As in, it must be reasonably easy for the players to get to. Most of the players live in Vancouver, a few on the North Shore.
Most NHL teams’ first choice for practice is their home rink, former Canucks media relations coordinator Stephanie Maniago points out. But sometimes you do need to vacate your home arena and practice somewhere else.
And when that happens, convenience is essential. There’s the players’ commute to think about, as well as the logistics of moving, or storing, if you have a permanent facility, all of the equipment for players and coaches.
Currently, when the Canucks are forced to decamp from Rogers Arena to Scotia Barn in Burnaby because of a concert or lacrosse game, they have to pack everything up, truck it to Burnaby and then set up in the arena for the day.
