Smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee was like a part-time job at OCAD University. One does not simply attend art school and not indirectly attain an Honours degree in enjoying the refreshing bite of a Belmont Mild accompanied by a piping hot, black Colombian mountain-grown arabica between classes. Yeah, sitting in Butterfield Park with a cup of java in hand was an important part of my daily life for the better part of half a decade.
Nearly 12 years later, I find myself a fully fledged hockey dad. With two kids playing competitive hockey in different leagues, I see my fair share of ice time as a volunteer trainer, endure Sandstorm by Darude in the truck more times than I care to admit, and yell the word ‘skate!’ approximately – and this is the honest-to-god truth – 60 times per week to what I deem to be selectively deaf ears.
Arena life is a simple life. The fluorescent lights, the purr of the Zamboni, the smell of the room, the banter of tiny voices uttering innocent, low-grade chirps about ‘dust,’ ‘flow,’ and ‘cheese,’ are smile-earning high points on a fast-paced sporting environment that can, sometimes, take itself much too seriously. As a lifelong skateboarder with a penchant for anti-establishmentarianism, the local hockey arena at 6:30am on a Thursday, ironically where I find myself writing this caffeine-centric manifesto, is not where I envisioned myself spending my time. Call it karma for all the shit I talked about hockey players and their backward, unsavoury bro culture growing up, but here I am. Alas, my eyes have been opened – this is one hell of a beautiful game.
There’s something undeniably charming about a cup of rink drink. In my last three years of hockey parent-dom, I’ve had the pleasure of sampling innumerable [cups]. Some good, some inexcusably bad. But that’s the beautiful thing – if it’s bad, I somehow appreciate it more.
Art schools and hockey arenas have one thing very close in common: the consistent availability of coffee – unless, of course, you’re the Julie McArthur Regional Recreation Centre in Owen Sound, where obtaining a cup of jitter juice means navigating an oh-so-cramped jungle of a parking lot and leaving the property to idle in line at the 10th Street Tim Hortons and either being late for, or missing, the very practice or game you set out to attend. Coffee, even a terrible one, in the realm of hockey parents is paramount.
You’ve seen the old Bunn-O-Matic machines in arena concession stands throughout your life. They’re the unsung percolating heroes of community centre kitchens, funerals, church fundraisers, school cafeterias and all-day breakfast diners scattered across North America. They’re the 1980’s Toyota pickup of the kitchen appliance world, always chugging along and never missing the chance to lend a jolt to a weary hockey parent at a weekend tournament. These machines, at home in tiny and efficient commercial kitchens are mother to The Rink Drink—an iconic, special brew, championed by a no-nonsense blue collar ethos – you get what you get, and you don’t get upset. If you don’t like it, kick rocks; there’s a high-priced coffee shop across town you’re more than welcome to wander off to.
There’s something undeniably charming about a cup of rink drink. In my last three years of hockey parent-dom, I’ve had the pleasure of sampling innumerable rink drinks. Some good, some inexcusably bad. But that’s the beautiful thing – if it’s bad, I somehow appreciate it more. With or without the option for a plastic thimble of cream or a dried-out packet of sugar, if there’s a concession stand, I’m ordering, and enjoying, a coffee—it doesn’t really matter if it sometimes tastes like steeped sawdust. In the hustle of a 6am hotel wake-up call and navigating a foreign highway system wondering if you remembered your kids’ away jersey, you don’t have time to stop for a coffee – you set yourself and your needs aside and make sure your kid is at the rink on-time. When their skates are on, you can take a well-deserved, exhaustive sigh and find yourself some hot, steeped bean water.
In order, here are my humble picks for the top 10 purveyors of rink drink in the southern Ontario OWHA circuit (Go Ice Hawks):
10. Durham Community Centre & Arena
Coffee was alright, I say with a satisfied shrug. Home of the Thundercats, the upstairs concession stand made my son a killer box of fries at, like, 7:30am. Kudos.
9. London Sports Park, London ON
An absolute specimen of a facility, complete with a centralized bar (for night games, you yahoos) and massive viewing windows between two ice pads, the coffee was a surprising high-point of last season’s March tournament. A touch burnt, but something about that zest of carbon seemed to accent the Genius Loci of the space oh-so perfectly.
8. Markdale Complex Community Centre & Arena
A great old barn with a tiny, simple concession stand serving up hot food and coffee. Would drink again, and the gent serving it was a joy to chat with.
7. Ripley-Huron Community Centre, Ripley ON
What. A. Barn. The wooden beams, the wide hallways, the prominently displayed portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in the upstairs concert hall – and the concession stand under the stairs. Ripley serves up a decent cup of rink drink; it’s good and hot, and that’s all you want after you’ve white-knuckled a drive from Kincardine at 7am during a blizzard.
6. Howick Community Centre & Library, Gorrie ON
Where you can hone your hockey skills and sharpen your mind, the Howick arena makes a MEAN walking taco, aka Doritos in a bag dressed as a taco. I tip my hat to the chess move. The hockey here is good. The coffee is darn good too; over a two day tournament, I didn’t feel the need to bring coffee from home on day two.
5. Davidson Centre, Kincardine ON
Spectacular arena, great community, and the Kincardine Kinucks have arguably the coolest jerseys in the league. The concession stand serves up a very acceptable cup of rink drink. 6.8 mini-stick ankle slashes out of 10.
4. Wiarton Community Centre & Arena
An old school hometown style barn, this place hits. At a recent U8 jamboree the concession stand was bumpin’. I’ll add an asterisk here, as I didn’t sample the coffee myself, but heard first hand accounts of its quality. Wiarton makes the list because any arena churning out Sullivan’s sausages (IYKYK) on a bun gets the proverbial nod.
3. Alder Street Recreation Centre, Orangeville ON
Almost my #2, the Orangeville barn is one wild facility. The coffee here was great, and the spectator heat was on! Hallelujah! I felt like a Kennedy sipping Courvoisier rather than a sleep-deprived cheerleader in a minor league hockey sweater. A special shout out goes to Mel at the aptly named Mel’s Sharpening, who saved the day mid-tourney with his on-premises operation.
2. Wilmot Recreation Complex, Baden ON
OK – the rest of us need to stop and take notes. The Wilmot Rec Complex is legit. A huge facility with small town sensibility (KD on the menu? Hell yes) this place had a line-up at the concession stand all weekend. The coffee was great – I topped up before leaving. Enough said.
1. P&H Centre, Hanover ON
Without a doubt, the undisputed champion of hockey parent caffeine suppliers, is the Hanover P&H Centre. If I were a Hanover local, I would literally go to the Community Centre for the rink-side breakfast and coffee on the regular. We’re talking bacon, toast, eggs, the whole shebang. Hot, robust, and flavourful – it’s the champ of local hockey rink drink.
—
Words by Nelson Phillips
