When the Montreal Canadiens get eliminated from the playoffs, we understand if all you want to do is hibernate and weep (we know we’re sorely tempted to). Lift your chin up! Montreal has so many hockey-related activities to offer all year-round so you’ll be busy until the next season.
Summit Hockey Camp
Summit Hockey School offers a summer hockey camp for aspiring athletes all over the world. Located in Stanstead College in Quebec, Canada, young athletes are invited to spend their summer at a sleep-away camp training with great coaches. One such coach is Stephane Waite, Montreal Canadiens goaltending coach. With someone like that on the team, Summit Hockey School Camp is sure to prepare these athletes for a successful future in hockey.
450 Rue Dufferin, Stanstead, QC J0B 3E0
Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame
If reruns of your favourite games just aren’t cutting it for you anymore, why not check out the Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame? Relive the Habs’ history since its founding in 1909 with artifacts and plenty of interactive content that are sure to keep you entertained. Tickets are only $11, and family and group rates are available. Located in the Bell Center, you can delve into the heart of all the action. With over 100 years of Habs history, how do they manage to fit it all in one place?
1909 Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal, Montreal, QC H3B 5E8
(514) 925-7777
Ball Hockey Leagues
If you like to play the sport (and no, we don’t mean from your couch holding a videogame controller), then a ball hockey league is exactly what you need during the off-season. Montreal and the surrounding areas offer various ball hockey leagues where you and your friends can form a team and play against other people who are equally depressed without the Habs. Some ball hockey leagues include Le Rinque and Montreal Ball Hockey League.
Montreal Pond Hockey Festival
Every February, hockey players from across Canada converge on Lac Saint Louis to participate in the Montreal Pond Hockey Festival. Teams sign up to play amidst the beautiful scenery in teams of 4 versus 4. It is a tournament fun for the whole family and brings in crowds from across the country. Although the tournament is for adults, there is also pleasure skating for the whole family.
Synthetic Ice & Hockey Treadmills
For those of you who play hockey and need to hone your skills while away from your own team, Athletic Republic has just what you need. Book a trainer and practice your shooting skills on synthetic ice, or strap yourself into their hockey treadmill to increase your power and agility. Test your limits with Athletic Republic and curb your Habs-induced withdrawal.
Montreal Canadiens Hockey School
What better place to train than the Montreal Canadiens Hockey School. Send your kids between the ages of 7 and 14 to the hockey school of their dreams. They’ll receive a full Montreal Canadians Hockey School kit and get to meet Youppi! Watch your new favourite hockey players play and train in one of their programs.
8000, Boulevard Leduc, Brossard, Qc, J4Y 0E9
(450)-926-2887
Indoor Arenas
Montreal is speckled with indoor arenas where you can organize a scrimmage with friends or just go for a free skate. You can even rent some of these arenas for a fee. Check out Raymond Bourque arena and grab a snack between games at Café Mauro, located in the arena. Other arenas include Bill Duran Arena and Atrium Le 1000.
Outdoor Arenas
In the winter, Montreal is riddled with outdoor skating rinks, whether it be small rinks in your neighbourhood parks or the huge rink in the Bonsecours basin in the Old Port. The Bleu Blanc Rouge skating rink, sponsored by the Montreal Canadien’s Children Foundation, has identical dimensions to the Bell Center ice. The rink is open all year round, even in the warmer months, when it is adapted for roller hockey. There is also a handy app, Patiner Montreal, that helps you find outdoor rinks and informs you of their condition. It allows you to filter according to the activity desired (which is obviously hockey) and ice quality. It will be functional again in December. Check it out here.
-
- Photo: Instagram user @mike_cuomo
Habs or no Habs, Montreal is the home of hockey, so there is never a shortage of hockey-related activities to partake in. Play the game yourself, watch others play, or check out a piece of our history. No matter what, Montreal is the place to be for all hockey lovers.
