Joe Louis Arena
Location: Detroit, MI
Opened: December 12, 1979
Seating Capacity: 20,027
I have covered all the NCAA ice arenas that I have played
in. Therefore, the next arena I will be writing about is the Joe Louis Arena
which is the former home of the Detroit Red Wings.
Joe Louis Arena was the home for the Detroit Red Wings since
its opening in 1979. It has been named one of the toughest arenas to play in in
the NHL. Most hockey fans referred to Detroit, and Joe Louis specifically, as
Hockeytown. The Red Wings won four Stanley Cups while playing at the arena and
they had an impressive 25 consecutive year playoff run that was snapped this
season. Maybe it was fitting that the playoff streak ended the same year as LittleCaesars Arena takes the title from the Joe as “Home of the Detroit Red Wings.”
I have watched the Red Wings play at Joe Louis arena
throughout my entire life. I have also skated there multiple times. Watching
the Wings play inspired me to be the player I am today. I fell in love with the
game of hockey partly by watching the winged-wheels on the Red Wings. I skated
in the Red Wings’ youth hockey camp when I was younger. I had the chance to
skate with some of the Wings’ coaching staff and gain some valuable lessons.
The first game I played at Joe Louis was with the Jackson Generals. This was a
youth team out of my hometown. I remember being super excited that I was going
to play on the same ice as Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Sergei Federov, and
Nicklas Lidstrom played on. I honestly can’t remember if we won or lost the
game, or even who we played for that matter. But I remember skating on the ice
and being in awe while looking at the legends who had their jerseys hanging in
the rafters.
The next game I played at the Joe was during my last year of
youth hockey for Victory Honda. I was much older this time around but that
still doesn’t change the way I felt about playing there. Sure, I had matured a
lot since the last time I skated there, but I still felt like a little kid
stepping onto that ice. I remember that I played with a vicious cough that
should have kept me out of the lineup, but there was no way in hell that I was
going to miss that game. Luckily, I played through it because it would be the
last time I ever play in the arena.
It should be obvious that the arena played like a
professional arena. The glass and boards are extremely forgiving. They’re so forgiving
that it almost makes you want to get hit into them…okay, maybe not that much.
But still, you get the point. The boards are very lively, and fans would always
hear Mickey Redmond and Ken Daniels mention that in their commentary. They
would always explain why players intentionally miss the net to make an indirect
pass to their teammates. The ice surface, however, was probably the best ice
that I have ever skated on. The Joe was famous for having the best sheet of ice
in the NHL. The staff took tremendous pride in the condition of the ice.
The Joe is considered one of the most historic arenas in the
entire NHL and I’m just thankful that I was fortunate enough to not only grow up
watching games there, but to also play in a few myself. The concourse is
similar to that of a junior hockey arena. It was simplistic and small compared
to modern arenas in the NHL; however, it had as much character as the best of
them. There were murals painted of legends who wore the Red Wings jersey,
pictures of Stanley Cup winning teams, and a sea of red walls and writing. Joe
Louis Arena will always be home to the eight-legged octopus that represented
the number of playoff wins it used to take to win the Stanley Cup. I was a huge
supporter of the arena, and I am sad to see it go, but hopefully Little Caesars
Arena lives up to its hype. Also, let’s hope that the Wings can get back to
their winning ways in their first season at the new arena because its
Hockeytown after all, right?
Let’s Go Red Wings!
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