Which Canadian city for a short family hockey trip?

[Nederlander]

I've been to almost every hockey city in Canada. Toronto is amazing, and we loved the Hockey Hall of Fame - very cool. Plus Toronto is a really interesting city with a lot of other things to do and great food!

My second favorite city for things to do outside of hockey was Vancouver. I'm also from Colorado and love being outside, and there were a lot of beautiful places to go - Stanley Park, driving up to Whistler, Grouse Mountain.

BTW, both places, we flew into American cities (Buffalo for Toronto, Seattle for Vancouver) and rented a car and drove across the border.

 

[Mrb1p]

Thanks for the continued suggestions! There’s a lot to think about here.

I’ll just note again that we’re in Colorado, not a desert, so while -50 wouldn’t be fun, we’re not too afraid of some cold. (Not even in our top 5 criteria in the original post. )

Just come to MTL. MTL is close enough to QC and Ottawa to make it worthwile. No other city has this.

 

[Lions67]

Come on man Whistler is the frequently ranked as the BEST ski area in the entire world. No comparison.

So what?
He’s up here to watch NHL hockey, not a ski trip.
So it doesn’t matter if Whistler is the best mountain or not. It’s irrelevant to the conversation

 

[JMCx4]

My wife & I are natives of the U.S. Midwest, and we've enjoyed wintertime visits to Ottawa & Montreal in the past. Besides the hockey game attendance, our most memorable activities were ice skating outdoors on the Rideau Canal Skateway (Rideau Canal Skateway) and on the Old Port of Montréal rink (Old Port of Montréal ice skating rink). You'd have to get some luck with your school break timing re. weather conditions to include those experiences for your family. But both Ottawa & Montreal have so many more tourism options for your travel group to explore, and both cities are rich in culture. Can't go wrong with either city as a family destination IMO. Safe travels, and don't forget the passports.

ETA: On your 4th criterion: "Not an outrageously expensive city would be a plus. Not looking to break the bank here." ... You'll have a budgetary advantage courtesy of the USD-to-CAD exchange rate. Use it smartly as you plan, maybe you can afford more than you first thought.

 

[MikeK]

Surprised so many people recommend Vancouver. As a local resident I would advise against it. It is a total shithole. Montreal is a beautiful city.

 

[Deplorable Lenny]

Just come to MTL. MTL is close enough to QC and Ottawa to make it worthwile. No other city has this.

Imagine saying something is close to Quebec City and Ottawa as a selling point

 

[ScottishCanuck]

Surprised so many people recommend Vancouver. As a local resident I would advise against it. It is a total shithole. Montreal is a beautiful city.

You really need to rethink your definition of shithole. I’ve been to many, and Vancouver is not that.

I thought Montreal was really seedy. Didn’t dislike it, but found it far from beautiful.

 

[Mrb1p]

Imagine saying something is close to Quebec City and Ottawa as a selling point

Theyre nice to visit for a day, lots of tourist attractions.

 

[MikeK]

You really need to rethink your definition of shithole. I’ve been to many, and Vancouver is not that.

I thought Montreal was really seedy. Didn’t dislike it, but found it far from beautiful.

If you thought Montreal is seedy what the hell did you think of Vancouver? Sure, Vancouver is located in a beautiful region, but it's actual city is one of the shadiest cities in Canada.

 

[Lindberg Cheese]

Where do I go to catch Trudeau in Alladin? I hear it’s up there with Hamilton

 

[Senor Catface]

If you thought Montreal is seedy what the hell did you think of Vancouver? Sure, Vancouver is located in a beautiful region, but it's actual city is one of the shadiest cities in Canada.

Yeah, I lived in downtown Vancouver for 7 years and just moved last year. The downtown is in an absolute mess of a situation.

 

[Unbiased Fan]

My 13 year old son has gotten into hockey and I was very happy to hear him suggest that we go on a trip during a school break to somewhere in Canada to watch a game or two. Neither of us have been before, so seeking some suggestions. We'd likely go for 4-5 days sometime during February 17-25, 2024. It looks like every Canadian team is playing at home at least once during this time.

Here are the things we'd like, in order of importance:
1. NHL hockey (obviously). Stadium & game day experience, reasonable ticket availability and cost, ability to tour stadium, things to do around stadium, lower level hockey in the same city, other non-game hockey related things to do in the area.
2. Non-hockey sightseeing, things to do in the city.
3. Good food.
4. Not an outrageously expensive city would be a plus. Not looking to break the bank here.
5. Proximity to another NHL city, though we'd be okay with just staying in a single city, too.

Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg? Happy to hear any not-just-ripping-on-another-teams-city suggestions, thanks!

I’d rank

1. Vancouver ( absolutely breathtaking scenery which alone makes it worth while )
2. Calgary ( cool vibe there with close proximity to Edmonton and mountains ( Banff and Jasper))
3. Edmonton ( just a dirtier version of Calgary but again the mountains. )
4. Montreal ( if you are like me single and 22 this is paradise the night life is amazing and the restaurants are some of the best in the world while being surprisingly cheap )
5. Toronto (I’m a leafs fan but hate the city but there’s the hockey hall of fame and great restaurants)
6. Ottawa ( now I’ve never stayed the night here so maybe it’s above Toronto but I don’t think so )
7. Don’t go to Winnipeg

 

[McShogun99]

Get a fake ID for your son and head to Montreal. This is the trip where he becomes a man.

 

[CanadienShark]

Montreal for sure. Vancouver or Toronto would be second choice. I think Montreal is the best city in North America. Ottawa is a nice place to live, but not to visit. Calgary is popular because of "low taxes" and proximity to mountains, but I don't like the vibe. It's probably #4 if you want to visit for travel. Edmonton and Winnipeg... Just don't bother.

1. Montreal
2. Vancouver
3. Toronto
4. Calgary
5. Ottawa
6. Edmonton
7. Winnipeg

 

[Frank Drebin]

The road conditions in Montreal are second to none. You can get from one side of the city to the other in 120 minutes easy

 

[biturbo19]

Has an American who as traveled in 4 provinces of Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal my rankings are:

1. VANCOUVER

2. MONTREAL
3. TORONTO
4. CALGARY
5. EDMONTON

British Columbia as so many different places to see from the Okanagan Valley, Victoria Island, Whistler and of course Vancouver. The mountains around downtown Vancouver are amazing and worth the trip alone. Plus it as lots of little beautiful islands around the province.

GM Arena and BC Place are right next to each other if I remember which is cool like Inglewood here in Cali. The downtown fibe is more like LA so I really liked that minus the crowds lol

Only 2.5 hours from Seattle and 5 hours from Portland if u want to see the entire North West.

A little rant I passed through Portland and no offense Portland is a dump. Vancouver British Columbia and Seattle Washington are still great cities. I prefer Seattle over Vancouver but I prefer British Columbia over Washington state.

1. I don't get why people always fawn over the Okanagan when the vastly superior Kootenays are right next door. It's madness.

2. GM Place. There are some arenas or stadiums that i will always refuse to call by their new "updated" corporate names. But Rogers Arena is not one of them. It's a completely different place than it was back then. Though also...still fundamentally old, but now with added ugly oversized megatron hanging over center ice i guess. Haven't seen that ghastly monstrosity in person this year. But anyway. GM Place lol that takes me back. First NHL game i ever saw in person, back when it was called that. From some nosebleeds in a blowout game vs the Panthers.

3. If the Okanagan was somehow going to be part of this anyway, it'd have to be as some sort of waypoint on the trip between Vancouver and Calgary, and that's obviously not happening on this sort of trip. That's a big drive. Also, hockey is pretty much dead in the BC Interior these days. They've still got the Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers...but that's really it. It's nowhere near what it was many years ago. Much more of a retirement and vacation destination than a hockey place.

I'd say small-town Winnipeg would be the lowest option on the list. Not from personal experience, but practically everyone who I've heard talk about it would definitely not rank it at the top of their list on Canadian cities to visit, hockey or not. (That's no slight to the Winnipegites on this site).

I believe they prefer to go by the term, "Winnebagoans".

Get a fake ID for your son and head to Montreal. This is the trip where he becomes a man.

Fair point if this is the plan though, to consider whether your child will be believable as an 18 year old, vs a 19 year old. Based on the legal ages in various provinces.

 

[Calgarybrutalist]

Vancouver and Montreal are the two that will give a unique experience.
Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa are nice cities, but pretty standard. I've never actually been to Winnipeg.
Edmonton is a bit rough right now, and it will likely be freezing there.

 

[Fourier]

We spend a lot of time in cold temperatures in the mountains here so I wasn't really concerned about the weather, but seeing you're from Buffalo and are saying that, maybe I should be concerned.

Buffalo and Edmonton have very different climates. Edmonton can definitely be colder, but I would take Edmonton's weather over Buffalo in the winter for any aspect other than cold. Edmonton tends to be very sunny in the winter with minimal snow fall. Typically 24 of 28 February days would be classified as sunny or partially sunny (I think Buffalo it is 8). Humidity is also typically very low and there is usually not much wind. A sunny day with temps at say 25 degrees F is actually quite pleasant. If you are from Denver and spend time in the mountains this definitely won't be an issue. Of course you might get unlucky and hit a major cold spell but they are not as common as people think.

If the primary purpose is hockey, Edmonton is a very good choice. In addition to the Oilers and the Oil Kings (WHL) there is a lot of minor hockey activity in February. The Flames are in town on the 24th. Tickets could be expensive but the BOA is well worth it. As is seeing McDavid live. Hopefully he is healthy by then but if you have never seen him live it really is an experience. They also play Boston on the 21st and Minnesota on the 23rd. The Minnesota game would be the easiest ticket.

The Oil Kings have a few home games during your time frame as well including two afternoon games, one vs Calgary.

Hotels is Edmonton are typically a lot cheaper than say Toronto or Vancouver.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Since Winnipeg comes up dead last for so many lists I'm going to make a serious suggestion for Winnipeg.

So first of all - there's a difference between a "family trip where we see a hockey game" and a "family hockey trip". Winnipeg is great for a family hockey trip.

Come to see a Jets game, obviously. Their arena is on the smaller side but very nice, several hotels nearby. Winnipeg is a very under-the-radar good place for restaurants, by the way.

But what else are you going to do? Catch a Manitoba Moose game as well. Different atmosphere but it's fun hockey. They play out of the same rink.

Do you want even more hockey? Go check out a U of Manitoba Bisons hockey game! U-Sports hockey is seriously under-rated for how good it is.

Bring your skates! Starting from downtown (which is where the rink is) there are up to 10km worth of skating trails (depending on the year and ice conditions). There's nowhere else you're going to be able to get that.

I mean there is other stuff to do as well of course. The Canadian Human Rights Museum is also downtown, as is the Manitoba Museum (the life-scale replica of early sailing ship Nonsuch is really cool). But you came for the hockey, and you'll get a ton of hockey in Winnipeg.

 

[sennysensen]

You should do Montreal + Ottawa, or even Montreal + Ottawa + Toronto, take Via rail.

 

[JMCx4]

The road conditions in Montreal are second to none. You can get from one side of the city to the other in 120 minutes easy

Is that on foot, or with skates?

 

[Tachycineta]

This is a nice thread. Lots of good ideas for all the places.

I am biased because I am from Buffalo - grew up there and spent 4 years going to college in Toronto.
Depending on your situation, it could be cheaper to fly into Buffalo/rent a car etc.

Toronto is a wonderful city and you could definitely scope out some cheaper places to stay. It has a good public transit system if you wanted to commute in/avoid traffic. As others mentioned HHoF and tons of cultural and other things to do (I am sure they have plenty to tailor to your family's personal interest). Yes, it is fairly cold but so are the other cities.

With the car, you could potentially go to Montreal, but I personally think since your trip is relatively short (weekish or so), it is best to focus on Toronto/Buffalo and see NHL/AHL/OHL type games, but you could definitely make Mtl and Ottawa work.

Some people mentioned Niagara, but it is winter and frozen.

I also recommend the East because you could probably hit up a western city for a long weekend or something (though I get how spread out the west is), but Denver is a good hub for reaching any of the cities I imagine.

I know you will have a good time wherever you decide to go. I hope you just enjoy the time as a family.

 

[ZJuice]

You guys are nuts. I love Edmonton winter.
Could catch the Oilers, walk the river valley, go to the science center, drive to elk island park, best of all you can go to the outdoor rink.
I’m not much of a foodie but I would recommend Canadian Burger King just once. I hear that the BK in the US should be called trash king

Edit: I am sorry for suggesting BK.

Just bumping this because Leon Draisaitl is also a fan of BK Whoppers

 

[Score08]

You should do Montreal + Ottawa, or even Montreal + Ottawa + Toronto, take Via rail.

He said nhl teams.

 

[denverdevil]

We’re in Toronto, went to the HHOF, and touched the Stanley Cup today! What a great experience. Heading to the Leafs game tonight.