How To Enjoy This NHL Season To The Fullest

We’ve just passed the quarter mark of the 2019-2020 NHL season. The Oilers have set the pace this season so far. If they can maintain their hot streak, they should be the favorites for the Stanley Cup. While it’s certainly been a great season for Oilers fans, it has also been entertaining for fans across the league.

There are many ways to enjoy watching the NHL. There is the thrill of watching games at an arena, the camaraderie of watching with friends at a local sports bar, and the tactical awareness and betting on your favorite team that comes from watching from your armchair. Each bring their own distinctive experience to the game.

As we approach the Winter months, the desire to venture outside might wane slightly. Starting from watching at home, let’s look at the various ways to enjoy this NHL season to the fullest.

Watching at home

There are few better feelings than putting on your favorite team’s jersey, grabbing a beverage from your kitchen and settling in front of the TV to watch your NHL team play. From the armchair you can watch without distractions.

You’ll notice trends in play, obvious mistakes and masterstrokes. The commentators will either voice your thoughts or frustrate you by missing the blatantly obvious. You can flick between games to see scores elsewhere if there other results that are important. At the end of the game, you turn to social media to post your thoughts on your teams performance.

Thanks to the modern age of media and connectivity, watching from home is a truly immersive experience. Every team in the NHL has an active online community, and it can be as enjoyable as sitting in a sports bar amongst fellow supporters.

For those that are general fans of the NHL, and not one specific team, online sportsbooks offer added intensity to games. You can bet on one game or multiple teams through a parlay. You’ll find yourself researching teams in the lower positions that you wouldn’t have had an interest in before.

Watching at a sports bar

As the season starts to heat up, you might embrace the cold to watch your team at the local sports bar. You could be in search of the matchday atmosphere or perhaps other people want to watch TV at home.

Finding the best local sports bar is essential to enjoying the experience. There needs to be a warm atmosphere and a loyal supporter group who can be expected at key games. An added bonus is if the sports bar has a decent menu for those pub fare meals before, during or after the game.

The risk with going to a sports bar is that you might be outnumbered by opposition fans. When winning, it’s a great experience, but when losing it can make you feel lonely and miserable. In a city that has two main rivals, it can be difficult to know which supporter group you’ll find until you arrive at the sports bar.

The best rule of thumb is to go with your friends who are fellow supporters. In that way you won’t be isolated and you’ll have others you can celebrate the highs and lows with. Wearing your team’s merchandise will also help others identify you as a fellow fan. You might leave with more friends than you arrived with.

Watching at an arena

Any NHL fan that has been fortunate enough to watch a game at their team’s arena will know that it is the ultimate way to enjoy the NHL. The feeling of walking through the turnstiles and finding your seats. Looking at the perfectly smooth ice rink, with the lightshow building the suspense. It can’t be beat.

If a trip to the arena is a once-off, you’re going to want to do it right. Different seats bring a different experience. If you sit five rows back behind the glass you’ll see all the goals on your side and a close up view of each player skating past and behind the goal. An added bonus is watching players being smashed on the boards in front of you, or the celebrations after a goal.

To have a consistent view of both goal posts, you might want to sit higher up in the lower bowl of the sideline. If you go too low down your view might be slightly obscured by player benches and the advertising boards.

If you want to enjoy food and comfort during the game then it’s best to sit above the lower bowl, often called Club seats at most arenas. The price might put most supporters off, but is an enjoyable experience having food and drink amenities within reach and the most comfortable seats in the arena.

If you’re going with the whole family, upper level seats might be a good option. There is still a good atmosphere up there, and you have a good sight of the whole rink. These tickets are usually the most economic, so make sure you get a good placement along a sideline.

Once you’ve found your seats, make sure to taste the arena’s menu. Different arenas offer varying catering options. For example, Rogers Arena offers lobster rolls and negroni, while the Staples Center offers fresh sushi and gluten-free beer. 

Whether you decide to brave the cold this Winter or prefer to watch from the comfort of your own home, make sure to enjoy this NHL season to the fullest.