Hockey Schools in Canada

Learn in a country where hockey is the national sport

hockey-prep-schools — B. Busco/Getty Images

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Updated on October 27, 2019

Hockey and prep schools go together like ice and a puck, especially in our neighbor to the north, Canada. If your child is serious about playing professional hockey someday, then you need to consider a prep school in Canada. Most prep schools integrate their athletics programs into the schedule of daily activities. The facilities are usually excellent, as is the coaching. The result is plenty of practice and game time. That's hard to duplicate in public schools with their tight budgets and other considerations.

This list of Canadian hockey prep schools is a starting point in your search for the right school north of the border.

Article updated by Stacy Jagodowski

Banff Hockey Academy, Banff, Alberta

A hockey school set in the Canadian Rockies is a great option. Banff is not as easy to get to as Toronto or Ottawa. Leaving that aside, BHA offers a strong program that will develop your child's hockey skills at the same time as it sharpens his academics. There is great skiing nearby, too.

Bishop's College School, Lenoxville, Quebec

BCS has been around since 1836. It's coed. The location south of the hockey capital of the world, Montreal, is sans pareil. Your son or daughter will get great coaching and plenty of ice time. Add to that solid academics and the incredible skiing available minutes away in the Eastern Townships, and you'll understand why BCS needs to be on your short list of schools to consider.

Harrington College of Canada, Harrington, Quebec

Check out the gorgeous, rural setting of Harrington College. Harrington offers your child an extremely focused and intense approach to hockey. He will live, breath, drink and eat the sport. If that's too much for him, then you may want to consider looking at other schools with less intense programs.

Ridley College, Saint Catherines, Ontario

Ridley College offers a balanced, coed approach to athletics and academics. The location in the sunny peach belt of Ontario offers easy access from Buffalo, New York or Hamilton, and Toronto airports.

Rothesay Netherwood School, Rothesay, New Brunswick

Hockey at Rothesay Netherwood School. Photo © Rothesay Netherwood School

Rothesay Netherwood School has been around in one form or another since 1877. The school offers solid academics as evidenced by the fact that it has been an IB World School since 1968. In addition, it has a fine athletics program that includes some serious hockey. RNS is located in the Maritimes and is easily accessible by both car and air from the northeastern U.S. states.

Saint Andrew's College, Aurora, Ontario

Saint Andrew's College offers a complete athletics program for your son. So, if he is thinking about hockey long term, but also loves squash and basketball, this school should be on your short list. SAC is close to all of Toronto's vast array of cultural and sporting activities.

Saint John's-Ravencourt School, Winnipeg

St. John's is not noted as a hockey school, but it offers so many other wonderful attributes including a plethora of alums who are Rhodes Scholars, that it has to be on your list. Winnipeg is a little far afield, but that is a very small minus.

Stanstead College, Stanstead, Quebec

Stanstead is coed and has a reputation as one of the top hockey programs, having developed a competitive program in Eastern Canada, with excellent training and an intensive schedule against competitive prep schools in areas including in New England and beyond.

Blyth Academy, Various Locations in Canada

With 14 locations throughout the globe, including Canada, this school has ample programs to meet students' needs. Serious athletes can choose the level of training they desire and enroll in one of two types of programs, each offering elite hockey training. According to the school's website:

"The benefits of participating in the hockey training program during the school day is that it allows the students the time to focus on their academics and balance the time spent between home, school, and community."

Blyth offers hockey programs at the CIHA Academy and Burlington Hockey Academy, as well as locations at their Downsview Park and London campuses.