Canada's Aidan Dudas and Joel Hofer are greeted by Canadian fans as they walk to the ice.
photo: Andrea Cardin / HHOF-IIHF Images
John and Rita Carroll had an idea. They saw how successful the IIHF World Junior Championship had been in Winnipeg in 1999 and dreamed up an opportunity.
“We thought it would be a good idea to get a group together for the next World Juniors in Europe,” John explained Saturday afternoon at a group reception for the nearly 800 Canadians he has brought over to Ostrava.
“We thought it would be a good idea to get a group together for the next World Juniors in Europe,” John explained Saturday afternoon at a group reception for the nearly 800 Canadians he has brought over to Ostrava.
Almost 800 fans travelled to Ostrava with the group from Destiny Tours, here pictured at the reception event.
photo: Martin Merk
“It hadn’t been done before, so we approached Hockey Canada and Denis Hainault, who was the director of High Performance, responded. He said it was good timing because they wanted someone to look after the parents and families of the players. It worked out, and took off from there.”
The Carrolls were responsible for 26 people that first year in Sweden, and they decided to keep doing it the year after in Russia and then Czech Republic. Destiny Tours, home base Guelph, Ontario, was born.
As Hockey Canada grew, it decided to take over the duties for friends and families, but by that time John and Rita had a good thing going.
“We didn’t advertise, so it was all word of mouth, and it took off,” John continued. “I think 2006/07 in Leksand was our breakout year where we had over 300 people. We’ve been growing ever since.”
The Carrolls were responsible for 26 people that first year in Sweden, and they decided to keep doing it the year after in Russia and then Czech Republic. Destiny Tours, home base Guelph, Ontario, was born.
As Hockey Canada grew, it decided to take over the duties for friends and families, but by that time John and Rita had a good thing going.
“We didn’t advertise, so it was all word of mouth, and it took off,” John continued. “I think 2006/07 in Leksand was our breakout year where we had over 300 people. We’ve been growing ever since.”
Canadian fans and Czech beer are trending in Ostrava these days.
photo: Andrea Cardin / HHOF-IIHF Images
This year, they have 784 of the Canadians fans in Ostrava in their group, so many that they have chartered three airplanes and 16 buses to get their group around. Hotels in Ostrava can’t accommodate them, so the fans are staying in both Olomouc and Katowice.
“We’re a tour operator,” John continued, “but initially we wanted to do seniors tours, not hockey, so it turned out much differently than we thought. We’ve also done a couple of World Championships – Switzerland in 2009 and Copenhagen a couple of years ago, which we tied in with a cruise. We went to Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Malmo, and Estonia, so it was a nice combination of hockey and culture.”
And this year, for the first time, they’re combining two events for a small group to test the waters. “We’ve done a couple of Spengler Cups in the past, but this year we have 12 people there who are doing a combination with the juniors. They’ll join us here on January 1, so they get both tournaments. We hope to expand that for next year.”
“We’re a tour operator,” John continued, “but initially we wanted to do seniors tours, not hockey, so it turned out much differently than we thought. We’ve also done a couple of World Championships – Switzerland in 2009 and Copenhagen a couple of years ago, which we tied in with a cruise. We went to Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Malmo, and Estonia, so it was a nice combination of hockey and culture.”
And this year, for the first time, they’re combining two events for a small group to test the waters. “We’ve done a couple of Spengler Cups in the past, but this year we have 12 people there who are doing a combination with the juniors. They’ll join us here on January 1, so they get both tournaments. We hope to expand that for next year.”
Nobody’s too small to watch the World Juniors.
photo: Martin Merk
Over the course of their 20 years doing these tours, they’ve listened and learned, tried new things and stuck to what works. That Leksand tour in 2006/07 was the first time they offered fans a chance to leave before Christmas and tour around prior to the start of the tournament. It was hugely popular, “and now about 85 per cent of our fans come early and stay for the whole tournament. We left Canada this year on the 20th, and most people stayed either in Prague or Budapest before chartering a train to Ostrava on the 26th.”
One thing the Carrolls have figured out is that although bigger can be better, it’s not their main goal and there does seem to be an upper limit. “We’ve learned a lot with this trip. Because Ostrava is a bit harder to get to, the logistics have been tough. Had we known, we would have capped the number. We want to ensure the quality is always the most important factor. It’s not about the numbers.”
One thing the Carrolls have figured out is that although bigger can be better, it’s not their main goal and there does seem to be an upper limit. “We’ve learned a lot with this trip. Because Ostrava is a bit harder to get to, the logistics have been tough. Had we known, we would have capped the number. We want to ensure the quality is always the most important factor. It’s not about the numbers.”
Candidate for the best dressed fan award.
photo: Martin Merk
It’s also about the time involved. The Carrolls do everything, from flights to hotels to food and culture and entertainment – and game tickets, of course.
“It takes about two and a half years to organize a trip like this. We looked at all the flights and saw there wasn’t enough capacity to accommodate everyone, so we chartered three jets – two 737s, the older ones, I must clarify! Two will leave Ostrava on January 6 and one from Katowice.”
And where do these 784 die-hard Canadians come from? ”Our number-one city is Calgary and number-one province is Ontario,” John explained, “but the interesting thing is that the majority of people are from smaller towns, some I’ve never heard of! But they all support junior hockey.”
“It takes about two and a half years to organize a trip like this. We looked at all the flights and saw there wasn’t enough capacity to accommodate everyone, so we chartered three jets – two 737s, the older ones, I must clarify! Two will leave Ostrava on January 6 and one from Katowice.”
And where do these 784 die-hard Canadians come from? ”Our number-one city is Calgary and number-one province is Ontario,” John explained, “but the interesting thing is that the majority of people are from smaller towns, some I’ve never heard of! But they all support junior hockey.”