11. Compuware Arena - Plymouth - OHL
If this was still a current building in the CHL it would be extremely low on the all 60 rankings. The place feels like, and is designed like, a warehouse. It was built on the cheap and quick, in a not so great location in the far suburbs of Detroit. The seating angle is way too shallow, the PA announcer was very annoying and the atmosphere was usually a dud, though I should say there were a few times it got decently loud in there. The concourse was wide as hell on the sides and corners but narrow in the ends. Getting around usually wasn't too hard with the small crowds. The biggest positive was the awesome restaurant attached to the rink, which has some of the best pizza I've ever eaten.
10. Jack Gatecliff Arena - Niagara - OHL
The Jack was a dump, plain and simple. The seats were tight two-man benches and I usually preferred to buy a standing room spot, though some of those had obstructed views. It was a giant pain in the ass to navigate around and concessions were very poor, which were at one point during the IceDogs tenure temporarily shut down by the health department! Also, while downtown adjacent, it wasn't exactly close to anything except apartment buildings. The lone saving grace of the Jack was the atmosphere, which was incredible, and the rink was intimate as hell. I can't imagine being at a smaller place in the modern day OHL other than St. Mikes (which I missed out on).
9. Canadian Tire Centre - Ottawa - OHL
For years the 67's played the odd home game here during the playoffs when their own building was booked. But it became a semi-permanent home for two full seasons during Civic Centre's renovations. During that time the 67's were also bad, missing the playoffs both seasons and losing much of the core fan base who didn't want to travel to Kanata. Even as an NHL building this place isn't very good, as it's large and cavernous. For an OHL game even the crowd of 5,000 felt small and it had no atmosphere whatsoever. On top of it all its location is horrible and getting out after the game can take forever.
8. Joe Louis Arena – Detroit - OHL
I didn't get to a game here during its OHL heyday of the early/mid 90's when it was an actual home rink to the Junior Red Wings. But I did get to go for its final OHL one off between Windsor and Saginaw. It was a small crowd that lacked atmosphere, and the Joe was a bit of a dump to boot. That said it was built with hockey in mind, which means it had fantastic views of the game. Also some of the Junior Red Wings crowds back in the day were sold out and rabid. This beats out Ottawa just for being a better hockey rink alone.
7. Paramount Fine Foods Centre – Mississauga - OHL
Mississauga is a good modern clone arena now past its 25th birthday. If the rink ever had a stable team with a good fan base and atmosphere it would've been a much better experience. As it was, the building had a revolving door of teams with little to no fans or atmosphere to it, and it just mostly felt like a generic experience. That's not to mention the awful location in an industrial park with nothing around it, and no easy access to the highway within spitting distance. My very first OHL game was here on October 28, 2001 so it will always hold a special place in my heart for that alone. Plus, with it being so close to where I grew up in Brampton, I ended up going to 50 games here over the years. That's not because it was an awesome experience, but because it was close and tickets were easy to get at the door.
6. First Ontario Centre - Hamilton - OHL
A much too big 1980's NHL-calibre rink that the NHL quickly outgrew and never came to, beyond the odd one off. 15,000 seats is way too big for junior hockey, and it lacked all the fancy things you see in modern day buildings like in Quebec or Edmonton. Bulldogs crowds did try though, as the atmosphere for playoff games got to be pretty good, and I was present with some 11,000 others for Game 7 of the OHL final which was a cool experience. Seating felt like it was a bit too far back from the ice for my taste. The video board by the end was starting to feel pretty old as well.
5. Yardmen Arena – Belleville - OHL
Despite having the largest ice surface in the OHL at Olympic size, this was one of the smallest arenas in the O. During its OHL years it was basically just two grandstands down the sides with only standing room in the ends at ice level and an elevated walkway that doubled as the concourse. There was also a pair of small balconies overhead which made the seats at the top of the main grandstand obstructed view. Most of the seats had great views of the ice, especially up in the balcony. This felt like the most Mom 'N Pop operation in the OHL but in a nice charming way. The atmosphere most of the time was very good, and the fans had a reputation for being friendly as well. Lots of fan-made signs would hang from walls that could be seen in the stands, which gave it a much more old school atmosphere.
4. Arena Robert Guertin – Gatineau - QMJHL
In the final years of "The Bob" the crowds and atmosphere lacked a bit as the team had many lean years. I got very lucky in that A: thanks to the pandemic that hit about a month later, I was at one of the last handful of regular season games to take place here. And B: with top ranked prospect Alexis Lafrenière playing for the visiting Rimouski Oceanic, I got a then-rare sold-out crowd. The Bob was a small building and laid out a bit poorly. The huge crowd made getting around very difficult and slow. But during the game all of that was forgotten as the views were incredible and it felt like stepping back in time. No I couldn't understand any of the French announcements, and there was no video board to help understand things I might've missed, but it was an awesome hockey-watching experience that I am grateful to have gotten before the arena was closed and demolished some years later.
3. Windsor Arena – Windsor - OHL
The Madhouse on McDougall, or just simply "The Barn". Windsor Arena was a dump by its end when I got to my lone game here in October 2008. But like Gatineau above, what an awesome hockey-watching experience that you just don't get anymore. While this was no longer the heyday of the Windsor crazies (which being a visiting fan I was thankful for), the atmosphere was still terrific and the incredibly steep seating put you right on top of the action, even sitting high up like we were. It was uncomfortable, hard to get around and had zero modern amenities, but it was awesome.
2. Moda Center – Portland - WHL
This rink is the total opposite of the last couple, except in atmosphere. I was shocked to be at a WHL game in an NHL-sized arena but still have a large crowd with a fantastic atmosphere for a season-opening game. On top of the great atmosphere, it had all the modern comforts a fan could want with insanely comfortable seating, luxurious wide concourses, video boards, you name it. The seats for a lower bowl were steeper than I would've expected as well. The Winterhawks true home is and always was next door at the Coliseum, and the Hawks are better off playing there. But for a new modern facility of NHL size, this was the Ritz.
1. Colisée Pepsi – Quebec - QMJHL
It's hard to put into words how awesome the Colisée was. My only games here were for a Memorial Cup, so some didn't even involve the Remparts, but it didn't matter. It had seating so steep it probably legally can't be built like that anymore, and a rowdy Québecois crowd that had the atmosphere at eleven. Despite its old age I found it fairly easy to get around, with large concourses and tons of great food options. Side note, it had easily the best poutine at an arena I've ever eaten. The Colisée was a gem and I was incredibly fortunate to go to the last few hockey games ever played there.