At least the Habs are in N.S. once this year

Habs heading to Hockeyville
Montreal to face Ottawa in Salmon River, Nova Scotia
(07/18/2006) Radek Bonk and the Canadiens will be facing off against the Senators in a Kraft Hockeyville preseason matchup on Sept. 25.

PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL - Kraft Canada and CBC Television, along with the National Hockey League and the National Hockey Players’ Association, are pleased to announce that the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators will be playing a pre-season game as part of the Kraft Hockeyville 2006 grand prize.  Salmon River, Nova Scotia, edged out more than 450 entries and proved that they deserved to be crowned Hockeyville by demonstrating how their community best fulfilled the Kraft Hockeyville equation: Community Spirit + Hockey = Hockeyville.   The game will be played on Monday, September 25, 2006.

“The entire Montreal Canadiens organization is excited to be part of the Kraft Hockeyville experience.  Many of our players grew up playing hockey in local community arenas, and have fond childhood memories of places just like this,” said Bob Gainey, the Canadiens' Executive Vice President and General Manager.  “Big dreams start in small places and we’re overjoyed with the opportunity to be playing in a local arena in front of these fans.”

Salmon River was voted Kraft Hockeyville by viewers of the show’s season finale, which aired on CBC Television on June 11, 2006.  In addition to being awarded an NHL pre-season game to be played in a local community arena, the grand prize also includes $10,000 in hockey equipment from CCM/Reebok and distributed through the NHLPA's Goals & Dreams fund, and a $50,000 gift card for arena upgrades from presenting sponsor The Home Depot. Due to the limited amount of seats in the Salmon River community rink, the NHL pre-season game will be played in nearby Truro, Nova Scotia, allowing the maximum amount of Salmon River residents to attend the game. 

“It is a thrill to play in front of Canada’s most passionate hockey community.  Salmon River demonstrated the spirit of what teamwork and the game of hockey is all about,”   said Roy Mlakar, president and chief executive officer of the Ottawa Senators and Scotiabank Place. “We are pleased to be part of Kraft Hockeyville and to bring some of the world’s top players to the fans in Salmon River.”

Throughout the competition, Salmon River displayed true spirit and energy as they defended their right to the title through a series of community-produced video submissions and face-to-face challenges with other finalists and celebrity judges. “The community of Salmon River really showed its spirit and passion while vying for the Kraft Hockeyville title,” said Ellery Deuville, team leader for the Salmon River Kraft Hockeyville committee. “We had a lot of fun during the competition, but nothing will compare to the experience of watching an NHL exhibition game with my neighbours.”
 
“Kraft Canada is delighted to bring the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators to Nova Scotia as part of the grand prize award for Salmon River winning the coveted title of Kraft Hockeyville,” said Dino Bianco, President of Kraft Canada.  “We were absolutely blown away with the number of entries into the competition.  The level of ingenuity and uniqueness of the admissions truly shows just how passionate Canadian communities are about the game of hockey.”

Teamwork, co-operation, and passion are traits possessed by all great teams and great Canadian communities. Every community, whether it’s a small town or situated within a big city, was invited to demonstrate its love of the game and share grassroots hockey stories to earn the title of Kraft Hockeyville.  Over seven episodes, CBC Television chronicled the stories from Canada’s most enthusiastic regions as they vied for the Kraft Hockeyville title.

Nil d wrote:

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NSHabsFan wrote:

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Pro baseball has the Grapefruit League, Florida’s famous spring training destination, so why can’t the Maritimes have something similar for professional hockey? Perhaps something called the Bluenose League, the Southwest Shore Development Authority has suggested. Full Story This is exciting news for those of us in Nova Scotia or even Atlantic Canada. I wonder what it would take to get the Habs in NS?

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I just read that in the local paper this morning.  Apparently there is some interest from NHL teams, and a few local towns.  That would be a great idea!

Good to see you posting again, NSHF.  Will you be going to see the Islanders in Yarmouth?

 

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