Who comes to Manitoba in January to see Jets & Moose games? The O’Connor family from Australia, that’s who!

Before the Jets took time away from the rink for the 4 Nations challenge there seemed to be lots of folks making their way to Winnipeg to take in an NHL game in Manitoba during the first half of the 2024-25 season. This is not a new phenomenon but it’s still interesting to find out why folks from outside this province connect to this hockey team and come from near and far to see them live.

Which brings us to this past January with the Jets back in Winnipeg for a season long eight straight games at home in Manitoba. We were scheduled to do a special edition of Illegal Curve Hockey Live from Cityplace at noon before the game between the Jets and Canucks. Following morning skate I made my way over to our spot on the 2nd floor where our host Drew Mindell was waiting with producer Tim to get the show started. When I got there Drew introduced me to Kane O’Connor who he told me was visiting from Australia with his family to see some NHL and AHL games in Winnipeg.  And it wasn’t just one of each. He was here to see five Jets games and two Moose games along with his wife Kate and two kids (Grace and Charlie).

They stayed and watched our show for the full hour. As Drew knew it would, my mind immediately got to thinking why would a family of four with no ties to Winnipeg be interested in coming to our fair province in January?  So we chatted for a bit and exchanged contact info so I could get some insight into the why and then, more importantly, about how the experience was for them.

Q: How does someone from Australia, with no ties to Winnipeg, become a Jets fan?

Well it’s kind of a long story of how it come about. I’ve always liked hockey, and winter sports in general. Neither are very accessible or affordable in Australia up until the last 8 or so years, you had to be able to afford PayTV (Cable TV). Luckily for us, Free to Air TV is still the dominate form of TV in Australia. Now streaming via the internet is more accessible it’s very easy to watch NHL hockey in Australia. Prior to this you’d have to find a pub or sports bar that might have it on TV, never with sound. I always followed any Canadian team that I was lucky enough to see on TV, mostly the Canucks probably due to time zones. Even now the Western Conference, Pacific and Central Divisions games are on at the best times for us. In 2009/10 as a member of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) I deployed to the Middle East and had the honour and privilege to work for and with members of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) from 14 Wing CFB Greenwood NS. Most of them were from NL, QC, ON and the Maritimes, so mostly Leafs and Habs fans. The deployment was during the northern hemisphere winter, so I got to watch plenty of NHL games and the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. We all got up in the early hours to watch the gold medal game. Then when the Jets came back to NHL, they sent me a care package back home in Australia in 2011 which included Timmys coffee (which I’m now addicted to) and Jets merch because it being Air Force related and neutral to the Leafs and Habs. I’m still mates (buddies) with a number of them. I met up with my former boss and good mate Scott Miller from St. John’s NL in Montreal to watch the Jets vs Habs in January 2023. My younger brother also a RAAF veteran and hockey fan/player also adopted the Jets as his team. Our brother-in-law also a RAAF veteran, hockey fan, player and ref but unfortunately he is a Leafs fan. So the short answer is: I love hockey, Canada, and I wanted to support a Canadian team and the Air Force connection coupled with the logo and colour scheme made the Winnipeg Jets the natural choice for me.

Q: What was the trip like getting to Winnipeg from Australia?

It’s a long and costly trip for a family. Air Canada flies directly from either Sydney or Brisbane to Vancouver. We live in Ipswich which is a small city on the western outskirts of Brisbane, home of the upcoming host of the 2032 Summer Olympics. It’s a 14 hour flight from Brisbane to Vancouver and then another 3 hour flight from Vancouver to Winnipeg. Of note on both our Canadian holidays (2022/23 and 2024/25) we’ve stayed in Vancouver prior to the trip to Winnipeg.

Q: Was this the first time you’d see the Jets in person? Had you ever seen an NHL game live before?

No, and yes. We have been to 3 Jets games in 2022/23 season prior to this trip. We saw WPG vs VAN (5-1) in Vancouver on the 17th of December, OTT vs WPG (1-5) in Winnipeg on the 19th of December and WPG vs MTL (1-4) in Montreal on the 17rh of January. We planned our white Christmas holidays in 2022/23 and 2024/25 around seeing the most Jets games we could.

Q: Why Winnipeg in January? Were you aware of just how cold it can get?

When we visited in December 2022 the Red and Assiniboine Rivers hadn’t frozen enough to skate on, so this time around we put Winnipeg at the end of the holiday, so winter had done it’s work to freeze the rivers. And by stroke of luck the NHL schedule had the 8 game home stretch in Winnipeg. We got to see 5 of the 8 home games (LAK, COL, VAN, SEA and CGY). Also December and January for us makes sense because Australian Summer Christmas/NY holidays are 6-7 weeks over December and January. So we can make a decent holiday of it in terms of time with school aged kids, and to escape our hot summer. But gees, multiple days of -30c with a wind chill of -45c that was an experience. To put it into context, the day we arrived home it was 39c. We’re accustomed to weeks of 30c-35c, but 39c is even really hot for us. I personally wouldn’t want to travel that far from home for anything less than 4weeks. All other Australian school holidays (Easter, winter, spring) are only 2 weeks long each.

Q: What was your first experience like inside Canada Life Centre seeing a Jets game?

It was almost like a religious experience for me. I absolutely loved it, and feel very privileged to have experienced it. So much it influenced our decision to come back this year to watch more games. I will add that Kate my wife has never been into watching professional sports, but she has also fallen in love with hockey and the Jets. Hopefully we can do it again in another few years’ time. After watching the Jets vs Blues I miss it even more. After visiting Rogers Arena twice, the Bell Centre and Saddledome once each, Canada Life Centre has an awesome atmosphere. Much better than Vancouver. I hate the negative wrap Winnipeg receives around the league, and even from other Canadians. I think that’s another reason I picked the Jets as they’re perennial working-class underdog. Australians historically due to our history typically love an underdog. I grew up in Sydney’s sometimes maligned working class western suburbs, and now similarly with Ipswich. So it’s in my DNA I suppose to back the little guy.

Q: What was your first AHL experience like seeing the Moose play?

We actually saw the Moose play the Marlies at the Coliseum in Toronto in January of 2023. That was our first experience sitting on the glass. Kristian Reichel passed a game puck to Charlie at the first game we went to. You may recall the 2nd of the games was suspended at the end of the 1st period due to a medical emergency in the crowd. The game recommenced in February from the start of the 2nd. So we’ve seen 3.1 Moose games, all against the Marlies and all losses unfortunately. But it was good to watch them play at home in Canada Life Centre this year.

Q: Was there any part of the experience being at the game that was different from watching on tv?

The sounds, noise, 1919 Little Brown Jug and atmosphere were phenomenal. The ESPN coverage we get at home we rarely get to see any pre-game, intermission, post-game coverage, or interviews. So it was rare and neat to see all the surrounding stuff that goes with the game.

Q: Did you get a chance to meet any fellow Jets fans? Make any interesting connections?

Yes. I got to meet the IC team at Cityplace, saw yourself at Canada Life Centre, bumped into Drew with his son outside the Jets Gear Store, WST crew at the Seattle game, a bloke by the name of Alfie who owns and operates the Headingly Grill Restaurant and plays for Silver Bullets hockey club. We went and had dinner at his restaurant. We spoke to several other people that were surprised that firstly Australian tourists wanted to visit their city (had similar experiences in Regina) and secondly that we were Jets and hockey fans.

Many people, Australians included, aren’t aware that the Goodall Cup played for in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is one of the oldest hockey trophies in the world. The original is kept at the HHOF in Toronto. Hopefully the Brisbane Lightning can win it this year.

Q: What sorts of things did you do in Winnipeg away from the rink?

Lots of skating at The Forks and Market Square. Daily visit to Tim Hortons, shopping for hockey (goalie) equipment. Too much shopping. We drove up to Gimli on Lake Winnipeg. Had my first ice road driving experience in the harbour and lake.

Q: Any experience standout that you’d like to share?

Not really any one standout experience. If I had to name anything in Winnipeg and Manitoba it would have be watching the Jets play in Canada Life Centre, driving on an ice road at Gimli, skating on the Assiniboine and Red Rivers in Winnipeg. In terms of Canada I’d include skating on the Canmore skating pond and Olympic Oval in Calgary, skiing at Whistler and letting out my inner-Olympian on a bobsleigh ride at Whistler Sliding Centre. Cool Runnings is one of my favourite movies.

Q: After you left Winnipeg you went to Regina to see some junior hockey. What was that like?

It was a great experience. I was amazed how big even junior hockey was in Canada. I’m amazed at the level of arenas, play and professionalism even at that level. The AIHL here is still very much a semi-professional league as hockey is still a niche sport in Australia.

Q: Are you already starting to plan your next trip to see a Jets game?

Yes, hopefully in the next 2-4 years I want to come back to Winnipeg and watch my Jets play. I want to visit the Hockey for All Centre next time, hopefully meet a Jets player or two.

Q: Would you recommend this trip to others?

Most definitely. I’m always selling Canada to people at home, particularly the lesser-known gems like Winnipeg and Manitoba to anyone that will listen. My younger brother is also a Jets supporter (and RAAF veteran) has also been to Winnipeg to watch the Jets play in 2019. He was supposed to come to Winnipeg to play hockey for Australian team in the 2023 World Police and Fire Games. He is a police officer in the Northern Territory Police Force. But his daughter was due to be born around that time, so he couldn’t attend.

My thanks to Kane for sharing his thoughts and experiences coming to Winnipeg with his family.