me out.
MLS commissioner Don Garber made waves a couple of weeks ago when he said that the Vancouver Whitecaps “don’t have a viable stadium situation.”
BC Place disputed this characterization but the Whitecaps are intent on building a new stadium at the PNE fairgrounds.
So, let’s just say that the Whitecaps and the City of Vancouver build a new stadium; would it not make sense for the BC Lions to also play at this new stadium to get the most use out of it? And would that not leave BC Place largely unused apart from some concerts? And could the Canucks not build an ice surface there like they did for the Heritage Classic?
Okay, this is starting to sound a little bit unreasonable. But it is right next door.
7 | Michael Bublé’s house
Michael Bublé is a massive fan of the Canucks. He also has an ice rink in his basement.
I think you see where I’m going with this.
8 | An English Bay Barge
Not the English Bay Barge, an English Bay Barge, just like Kevin McDonald on Corner Gas wasn’t the tax man, he was a tax man.
Look, land is expensive in Vancouver, so what if the Canucks take their practice facility offshore?
Floating an entire NHL-size ice rink and gym might seem like an expensive proposition, and you have the potential for seasick Canucks if there’s a storm, but you can’t get much closer to Rogers Arena than False Creek
9 | Steal the Saddledome
As the Calgary Flames build their new arena, which incorporates a practice facility, the Saddledome is scheduled to be demolished in 2027, despite efforts from a group called Save Our Saddledome.
If you can't save it, maybe you have to steal it. You know what that means? It’s time for a heist.
The Canucks can’t seem to build their own practice facility; maybe they can steal the Saddledome to serve as a practice facility instead.
It will take a team with a diverse set of skills: a driver, a pickpocket, a safecracker, a hacker, an explosives expert, the face, and a really tall guy that might just be three kids in a trenchcoat. Also, a whole bunch of helicopters to lift the Saddledome over the Rockies.
Now we just need a place to put it, which is the real logistical problem of this plan, not the helicoptering of an entire arena over a mountain range. How attached is everyone to Langara Golf Course?
