Kamloops resident Ed LaPierre kicks off his NHL Arena Tour at the American Airlines Centre in Dallas.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Ed LaPierre

Hockey fans dream of having the time and money to visit every NHL hockey arena and a Kamloops man is halfway through his tour.

Ed LaPierre's goal is to watch a game in all 32 NHL hockey arenas in North America.

“This didn’t start as a bucket list thing but turned into one, and has been an amazing experience,” LaPierre said.

LaPierre is widely known in the Tournament Capital as the owner at Lapper Security and for raising funds for local charities. He also sponsors young athletes and local sports teams.

“Team sports give kids something to focus on and look forward to,” he said. “If you have a hockey team growing up with the same kids and progress and move on, you still have those connections.”

In November, 2024, LaPierre went to Texas to watch Kamloops-raised Logan Stankoven play for the Dallas Stars, and had so much fun he committed to a full arena tour.

“Logan knew I would be there and came to see me after the game,” LaPierre said. “He's an amazing player and good human who gives back to his community. He has a huge following of supporters, there're a lot of fans wearing his jersey.”

Former Kamloops Blazers hockey player Logan Stankoven is spotted playing on his Dallas Stars team in Montreal on Jan. 11.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Ed LaPierre

To date, LaPierre has been to 15 arenas in Canada and the United States, donning a white jersey with "Arena Tour" written on the front and a big patch on the back to collect signatures from players.

At each arena he posts his observations on his Facebook page and adds photographs, to the delight of numerous residents back home following along, including some who take photos of LaPierre when he is caught on the hockey arena camera.

“It’s like a Where’s Waldo thing, it's fun, I try to pick my seats somewhere down below so someone will see me,” he said. “I stand out in my white jersey, sometimes I know I’m on camera and sometimes I don’t and get caught standing there looking dopy.”

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Kamloops resident Ed LaPierre was spotted on television standing behind the news desk for Prime Monday Night Hockey in Chicago on Jan. 13.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Ed LaPierre

LaPierre has had numerous memorable moments on his arena tour so far.

He went to the Hockey Hall of Fame and Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, was spotted on television standing behind the news desk for Prime Monday Night Hockey in Chicago and at a game in Buffalo, New York he collected a signature from starting goal tender James Reimer and a puck from one of the ice crew. 

Watching a game between Montreal and Dallas at the Bell Centre arena in Montreal was particularly special.

“The Canadiens were my father’s team and when I was young he came home with a hockey jersey and said I could have it if I knew whose number was on it,” he said. “The only player I knew as Guy LaFleur, number 10, so I guessed it which surprised my dad.

“I wore that jersey when I watched hockey with him and when I went to the team store at the arena the first shirt I saw had number 10 on it.”

He said the Bell Centre in Montreal is the best arena he has visited so far, "because they're so into the game."

At a Devils game in New Jersey, LaPierre saw the toughest fans.

“New Jersey fans booed their own team most of the game, they’re pretty tough on their players,” he said.

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On Feb. 4 he watched the Predators play the Ottawa Senators at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville when the signer was booed by American fans when she sang the Canadian anthem. This was in response to Canadian fans booing the American anthem at a Senators game just days before in response to heated politics between the two countries.

He doesn't agree with politics at the rink and believes it should be all about hockey.

LaPierre meets people who are curious about his jersey, and people who are also doing NHL arena tours.

“One guy in Nashville was commenting on my jersey, walking up behind me,” he said. “He has done 22 arenas so far, it has taken him ten years to do it.”

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LaPierre isn’t purchasing jerseys as he tours, it’s too expensive with jerseys costing more than $300 each, but he is grabbing pucks to bring home when he can.

When asked how much his arena tour costs, LaPierre said he isn’t keeping track.

“I really don’t even want to know,” he said. “The beer in stadiums is expensive, Uber is expensive especially in New York and the travel is pricey.”

LaPierre has lived in Kamloops most of his life, and while he didn’t grow up playing hockey, he has a big appreciation for the game. His favourite team is the Dallas Stars because of Stankoven.

“It’s the atmosphere hockey brings and the connections it makes with team mates, fans and community causes,” LaPierre said. “I started going to Blazers games and getting to know the players, and with Logan now playing for the Dallas Stars it brought it into focus and set me on my journey for the hockey tour to see what it’s all about everywhere.”

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Later this month, LaPierre is going to the TD Arena in Boston, and expects to have 19 arenas checked off his list by the end of the current regular season. He's hoping to have visited all the NHL arenas by next fall.

At the end of his tour, LaPierre said he'll remove the patch of signatures on the back of his jersey and put it in a frame.

— This article was corrected at 11:33 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. The original version incorrectly said Luke Bryan was booed while singing the U.S. national anthem.  

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