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The Vancouver Canucks have been talking about building their own practice rink since 2010. Is 2024 the year construction finally begins?
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Published Jul 12, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
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Vancouver Canucks Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser with coach Rick Tocchet at team practice Saturday, March 2, 2024. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG
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The last time Jim Rutherford was asked about the state of his now years-long search for a practice facility for his Vancouver Canucks, he cast something of a resigned figure.
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Land, he had come to accept, is very hard to come by in the city of Vancouver.
And that’s why, two years into his tenure as president of the local NHL squad, his team remains without a practice facility.
But that is soon to change, Rutherford told Postmedia this week.
“We’re making headway. We’re not quite to the point of making an announcement. At this point there’s a lot of hope,” he said when asked if there was anything new on the file.
His answer suggested that unlike last December, when things seemed to have stalled, there was once again momentum.
“This is momentum,” he agreed.
Several sources have suggested that the University of B.C. is the most likely candidate for where the Canucks may finally build their facility — both Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin have mused in the past about the facility being, for now, the addition of team spaces, not necessarily a rink, to an existing facility — but Rutherford wouldn’t confirm that.
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What is clear is that since Rutherford and Allvin took over the Canucks two years ago, they have come to appreciate the potential of UBC’s Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
The recently completed prospects development camp is just the latest example.
“It was very positive,” he said. “That’s our job, to give every guy the best opportunity they can to be an NHL player.”
Almost from the start, Rutherford saw a need for upgrades across operations. He pushed for renovations to the team spaces at Rogers Arena.
The existing dressing room, first renovated more than a decade ago, was overhauled. The previous workout area across the main hall was expanded into a larger gym area. Coach offices were moved. A proper meeting/video room was built. A new off-ice room for family and friends of the players was built.
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A lot has been done in not a lot of space, but overall presentation is an upgrade. The players themselves have spoken about how much fresher the renovations feel.
But gaps do remain. The Canucks are one of just two teams in the NHL who don’t have a dedicated practice facility of their own — the Calgary Flames are the other and they now have plans to build a practice rink.
These facilities have become second homes for the players, especially in cities where the hockey team shares their arena with another team, like an NBA squad.
The practice facility is their own space, one that brings comfort.
“What we’ve done here in the past couple years, to upgrade Rogers to a first-class facility for the players, the dressing room, the meeting rooms, the video room, the next step is to have that (practice) facility, where they’re comfortable, where there’s a dressing room,” Rutherford said.
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Will there be a shovel in the ground the next time a story is written about the Canucks’ hopes for a practice facility? The cynic will point out that the team has been talking about a practice facility since before Chris Tanev was signed in 2010, but Rutherford is clearly hoping to be the guy, three management regimes later, to finally get this story done.
Plaza of Nations sold
Meanwhile, the former Plaza of Nations site across from Rogers Arena, where the Canucks had a deal for a practice facility but walked away four years ago, has been sold. Daisen Gee-Wing, who represented former Plaza owner Canadian Metropolitan Properties, confirmed ownership of the land had changed, but wouldn’t reveal the identity of the purchaser other than to say it’s an “Asian” private company.
pjohnston@postmedia.com
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Courtesy : https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-practice-facility-search-has-momentum-again-rutherford