Out and about with Eric Umphrey: The Hockey Hall of Fame
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August 1, 2019
Eric Umphrey
The ornate rococo architecture of the Hockey Hall of Fame makes a distinct impression as it sits nestled among the modern skyscrapers of downtown Toronto, Canada.
Located in downtown Toronto, Canada, the Hockey Hall of Fame is definitely worth a visit if you are a hockey fan. The museum takes up two floors. Most of the exhibits are on the first floor with the trophies and players who have been inducted on the second floor. There are exhibits for every team in the NHL. A special exhibit with a film covering the careers of Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe played on a loop. Another section covers hockey in the Olympic Games with jerseys representing each country.
A few exhibits show how the equipment has changed over the years. One features goalie masks that start out with little more than a single strap and light leather padding and range to the high tech masks of today that cover the whole head and are painted by the goalie's themselves.
Interactive games allow you to suit up with a goalie stick and glove in front of a net and try to stop a nerf puck. The players on a movie-sized screen dart, weave and pass the puck quickly so it is difficult to determine which hole the puck is coming out of. It may look easy but it's not. The five rectangular shaped holes the puck could be shot from at different angles kept everyone I watched guessing. A second game allows you to take shots against a virtual goalie. This game was also very well designed and required some skill to score.
The second floor holds the Stanley Cup which you could take pictures of or with. While there was a charge for a professional photo, there was no charge if you wanted to take the pictures yourself. Since a new ring is added to the Cup every year with the names of the players on the championship team, the older rings need to be stored somewhere. If this wasn't done the Cup would be the size of a building and you wouldn't see anyone lifting it.
The older rings, along with some of the older league trophies, are kept in a room that resembles a bank vault. Also, on this floor is a portrait of every player in the Hall of Fame and a short write-up of their career. It took roughly two hours to go through the two floors and was definitely worth the visit.
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