The Vancouver Canucks remain the only team in the NHL without plans of a dedicated practice facility.
Another day, another mention of the Vancouver Canucks’ lack of a practice facility. As the last NHL team without a plan for a dedicated facility, with the Calgary Flames in the process of constructing one along with their new arena, Vancouver has become somewhat infamous for their practice structure — doing-so at Rogers Arena or UBC if their main venue is booked. The topic has garnered traction throughout various points of different seasons, including now, after former Canuck Quinn Hughes spoke on his new team’s practice facility.
“It’s a great facility, and I’m looking forward to nothing being new — just kind of not knowing where to park and where the entrance is and all that stuff,” Hughes said of the Minnesota Wild’s practice facility. “Yeah, it’s a beautiful facility for sure.”
This isn’t the first time a former Canuck has been asked about practice facilities, especially not in the past year. Former Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet made it clear that a practice facility was something he was hoping for in negotiations to stay in Vancouver. When he ultimately parted ways with the Canucks in order to join the Philadelphia Flyers as Head Coach back in May, he spoke excitedly about his new team’s practice set-up.
“I walked around that facility [and] there’s so many tools to work with,” he said back in May. “There’s three sheets of ice. Those are attractive things to help me be a better coach. I can’t speak for the past, all I know is what I see now and the people I deal with now and it excites me.”
At one point during the off-season, the Canucks seemed dedicated to tracking a facility down. President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford outlined some plans during the pre-season explaining that they’d prefer a place somewhat closer to downtown Vancouver itself.
“We’re open to any area within a half-hour drive of downtown Vancouver,” Rutherford said during an episode of the 100% Hockey Podcast with John Shannon and Daren Millard. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve worked on this, and we’ve come close to a point where we could get one, but there is always political reasons or this and that.”
Is A Practice Facility In The Vancouver Canucks’ Near Future?
The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks">Vancouver Canucks</a> have come under fire for a while now regarding their lack of a dedicated practice facility for the players. For the longest time, it was the Canucks and the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames/">Calgary Flames</a> who were the only two teams in the NHL to not have plans for a practice facility. However, back in April of 2023, the city of Calgary announced their plans to build a new event space that will include a new rink and practice facility for their NHL team. Because of this, Vancouver has been the lone NHL team without a practice facility for the past two years. But could this change in the near future?
Another recent occurrence that has re-ignited this topic’s relevance is the recent announcement of Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s MOU with the city of Vancouver to discuss building a new stadium and entertainment district out at Hastings Park. Because of the potential plans for Hastings Park, which is within the ideal 20-minute driving distance cited by Rutherford, some have eyed this area as an optimal place for the Canucks to situate their practice facility in.
Whether the Canucks get their practice facility in the near future or not is something that probably won’t be confirmed for a fair amount of time. For now, Rogers Arena and UBC will have to do.
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