The Vancouver Canucks provide lots of fast-paced action. Canadians love the sport of hockey and Vancouver has boasted a professional hockey team since before World War II.
When the National Hockey League (NHL) came to Vancouver in 1970, Vancouverites jumped at the chance to buy
tickets
and be a part of this professional league, and since that time, local fans have been wild about their team.
Where does the name Canucks come from?
The term Canuck is clouded in mystery. If you look up the term in the dictionary, it says that the term can be traced to approximately 1835 as a word used by Americans to describe French Canadians. What most people don’t know is that the term was not one of kindness. To this day, in most of the United States, the term Canuck is considered derogatory, with the implication of a lack of intelligence or a simpleton.
The word has since become synonymous with all Canadians. In the 1860’s, Johnny Canuck, a Canadian equal to Uncle Sam in the United States, was a comic book hero who was brought back for World War II posters in 1942 and then again in the mid-1970’s. As for the hockey team, the Canucks took their name from the local Pacific Coast Hockey League team of the same name. The team was founded in 1945 and played in Vancouver through 1952 when the team joined the Western Hockey League, where they played through 1970.
In 1970, the NHL Canucks were born and simply used the name that most Vancouver hockey fans had grown to love since the mid-40’s. The team has been to a pair of Stanley Cup Finals, but both times came up short.
The phrase ‘Crazy Canucks’ came to prominence in the 1970’s when Dave Irwin, Ken Read, Dave Murray and Steve Podborski hit the World skiing scene and dominated a previously European-owned sport with a sense of flair and fun that hadn’t been seen before. Since then, Canadians have been happy (even proud) to be associated with the term.
The Arena
The team strut their stuff at the sparkling Rogers Arena (formerly known as General Motors Place) which opened in 1995 and is thought to be one of the finest facilities of its kind in Canada. Located downtown near the waterfront of False Creek, this state-of-the-art arena also offers shows and concerts in addition to hockey and basketball games. The location makes it easy to reach from most downtown accommodations.
Thanks to the large capacity of Rogers Arena, featuring more than 20,000 seats, it’s usually possible for visitors to secure
tickets
for regular home games, even at the last minute. However, if you plan to make a trip to a Vancouver hockey game part of your vacation itinerary, try to buy your
tickets
before you leave home to insure that you won’t be disappointed.
