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Posted Sep 23, 2026, 7:30 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
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New season, new digs
Jets land state-of-the-art dressing room after off-season of renovations
Mike McIntyre
Wednesday, Sep. 23, 2026
Luke Vink Photo
The Winnipeg Jets off-season renovation is the first major enhancement made to the player facilities since the club returned in 2011. The team added 3,000 square feet of space including new and improved medical and therapy areas, an expanded gym, an enhanced video room, an improved player lounge and even a redesigned and relocated Matt Frost Media Centre.
It’s not just the on-ice product that’s getting an overhaul this season for the Winnipeg Jets.
The hockey club has also undergone an extreme makeover when it comes to player facilities, including a new state-of-the-art dressing room that now rivals any around the league.
And if you don’t think that matters, you haven’t been paying attention.
“We’ve talked about doing everything first class,” head coach Scott Arniel told the Free Press on Tuesday. “We can’t do anything about the weather, but when people come here, we want them to know we look after them and we look after their families.”
There’s still very much a “new rink smell” down on the event level at Canada Life Centre this week, with the finishing touches completed just in time for the Jets’ pair of pre-season games on Monday and Tuesday night.
So, Adam Lowry, do you like what they’ve done with the place?
“I’ve got a list of complaints,” the Jets captain joked prior to puck drop against the Edmonton Oilers.
“No, a lot of credit goes to Chipper (Mark Chipman) and the ownership for deciding to do this. It’s been remarkable to come in here and see the changes.”
The Jets have taken an “out with the old, in with the new” approach to construction of the roster, with several skaters like Jonathan Toews, Tanner Pearson, Gustav Nyquist and Luke Schenn being replaced by the likes of exciting young prospects Viggo Bjorck, Brad Lambert, Isak Rosen and Elias Salomonsson.
And it’s a similar story in the room.
“It was starting to get a bit aged,” admitted Arniel.
Designed by Populous, which has worked with arenas and stadiums across North America, the concept was put into action as soon as the Jets wrapped up a disappointing 2025-26 campaign in mid-April.
PCL Construction, along with local firms Number TEN and KGS Group, have added 3,000 square feet of space. There are also new and improved medical and therapy areas, an expanded gym, an enhanced video room, an improved player lounge and even a redesigned and relocated Matt Frost Media Centre.
“The players are now complaining that the coach’s rooms are too big,” Arniel said with a laugh.
“It’s amazing because when I saw the walls get blown out four or five days after the season was over, you’re wondering if everything can fit. I came in a couple of times in the summer and they did a fantastic job of making space. Everybody has got some space to work now.”
There’s a real modern feel to the dressing room, which includes a new lighting system meant to mimic natural light. Players also have their names lit up above each extra-large stall, while the Jets logo has been moved from the floor to the ceiling in giant, 3D form.
That means no more walking on eggshells trying not to step on it, which is considered bad form and bad luck in hockey circles.
“We’re not pulling people off the rug now, it’s not having to get covered. It’s great,” said Lowry. “And how big does the room feel? I feel like with all the little details they just did a remarkable job.”
Another interesting tweak is that the visitors’ bench now has access, through a newly constructed tunnel, to their dressing room. Previously, players and coaches would have to skate and shuffle across the ice at the beginning and end of each period, and it was especially difficult — at times, dangerous — when an injury would occur.
Now, they can privately go back and forth without having 15,000-plus people watching their every move.
True North, in a statement, said the multi-million dollar investment serves a clear purpose: “To position the Jets facility among the top tier in the NHL and serve as an asset for player attraction and retention.”
While there have been plenty of cosmetic changes in other areas of the downtown rink since it first opened in 2004, this is the first major enhancement made to player facilities since the NHL returned to Winnipeg in 2011.
“They did such a good job. We’re super happy with the room. I’m still trying to get it all figured out. I was a little lost this morning looking for some things,” said Lowry.
“It’s been great. We’re very fortunate to have ownership and an owner that really cares about us and wants to give us the best opportunity to be successful, and this is another way he shows it.”
It’s no secret Winnipeg is not high on the list of preferred places for NHL players, especially those with trade protection or free choice through free agency. But keeping those who are here happy, including core players like Lowry, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey, Gabe Vilardi, Cole Perfetti, Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg, is important.
So, too, is dangling the carrot for the next wave of stars within the organization.
Danny Zhilkin, for example, has spent his first three years of pro hockey primarily with the Manitoba Moose, who play in the same rink but have their own, much smaller dressing room. He got his first taste of the NHL last season, getting called up to play six games with the Jets, and is now hungry for more.
“This makes you want to play for the Jets even more, right?” Zhilkin said Tuesday as he stood inside the new room.
“We’re really excited, and the time and the money that the management and ownership has put into making us more comfortable is amazing to see. Being a smaller market team, I don’t think many players around the league understand how well they treat us here. I wish more players could see that around the league.”
At the end of the day, professional sports is a results-oriented business. Arniel hopes having players who feel truly comfortable will help give the Jets some added home-ice advantage.
“We’ve talked about that often. You’ve got to make it hard on teams coming in here. That they know it’s going to be a tough night,” said Arniel.
“Your play dictates that, it’s not just your crowd screaming and yelling, though we like that too, though. It’s also about how you have to play in here. That your game doesn’t change when it goes out on the road. But you’ve got to get that mentality, when teams get in here that they don’t like going into this building because these guys are hard to play against in here.”
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winnipegfreepress.com
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