Community recognition follows another successful Governors’ Showcase at the Gale Centre
MISSISSAUGA, ON – October 14, 2026 – The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is proud to recognize Niagara Falls in its Places We Play community spotlight series, celebrating the people, programs and arenas that help build the game across the league.
Home of the Niagara Falls Canucks, the Gale Centre Arena is a gathering place for local players, families, coaches, volunteers and fans. It has also hosted the OJHL Governors’ Showcase since 2024, welcoming the league back last week with tremendous hospitality.
The Gale Centre features four ice pads and has also welcomed Hockey Canada’s National Junior Team and the Toronto Maple Leafs for training camps, connecting Niagara Falls’ local hockey community with the national and professional game.
The OJHL extends its sincere appreciation to the City of Niagara Falls, Gale Centre staff, Niagara Falls Canucks organization and everyone who contributed to hosting this year’s event. Their preparation, support and welcoming atmosphere helped make the Showcase a success and reflected the community’s pride in the game.
Places We Play also recognizes the minor hockey programs that help shape Niagara Falls’ hockey community, including the Niagara Falls Minor Hockey Association and its Canucks teams, along with the Niagara Rapids Girls Hockey Association.
Behind these programs are coaches who give their time, families who make early mornings possible and volunteers who create opportunities for young players to learn, compete and develop a love for hockey.
From first shifts in minor hockey to competing at the Junior A level, these connections are central to the Places We Play series. Niagara Falls demonstrates how a hockey community can support its own players while welcoming teams and visitors from across the league.
The series brings the OJHL Standard We Strengthen Communities to life by highlighting the relationships between OJHL clubs, their hometowns and the minor hockey programs building the next generation.
Places We Play will continue throughout the season, celebrating the people, programs and places that make each OJHL community unique.
From first shifts to the next level.
That’s the OJHL Standard.
Made for More.
About the OJHL – “Made for More”
In this league, we don’t just talk about the next level – we prepare for it every day. The OJHL is a Junior A hockey league built around one shared standard: developing players who are ready for what comes next, in hockey and in life. We push each other toward NCAA, OHL, U SPORTS (CIS), and ultimately professional hockey across North America and Europe – and we take pride in knowing 38 of our alumni are currently in the NHL, more than any other CJHL league. But the expectation here goes beyond the ice. We show up for each other through the OJHL Foundation and our 1st and 2nd Assist programs, because development doesn’t stop when practice ends. This is a player-first environment, not as a slogan, but as how we operate. Inside this room, we understand what it means to carry the standard forward – and to make sure the group behind us is even stronger than the one before it
For more information:
Noah Vandervinne
Director, Marketing & Events
Ontario Junior Hockey League
905-706-8987
nvandervinne@theojhl.ca
