The Vancouver Canucks announced they are returning to Victoria for training camp in September. And the provincial capital will be a terrific host. But it begs the question: why don't the Canucks ever host their training camp in Kelowna?
The Vancouver Canucks announced on Thursday they would be holding training camp in Victoria in September. The announcement marks a return to the provincial capital after the Canucks held camp there in 2019.
This will be the third straight year the Canucks have taken their training camp outside Metro Vancouver in an effort to build the team brand throughout British Columbia. Two years ago they marked the arrival of their American Hockey League team in the Fraser Valley by holding camp in Abbotsford. And last season they went to Whistler.
Throughout the years, the Canucks have moved their camp all over the province from Victoria to Parksville and Duncan on Vancouver Island to Kamloops and Vernon in the Interior and even to Prince George in 2015 when Northern BC native Dan Hamhuis was a fixture on the roster.
In their early years of existence, the Canucks conducted training camps on the other side of the Rockies in Calgary and Medicine Hat. And in the fall of 2000, the club ventured to Stockholm, Sweden to usher in the Sedin era of Canucks hockey.
So the club has a long history of moving its September showcase around. But strangely absent from the list of host sites is Kelowna -- the crown jewel of the Okanagan and a hotbed for National Hockey Leaguers in the off-season.
For whatever reasons, though, the Canucks have not taken their travelling preseason show to Kelowna. There have been rumblings over the years that the hockey club has been unable to secure an arrangement with Prospera Center, the 6,800-seat home of the Western Hockey League's Kelowna Rockets. The Canucks did, however, play an exhibition game there against Arizona in 2018, so they are familiar with the facility.
So much more goes into planning a training camp than just the sheet of ice required. There are hotel and dining requirements, plus options for the players in their time away from the rink. Of course, Kelowna checks off just about every box imaginable when it comes to recreation. From golf to biking to wine tours to splashing around in Lake Okanagan, Kelowna seems like it would be a perfect fit for an NHL team looking to set up shop for a few nights in late September. But for whatever reason, it hasn't happened.
The Canucks certainly don't shy away from the Okanagan having hosted Young Stars down the highway in Penticton for more than a decade. And perhaps, it's as simple as trying to spread the wealth and host the prospect tournament in the South Okanagan and move main camp to other parts of the province.
Whatever the case, it still seems like it makes too much sense to overlook Kelowna year after year. But after Thursday's announcement, it will be at least one more year before Kelowna gets its opportunity.
This year's training camp will be staged at Save-On Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria from September 21st through the 25th.