“It’s our chance for us to get on the map, and to show Newfoundland, Atlantic Canada as well as the entire country what minor hockey offers here in Corner Brook and how enthusiastic we are about the programs we offer here,” Corner Brook Minor Hockey Association president Cara Leigh Wyllie said Thursday on hearing the good news.
This season’s celebation promise to be bigger, highlighting the best of each community and its deep hockey roots. Each stop will featur NHL Alumni, hometown heroes, local entertainment and all the new hockey stories delivered by host Ron MacLean, who once again takes his familiar spot inside the Sportsnet Mobile Studio every Sunday.
Corner Brook will host the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour Nov. 22 at the civic centre. According to Wyllie, the local group was informed it was on a short list of possible sites back in June so they went to work to submit a proposal on what hockey means to the local community and it was given the green light in the process.
Wyllie believes the event will bring exposure to not only the sport, but all that the local community has to offer will be showcased in what will be a busy weekend where minor, major midget and the Corner Brook Royals will be on the ice during the showcase weekend of hockey in the city.
Maybe it will lead to more boys and girls embracing the sport and that’s just right up Wyllie’s alley.
“When you see it in your own community and see all the hype and buzz that this is going to create it’s going to get kids interested,” she said. “They’re going to be saying ‘mom or dad, I want to try hockey’, so we’re hoping we’re going to get people that way.”
For more information on the tour, which will travel to 24 communities from coast to coast, contact a member of the local minor hockey executive or check out the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour website at www.hometownhockey.com
