West of the canal
Nepean and Barrhaven hockey training
Skills, power skating, camps and drop-in on the west side of the canal — every program at Walter Baker, Minto, the Sportsplex and the Stittsville rinks, in one list.
If you live in Barrhaven or Nepean, you already know the pattern: the good skills sessions seem to be in Kanata, and the ones near you are word-of-mouth. It's less lopsided than it feels — there are currently 23 public sessions running at rinks on this side of town. Here's all of them.
The rinks
- Walter Baker Sports Centre (100 Malvern Dr, Barrhaven) — two pads, the default home for Barrhaven skills and edge work.
- Minto Recreation Complex (3500 Cambrian Rd, Barrhaven) — newer twin pad in Half Moon Bay, heavy weeknight programming.
- Nepean Sportsplex (1701 Woodroffe Ave) — three pads, the big one; camps and league play.
- Cardel Rec Complex (1500 Shea Rd, Stittsville) — technically the far west end, but a realistic drive from Barrhaven via Fallowfield.
- Bell Centennial Arena (50 Cassidy Rd, Bells Corners) — small, old, and quietly hosts a lot of ice.
What's actually available here
Sessions by rink, west of the canal
Public sessions currently listed at Nepean, Barrhaven and Stittsville arenas.
The mix out here skews to weeknight skills and edge work rather than full-week camps — the private complexes that run camp programming are mostly in Kanata and Gloucester. For a Barrhaven family, that usually means training locally through the season and travelling for a camp week or two in the summer.
Every session in the catchment
| Session | Where | Format | Ages | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Edgework & Puck Control Fall 2026 Classes (Bell Centennial)Fri, Oct 9 · Apex Hockey Ottawa | Bell Centennial ArenaNepean | Drop-in | U11–U16 | $52 |
| Advanced Edgework & Puck Control Fall 2026 Classes (Bell Centennial)Fri, Oct 16 · Apex Hockey Ottawa | Bell Centennial ArenaNepean | Drop-in | U11–U16 | $52 |
| Advanced Edgework & Puck Control Fall 2026 Classes (Bell Centennial)Fri, Oct 23 · Apex Hockey Ottawa | Bell Centennial ArenaNepean | Drop-in | U11–U16 | $52 |
| Advanced Edgework & Puck Control Fall 2026 Classes (Bell Centennial)Fri, Oct 30 · Apex Hockey Ottawa | Bell Centennial ArenaNepean | Drop-in | U11–U16 | $52 |
| Advanced Edgework & Puck Control Fall 2026 Classes (Bell Centennial)Fri, Nov 6 · Apex Hockey Ottawa | Bell Centennial ArenaNepean | Drop-in | U11–U16 | $52 |
| Advanced Edgework & Puck Control Fall 2026 Classes (Bell Centennial)Fri, Nov 13 · Apex Hockey Ottawa | Bell Centennial ArenaNepean | Drop-in | U11–U16 | $52 |
| Small Area Movement Program - Winter 2026 (Minto Recreation Complex)Mon, Nov 16 · Perfect Skating Ottawa | Minto Recreation ComplexBarrhaven | Series | All ages | $700 |
| Perfect Skating Program - Winter 2026 (Minto Recreation Complex)Mon, Nov 16 · Perfect Skating Ottawa | Minto Recreation ComplexBarrhaven | Series | All ages | $700 |
| Perfect Skating Program - Winter 2026Tue, Nov 17 · Perfect Skating Ottawa | Minto Recreation ComplexBarrhaven | Series | All ages | $700 |
| Small Area Movement Program - Winter 2026Tue, Nov 17 · Perfect Skating Ottawa | Minto Recreation ComplexBarrhaven | Series | All ages | $700 |
| Small Area Movement Program - Winter 2026Tue, Nov 17 · Perfect Skating Ottawa | Minto Recreation ComplexBarrhaven | Series | All ages | $700 |
| Perfect Skating Program - Winter 2026Tue, Nov 17 · Perfect Skating Ottawa | Minto Recreation ComplexBarrhaven | Series | All ages | $700 |
| Perfect Skating Program - Winter 2026Thu, Nov 19 · Perfect Skating Ottawa | Walter Baker Sports CentreBarrhaven | Series | All ages | $700 |
| Perfect Skating Program - Winter 2026Thu, Nov 19 · Perfect Skating Ottawa | Walter Baker Sports CentreBarrhaven | Series | All ages | $700 |
| Perfect Skating Program - Winter 2026Thu, Nov 19 · Perfect Skating Ottawa | Minto Recreation ComplexBarrhaven | Series | All ages | $700 |
| Small Area Movement Program - Winter 2026Thu, Nov 19 · Perfect Skating Ottawa | Walter Baker Sports CentreBarrhaven | Series | All ages | $700 |
| Small Area Movement Program - Winter 2026Thu, Nov 19 · Perfect Skating Ottawa | Walter Baker Sports CentreBarrhaven | Series | All ages | $700 |
| Small Area Movement Program - Winter 2026Thu, Nov 19 · Perfect Skating Ottawa | Minto Recreation ComplexBarrhaven | Series | All ages | $700 |
| Advanced Edgework & Puck Control Fall 2026 Classes (Bell Centennial)Fri, Nov 20 · Apex Hockey Ottawa | Bell Centennial ArenaNepean | Drop-in | U11–U16 | $52 |
| Advanced Edgework & Puck Control Fall 2026 Classes (Bell Centennial)Fri, Nov 27 · Apex Hockey Ottawa | Bell Centennial ArenaNepean | Drop-in | U11–U16 | $52 |
| Advanced Edgework & Puck Control Fall 2026 Classes (Bell Centennial)Fri, Dec 4 · Apex Hockey Ottawa | Bell Centennial ArenaNepean | Drop-in | U11–U16 | $52 |
| Advanced Edgework & Puck Control Fall 2026 Classes (Bell Centennial)Fri, Dec 11 · Apex Hockey Ottawa | Bell Centennial ArenaNepean | Drop-in | U11–U16 | $52 |
| Advanced Edgework & Puck Control Fall 2026 Classes (Bell Centennial)Fri, Dec 18 · Apex Hockey Ottawa | Bell Centennial ArenaNepean | Drop-in | U11–U16 | $52 |
Staying local vs. driving to Kanata
Where Ottawa's ice programming sits
All public sessions currently listed, by part of town.
Kanata's total is inflated by two large private complexes (Bell and Richcraft Sensplex) that program their own ice year-round.
Kanata carries roughly 69% of the listed sessions in the city, west-end rinks about 9%. The honest advice: for a weekly commitment, stay local — a 7:15pm skate in Kanata on a Tuesday in February is a two-hour round trip and the player is the one paying for it. For a one-week camp, the drive is fine.
Picking a program by age
- U9 and under. Fundamentals and edges. Frequency beats intensity — one hour a week all season does more than a heavy March.
- U11–U13. The years where a dedicated power skating block actually shows up in games. Pair it with unstructured drop-in, not with more structure.
- U15+. Speed, edge under load, and position-specific work. Look for sessions that band by level (A / AA / AAA), not just by birth year.
See only what's near you
Filter the PuckFinder feed to Walter Baker, Minto, the Sportsplex or Cardel and you'll see every session at those rinks your kid can actually register for.
Keep reading
- Power skating in Ottawa, every program compared — Every skating, edge and speed program in Ottawa, side by side, with what actually improves a stride.
- Ottawa hockey camps, by neighbourhood, age and price — Every public camp in the city — price, rink, birth years and dates, updated daily.
- Drop-in hockey in Ottawa this week — The next seven days of drop-in, shinny and skills sessions across Ottawa.