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| - Being an enormous hockey fan, this was on my to-do list of touristy places to visit in Toronto, and it did not disappoint.
I did have a local friend who told me "oh yeah, that place is really only if you like old hockey stuff." I felt this was not true at all. There's plenty of old stuff, but there's just as much new stuff, too. Sometimes, you have to approach museum/tourist attractions like this with a certain mindset. It helps to really go all out and get into it.
Lee hadn't actually been here before, which I think disqualifies him from being a proper Canadian. I actually can totally understand why though -- I was born in San Francisco and never rode a cable car. I think he really enjoys seeing Toronto through the eyes of a newcomer, and he thoroughly enjoyed the experience as well.
There's a couple of different sections of the place. There's lots and lots of walls of hall of fame inductees, with memorabilia and detailed stats on their careers. There's a replica Habs locker room, which was pretty cool to just hang out in. There's a nice interactive area, with a couple of movies running, some games, a fun Sportsnet "be the broadcaster" booth and a bunch of goalie and shooting simulators that were really popular on the day we were there.
There's a little exhibit of the AHL and ECHL affiliations, which is a little bit out of date with the new alignment changes in those leagues, but I'll give 'em a pass.
Then there's the cathedral shrine section. That's really the best way to describe the room where all the trophies are kept. It has a cathedral ceiling with stained glass windows, and just a beautiful thing to behold on its own. All the various trophies are on display with information about the recipients. There's a lockable vault are where the Real Original Stanley Cup (the part that's on the very top of the current trophy) is kept, and then there's one of the cups in a spot that, if you are very cool about it, they'll let you have your picture taken with it.
I will say the one slight disappointment was that the gift shop was a little bit of a letdown -- I was hoping for more things from all of the teams, it was a bit more of an emphasis on Canadian teams. Totally understandable but, still.
Anyhow, this is for sure a must visit at least once if you are at all a fan of hockey.
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