OT: Rinks in Ottawa / Ottawa Pickup / Ottawa Mens Leagues?

[Saved]

Hi there,

I am moving to Ottawa for Carleton. I got offered a spot in their Social Work program and I'm taking it. I move up in 2 weeks and will be living in the Nepean area (On Cordova).

I have a few questions for some of the locals. I hope this is the right place to ask this..

1) Anyone know of any Facebook groups for organizing pickup hockey? In Halifax here there is a facebook group with 1000 members that people post looking for players all the time.

2) Any recommended mens leagues? I am a fairly good complimentary hockey player; I can play well above my skill level if the players I'm playing with are good, but not quite good enough to carry the play / take over a game. I play with Jr. A / B caliber players currently and can hold my own. I'm off because of a shoulder injury / surgery so would probably like to get some tuneup games in a lower skill level first before I touch faster hockey. I'm 26 years old.

3) Anyone have experience playing in Carleton's mens league? I am interested in that as well.

4) BSAHL - any good?

5) How much does the average pickup cost in the area? In Halifax it runs between 8 and 15 dollars usually.

6) Any recommended skate sharpeners? I am very, VERY particular about my skate sharpening. I need to find a guy or girl in Ottawa that is able to consistently sharpen my skate the same each time.

Any other information would be awesome. Thanks a lot and I'm looking forward to being up in Ottawa soon!

Click to read more...

 

[Saved]

Anyone?

 

[Fusbolito]

There are a couple of threads already on this, but I'll take it on.

1) I don't personally know of facebook groups organizing hockey, most of my hockey is organized through word of mouth and e-mail chains. There is a website, www.ottawarechockey.com where you can join some pickup on a regular basis, and the city runs pickup games on a first-come, first-serve basis out of many of the rinks in the city, mostly in the early morning, and if you want to get into a specific league, most leagues have their own websites with individual spare player sign-ups for people who don't have a team.

2) Major leagues in the city include the Travellers League, the Ottawa Senators Adult Hockey League (formerly the BSAHL, east and west divisions exist), the RA league, the Minto league, the Capital Recreation Hockey League (formerly the OSMHL) and several others I can't remember. Most leagues have a good division or two, but the leagues tend to be separated more on character than skill. Div 1 and 2 in most leagues that have more than 4 divisions will be a very good brand of hockey.

3) The Carleton league is good. The ice surface is usually pretty good, even in the summer, the staff know what they're doing most of the time, and the refereeing is of the same caliber as pretty much the rest of the city, some good refs, some bad ones. There aren't as many divisions as the Travellers' League, so the really good teams tend to be in divisions 1 and 2, where in the Travellers' League, 3 is also pretty good. The main disadvantage of the league, for some, is that they do schedule games on Friday nights, unlike the OSMHL and several others, and they tend to not have a very predictable night for games, it's all over the place.

4) It's known as the OSMHL now, and it's also a good league, no games on Fridays, reffing is the same, ice is pretty good. They play music now, during stoppages, to try and lend an air of professionalism to the proceedings, and, unfortunately, it really gets annoying sometimes. If you're going to Carleton, though, the Carleton league is probably a better choice, if you can find a team.

5) I don't think I've ever seen an $8 pickup game, other than the City of Ottawa morning games, which, IIRC, are about $6 for an hour and 10 for an hour and a half. I haven't been to one of those in ages.

The usual fee runs in between 10 and 15, depending on the time of day, usually, and the rink. City rinks tend to be less expensive, but the times tend to be worse, since all of the primetime ice is reserved for minor hockey, with the exception of those grandfathered organizations eking out an hour here and there around the city.

6) I personally use Kevin at Dom's Pro Shop at the Nepean Sportsplex, he does my skates, and also does a swift trade in refurbished pro stock sticks that run from $75 to $100. He's very good, if you catch him at a time when it's not busy. He'll occasionally rush a sharpen when there are 10-12 people waiting, or stop sharpening to answer a question about the more lucrative trade in sticks, but I can't really blame him for that.

There's another woman I use on a regular basis at the University of Ottawa who does most of the GeeGees' skates, and she's also very good. I don't remember her name, but she's taller, kinda thin and has very short hair.

Never go to Pro Hockey Life if you want reliability and consistency. They have some good sharpeners, but it's a crapshoot who you'll get when you go in, and I've had some of the worst sharpens of my life there, when I was in a panic to have my skates done.

Oh, and the guy who runs Blade's Edge in Kanata is pretty good as well. I used to go to the guy who sharpened at Sandy Hill, but I don't think they do that there anymore.

Good luck finding a team, I play for four myself, and we frequently find ourselves in need of spares. I play in teams in div 2, 3, 4, and 6 all over the city, and run a Monday night Old Timers' game in Kanata. If you need an hour of ice to get back on your feet, I can let you know if we need one anytime soon, if you're interested.