Kraft Hockeyville

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Kraft Hockeyville
Country of originCanada
Original languagesEnglish, French
No. of seasons6
Original release
NetworkCBC Television
Release2006 –
present

Kraft Hockeyville is an annual competition developed by CBC Sports and sponsored by Kraft Foods, the NHL and the NHL Players' Association in which communities across Canada compete to demonstrate their commitment to the sport of ice hockey.

The competition was first held in 2006 as a reality television series aired by CBC Television, but since 2007, it was relegated to segments aired during CBC's Saturday night NHL coverage, Hockey Night in Canada.

Content

The contest revolves around a central theme of community spirit, passion for hockey and Canada.

The winning community gets:

  • $100,000 dedicated to upgrading their local home arena
  • A Hockey Night in Canada broadcast in their community
  • An NHL pre-season game hosted in their community arena

The remaining communities in the Top 5 receive:

2006 season

The inaugural 2006 season of Hockeyville was won by the community of Salmon River, Nova Scotia on June 11. Salmon River's entry, the "Deuvilles Rink", beat 450 other entries from across Canada. Episodes for the 2006 season were shot in arenas in different cities throughout Ontario, with the final episode shot in Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena & Skating Centre in Hamilton, Ontario.

The NHL exhibition game was held September 25 at the Colchester Legion Stadium in the neighbouring town of Truro (the Deuville Rink being too small); the Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators 7-3.

  • The Deuville rink was awarded the $50,000 Home Depot gift card prize and with the cards the roof was reshingled, new rink lights were installed, ceiling insulated and a heated section was installed at the end of the arena.

2007 season

The 2007 season of Hockeyville began on March 4 and was changed significantly from the previous season's format. Organizers made the application process more accessible. Communities could now enter by logging on to the website, creating a team name, filling out an application form, submitting a short essay and including three photographs which depict hometown pride and passion for the game of hockey. A video, which was a requirement in previous contests, is no longer part of the process.

In 2007 the series was no longer given its own time slot, but rather shown during broadcasts of Hockey Night in Canada.

The Top 10 communities resulting from the first round were Cornwall, Ontario; Nanaimo, British Columbia; Noëlville, Ontario; North Bay, Ontario; Plaster Rock, New Brunswick; Rockyford, Alberta; Saint-Hubert, Quebec; Smithers, British Columbia; Vernon, British Columbia and Warner, Alberta.

The Top 5 communities resulting from the second round were Cornwall, Noëlville, North Bay, Smithers and Warner.

North Bay was the winner. The Atlanta Thrashers beat the New York Islanders 4-3 in overtime.

2008 season

The 2008 season of Kraft Hockeyville began February 23.

The top 10 communities that were in the running for Kraft Hockeyville 2008 were:

The top 5 communities were:

On April 8, 2008, Roberval won the title of Kraft Hockeyville 2008. Roberval won:

The pre-season game has been taped and shown on a Hockeyville special Saturday, September 27.[1]

The 4 remaining communities from the Top 5 won:

  • $20,000 to be used for upgrades to the Home Arena that the community endorses
  • A Hockey Night in Canada broadcast from each of the remaining top five communities

2009 season

The 2009 edition had these cities as the five regional finalists:

The winner, announced on March 7 during the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, was Terrace, British Columbia. Terrace played host to the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Islanders on Monday, September 14, in which the Canucks defeated the Islanders by a score of 2-1. The game was broadcast live on NHL Network in the USA, and highlights were televised during a one-hour Kraft Hockeyville broadcast showcasing their community on CBC Television. Terrace also received CDN $100,000 towards arena upgrades from Kraft Canada.

2010 season

The five finalists for the 2010 edition of Hockeyville

Dundas, Ontario was announced as the winner by Gary Bettman on April 3, 2010, during the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast with 1,066,855 votes.[2] The game featured division rivals Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators playing in Dundas's J. L. Grightmire Arena on September 28, 2010, with Buffalo winning 2-1.[3] (Incidentally, Dundas has been, since 2001, within the boundaries of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, a frequent target of efforts regarding potential National Hockey League expansion.)

2011 season

In 2011, the wildcard was eliminated and the West and Pacific divisions were split from each other.

The top 5 communities were:

Conception Bay, NL, was declared the winner of Kraft Hockeyville 2011 on April 2, 2011. The town's arena received $100,000 worth of renovations, and also was to host a pre-season game between the Ottawa Senators and the Winnipeg Jets on September 26, 2011. However, since the Jets' new American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, were moved to St. John's and renamed the IceCaps as part of the Jets' return to Winnipeg, the game was instead held at the Mile One Centre in St. Johns.[4]

Each of the other 4 finalists will receive $25,000 in arena upgrades from Kraft.

2012 season

Stirling-Rawdon, Ontario was the winner of the 2012 Kraft Hockeyville contest. No NHL game was held in the city due to the 2012 NHL lockout, but other festivities continued as scheduled. An NHL alumni charity game was held in the town instead, with one of the participants being Stirling native Rob Ray.

2013 season

Although the 2013 version of the contest was initially canceled outright due to the lockout,[5] the league later awarded a game between the Washington Capitals and the Winnipeg Jets to an arena in Belleville, Ontario under the Hockeyville brand.[6]

2014 season

The Top 16 towns for the Kraft Hockeyville contest were announced on Saturday, March 8th. This year's contest has a theme much like the NHL itself: East VS West. This means there are 8 towns chosen from Eastern Canada and 8 towns from Western Canada. [7]

From Eastern Canada:

  • Richmond, ON
  • Prescott, ON
  • Beeton, ON
  • Exeter, ON
  • Chicoutimi, QC
  • Kingston, NS
  • Amherst, NS
  • Central Bedeque, PEI

From Western Canada:

  • Salmon Arm, BC
  • Kimberly, BC
  • Osoyoos, BC
  • Bruderheim, AB
  • St. Albert, AB
  • Sylvan Lake, AB
  • Swift Current, SK
  • Arborg, MB

This year, the top 16 towns are guaranteed $25,000 in upgrades to their arenas instead of the top 5. Then the top 4 (two from the East and two from the West) will receive at least $50,000. The winner receives the usual prize of $100,000, an NHL Preseason game hosted in their community, and a visit from CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. Voting for the top 16 ends on Monday, March 10. [8] It is possible to vote online or by telephone.


Notes

  1. ^ CNW Group | NEWS - MEDIA | Roberval, Quebec wins KRAFT HOCKEYVILLE 2008
  2. ^ "Dundas: Canada's Hockeyville". TheSpec.com. 2010-04-04. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
  3. ^ http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=538905
  4. ^ NHL set to play preseason games all over world. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  5. ^ http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/calgary-flames/Kraft+cancels+Hockeyville+program+lockout/7583826/story.html
  6. ^ http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/capitals-watch/2013/jun/27/capitals-face-blackhawks-bruins-twice-each-preseas/
  7. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/hockeyville-top-16-communites-announced-1.2565151
  8. ^ http://krafthockeyville.cbc.ca/

External links

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