In the process of getting to all 60, I managed to get to a bunch of CHL arenas that no longer host CHL teams. Just for fun, the closed rinks I've been to for CHL games are ranked separately here. Keep in mind that some of these arenas have been closed for twenty years or more and some were never ushered into the modern era of video scoreboards, so I've tried to rank them as an experience keeping in context the times in which they lived and died.
19) Compuware Arena, Plymouth
I'd be hard pressed to decide whether Charlottetown or Plymouth was worse as a CHL rink. Plymouth's sightlines were better, albeit not actually good. The rink had a real 'built quickly and on the cheap' feel about it, the neighbourhood was bland and car-dependent, and it was usually way too loud in there. By the end of its life as an OHL building, routine maintenance had also been deferred to the point it was starting to feel really run-down and dirty, and while I imagine that its conversion into USA Hockey Arena has tidied that up, I didn't like the rink enough to ever consider going back to find out, despite it only being a couple hours away. The OHL is better for not having Compuware Arena as one of its rinks.
18) Paramount Centre, Mississauga
Objectively a nicer facility than nearby Brampton, both rinks still suffered from a complete lack of atmosphere and were bland and sterile for hockey. Mississauga's location in an industrial park, adjacent to a freeway but with no easy access to that freeway, was pretty terrible. I never saw it even close to full, and the atmosphere hugely suffered for it. It was a nice enough facility, but again, if it never comes back to the OHL I can't say I'll ever miss it.
17) St. Michael's College Arena, Toronto
It's a comment on how little I liked the two below this one that St. Michael's College Arena isn't last. Truthfully, games at the College Arena were a blast, intimate enough to hear the players and coaches talking to each other, and usually with a decent enough atmosphere. It was the OHL's version of Mullett Arena - despite its advantages, it was not even close to minimum league standard. But I still miss going to see games there.
16) Joe Louis Arena, Detroit
I was only ever there for the finale, the "OHL at the Joe" goodbye game in 2016, and accordingly, there was zero atmosphere. A junior-sized crowd in a 20,000 seat NHL building was never going to be a great experience, but I enjoyed it solely for getting to have a chance to say goodbye to the Joe with a small crowd on hand. I'd been for several NHL games, but not having to navigate the cramped single concourse with NHL-sized crowds was terrific, and while I've heard the arena was usually a little better for Jr. Wings games, I never managed to get to see one. As you'd expect, it was a better NHL rink than a junior one.
15) Copps Coliseum, Hamilton
Yet another cavernous NHL-sized rink unsuited to junior hockey, Copps at least had a decent atmosphere when the lower level was full, and the Bulldogs drew mostly reasonable crowds here during their OHL tenure. A perfectly decent 1980's NHL coliseum that was never intended to have an OHL team as the primary tenant. I had ranked this one in the high 40's out of 60 ranking two years ago, before the team moved to Brantford.
14) Oshawa Civic Auditorium, Oshawa
The Civic Auditorium never felt to me like anything more than an overgrown junior A rink that somehow hosted an OHL team. The fact that the Generals played here for some forty years is incredible to me between its small capacity and location in a suburban residential area; it felt so much like a community sports complex. But the Civic Aud had an incredible atmosphere all three times I went, and there is something to be said for how intimate it was with the low ceiling. Basically a smaller version of the Brantford Civic Centre, which is astonishing considering how tiny that rink is in the modern OHL. Many closed rinks could easily have been brought up to a modern standard with enough money and will, but I don't think this one could have been upgraded for the current era.
13) Kingston Memorial Centre, Kingston
Run-down practically from the day it opened, the fact the Memorial Centre is still open and hosting hockey in 2024 is incredible. I only ever went once for an OHL game, and I remember a terrible, inaudible sound system, poor atmosphere despite the building being sold-out, and fiendishly uncomfortable seats that were farther from the action than they might have been given the moat concourse. It was also incredibly dark inside. I'm as guilty as anyone for romanticizing old arenas, but this isn't one I've ever dreamed about somehow getting back to for one more game.
12) Jack Gatecliff Arena, Niagara
The former Garden City Arena had uncomfortable slat seats, was incredibly difficult to get around in, and the less said about the parking situation, the better. Charitably, it was past its day, too small, and hosted the IceDogs for a lot longer than anyone would have liked, but it was also intimate as hell and was blessed at least with a great atmosphere. I am grateful for having gotten to see it for the CHL, which no one prior to 2007 would have ever guessed would happen again.
11) Moncton Coliseum, Moncton
Renovations sort of ruined the lower level, with poor leg room in the new seats. Moncton's crowds never generally made much noise, and the location on the fringe of the city wasn't the greatest, either. There was a certain 70's charm about the Coliseum, but the team upgraded a huge amount when they moved downtown. A blandly inoffensive mid-tier rink that wasn't old enough to be feted by preservationists, the Coliseum felt like it gracefully reached the end of its useful life and was replaced by something better.
10) Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto
As a CHL venue it was very cool to have the freedom to wander freely and explore every nook and cranny of the old lady on Carlton St. I went to a couple of Leafs games there in my youth, and that was something that was never possible for NHL games where every square inch of space was packed with seating and moving about the concourses was nearly impossible. It was a wonderful experience for teenage me to get to see two Majors games at the Gardens before it closed permanently, and it was a glorious NHL rink as well, but for junior... let's just say I wasn't there for the experience of seeing the Majors take on the Otters.
9) Verdun Auditorium, Montreal
Finally getting into the older junior rinks that I really liked, the Verdun Auditorium only hosted the Q again during my travelling years for three seasons, but it's still open, and in fact it was recently given a massive restoration. I'd love to see the Q come back someday. Pre-renovation it was still a solid junior hockey barn, with great views of the ice and the intimacy you'd expect from a pre-war auditorium. Post-renovation, if it came back into the CHL someday I can see myself ranking it quite highly, as I've been back to see the rink recently and it's in terrific, restored condition, maintaining its soul while being brought forward into the twenty-first century.
8) Arena Jacques-Plante, Shawinigan
A little bit of a disaster as a hockey rink given the forest of columns through which one had to watch the game, Shawinigan's old rink is the closest I've ever come to watching hockey in a museum. Apart from a battered old digital scoreboard in one end, there were basically zero signs in there that it was no longer the 1930's. And sure, the atmosphere was nothing special by Quebec standards, the seats were uncomfortable, the place was dirty and run-down, but I am so grateful I made it here for a game a few months before it closed. Very few things in life survive for so long in such an unchanged state.
7) Yardmen Arena, Belleville
Still open and now an AHL venue, the Yardmen was always a fun road trip, between the friendly fans and the small capacity which meant generally good views of the big ice. The AHL renovations have cost the Yardmen a little of the old charm, but it would easily be draftable back into service as an OHL venue if the Senators ever should move on. A solid mid-pack arena that wouldn't at all be out of place in today's CHL.
6) Mile One Stadium, St. John's
Mile One is an above average clone rink, with a larger capacity, a terrific downtown location a stone's throw away from the waterfront and the bars of George St., and an atmosphere that was always pretty solid in the year I lived in town. The economics of a team in Newfoundland are always going to be a challenge, but this was easily the nicest arena in Atlantic Canada prior to the Avenir Centre opening, and there's no facility-related argument why the Q couldn't someday come back.
5) Arena Robert-Guertin, Gatineau
I regret that I never got to see the Bob at its best, but by reputation this rink was a madhouse. What I saw on my lone visit was a well-preserved and intimate older rink with terrific views, but unfortunately I saw an early-season small crowd that wasn't particularly into the game. But it was still one of the better CHL classics, and it's a real shame that the city of Gatineau decided not to keep it open for community use after the new arena opened.
4) Windsor Arena, Windsor
One of the oldest arenas in the world at the time it closed, Windsor Arena was difficult to move around in, still had wooden bench seating throughout, had multiple obstructed views throughout the building at the back of the seating area, and was as run-down and decrepit as they come. But it also had one of the best, most intimidating hockey atmospheres I've ever encountered, terrific views of the ice, and was a living museum that you could feel the history and character of while inside. One cannot blame the city of Windsor for replacing their outdated relic of a barn, but I'm so glad to have gotten to see it while I could.
3) Sault Memorial Gardens, Sault Ste. Marie
Unlike some of the old arenas on this list, the city of Sault Ste. Marie put a great deal of money into building the Gardens when they did, and the streamline moderne architecture was stunning to see on my only visit up here in 2004. The war memorial was moving, concessions were cheap, atmosphere and sightlines were terrific. I'm sorry I only ever got to see it the one time, but I'm grateful to have seen it at all. One of the true classics in Ontario, and its loss is lamented.
2) Colisée de Québec, Québec
By any objective standard, this should be number one on the list. I saw it sold out, an NHL-sized crowd for junior hockey, in a rink where the seats were so on top of the action, so close, the fans were so loud. It was intimate in a way that it shouldn't have been possible for a 15,000 seat arena to be, and I absolutely loved my visit there. The only place I've ever been where an NHL-sized arena not only seemed to make sense for junior hockey, but seemed like it must be this way.
1) London Gardens, London
I never claimed to be objective. My old home rink, the place where I fell in love with junior hockey, where the crowds were insane and loud and into the game. Sure, it was run-down; sure, it was located in an industrial park on the edge of the city, and sure, by any objective standard it's hard to say it was number one in anything. But what I look for more than anything else in a hockey rink is intimacy, a sense of belonging, great crowd noise and loads of character, and the London Gardens was off the charts in all four categories. I miss it more than I can tell you.