Visited QMJHL Arenas
Palais des Sports de Saguenay - Jonquière, QC
The Palais des Sports de Saguenay is about three years older than its cousin, the Centre Georges-Vézina, which has always been the home of the nearby Chicoutimi Saguenéens. The CGV is a bit bigger, and has a grander feeling to it. The Palais des Sports has been used on a couple of occasions by the Sags. First, for a one-off game in 1997 to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the town of Jonquière, which is part of the Saguenay region, and again for a handful of games in early 2018 because the roof was deemed unsafe at the Georges Vezina. The roof was repaired quickly, and the Sags have not returned to Jonquière since. The Palais des Sports did see a massive renovation in the 90s, which has it feeling a bit newer than the CGV. One would imagine if the CGV ever falters again before a newer rink can be built to replace it, then the Sags could return one day. Until then it is home to the LNAH Marquis.
Colisée de Laval - Laval, QC
It’s hard to believe that such a small, out of the way arena in a quiet residential neighborhood in the far east end of Laval was at one time home to the junior hockey powerhouse that was the Laval National/Voisins/Titan (they changed names a lot despite success). It was on this ice that legends such as Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy played in the QMJHL. The Titan left in 1997 for Bathurst, New Brunswick and today the rink is home to the LNAH Petroliers du Nord. In November 2025 I stopped by to check the rink out on my way to an ECHL game in Trois-Rivières. I noticed on the schedule that the Petroliers had a home game that afternoon, but no matter, because puck drop wasn’t scheduled for another four hours. Imagine my shock when I rolled up to the arena to find the parking lot absolutely rammed and people headed inside. Well, it was probably minor hockey going on in the early afternoon before the LNAH game, right? Nope! I could not get inside without buying a $25 ticket to that afternoon’s game. The rink was loud with fans FOUR HOURS before the game! As I left in defeat to head to Trois-Rivières I couldn’t help but think I would maybe have a better time (and atmosphere) if I just stayed in Laval for the game as opposed to going to the ECHL game, which I figured would (and did) have a very small crowd making no noise. Maybe I should give the LNAH a shot one day?
Colisée Jean-Béliveau - Longueuil, QC
The Colisée Jean-Béliveau was built in 1968 and is very similar to the now demolished Moose Jaw Civic Centre, known as the crushed can. The difference between Moose Jaw and Longueuil is most of the seats are on one side of the arena in Longueuil, and they are incredibly steep. The other side of the stands only go up a few rows. The rink was the home of two different QMJHL franchises, the Chevaliers from 1982-1987 and the Collège Français from 1988-1994. I visited the rink in November 2022 before going to a Habs game that night in Montreal.
Moncton Coliseum - Moncton, NB
The Moncton Coliseum was built in 1973 near the western edge of Moncton and hosted four different AHL teams from 1978 till 1994, when the AHL started slowly moving away from Atlantic Canada. In 1995 the rink became home to the second QMJHL franchise in the Maritimes after Halifax got the Mooseheads one year prior. The Moncton Alpines were a disaster and were close to folding before new ownership took over in the spring of 1996 and changed the team’s identity to the Wildcats. They remain a respected and successful member of the QMJHL to this day. The Wildcats moved out of the Coliseum in 2018 when the Avenir Centre opened downtown. Despite the new arena downtown, the Coliseum continues on and still hosts minor hockey and trade shows. I quickly stopped in before my Wildcats game the the Avenir Centre in October 2023. The rink was locked up, but the adjacent hall had a book show set up next door. We went into the book show and then walked through the Zamboni door to see the rink. A city worker was none too happy to see us, we explained we just wanted a quick look at the Coliseum and we were permitted to look for a few minutes from the Zamboni area only and quickly left.
PEPS - Quebec City, QC
The Pavillon de l’éducation physique et des sports de l’Université Laval, or simply PEPS, is located on the campus of the University of Laval. PEPS was the original home of the reborn Quebec Remparts in 1997 until they returned to the massive Colisée in 1999. The two seasons at PEPS were basically a trial run to see if the new Remparts would catch on in a post-NHL world in the city. It was an odd choice to say the least. Seating at PEPS is laid out in a reverse J shape, and the seating is incredibly steep. Along the bench side sits a giant wall which can actually retract so that the ice surface behind it can be connected to the ice surface in the spectator area for a bigger surface for long track speed skating. The rink these days is host to the University’s hockey team.
Aréna Jacques-Laperrière - Rouyn Noranda, QC
The Aréna Jacques-Laperrière is more of a footnote of recent QMJHL history. Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec used to be two separate towns, Rouyn AND Noranda. Each had arenas of similar sizes. Aréna Jacques-Laperrière sits in what was the town of Rouyn, while Noranda had Dave Keon Arena where the QMJHL’s Huskies elected to call their home when they got to the now amalgamated city of Rouyn-Noranda in 1996. In 2011 the Dave Keon Arena underwent some massive renovations that went a bit overtime, so the Huskies played a few games here while the renovations at their home were completed. Naturally I stopped in for a look a few hours before the Huskies game I went to in November 2021.
Stade L. P. Gaucher - St Hyacinthe, QC
One of the most used phrases on this website is post-war arena. Well the Stade L.P. Gaucher is one of the oldest operating arenas left in Canada, as it was built before World War II in 1937. Considering the arena is approaching its 90th birthday it is still in very good shape as of my visit on a bitterly cold day in February 2020. The roof is a wooden barrel arch and the 2,000 or so seats in the arena are all wooden benches painted in bright primary colours. Despite the arena’s long history, it only hosted the QMJHL from 1989 to 1996 when the St. Hyacinthe Laser called the arena home. During that time Martin Brodeur played for the Laser, and a retired banner hangs in the rafters for him. The Laser left in 1996 to become the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The rink is likely too small for the modern day QMJHL to ever to return, but I was happy to take a quick peek inside.
Colisée Jean-Guy Talbot - Trois-Rivières, QC
Originally, and more well known as simply the Colisée de Trois-Rivières, it was renamed for Jean-Guy Talbot in 2021. The arena sits on the city’s fairgrounds just behind the back stretch of a horse racing facility, while the street between the arena and said horse track is actually the start/finish straight for the historical Trois-Rivières Grand Prix or simply GP3R. The arena was built in 1938, has a capacity of about 3,500, and has obviously seen much better days. I originally stopped into the rink during the fall of 2018, but was back in town in 2025 for an ECHL game at the nearby Colisee Videotron so I checked in again. Even in that 7 year span the exterior of the rink was looking much more weathered. The interior, while old and run down still, is doing quite alright for a rink built before World War II. The QMJHL’s Draveurs called the arena home from their inception as the Ducs in 1969 until 1992 when the team moved to Sherbrooke. The team was successful, winning back-to-back league championships in 1978 & 1979. The arena certainly isn’t up to modern day QMJHL standards, but I’ve also seen worse rinks used as a temporary venue. However with the new Colisée Videotron now operational since 2021, it seems very unlikely that a level of hockey higher than the local University team will ever return to the old barn. One wonders how long it will last before meeting the wrecking ball one day.
Trois-Rivières feels like the biggest QMJHL omission inside la Belle Province, but the Q is unlikely to return as long as the ECHL’s Lions call the city home. Plus, word is nearby Shawinigan would not be thrilled with another Q team inside what they believe is now their territory.
