‘He was a fine gentleman’
Tokyo Lloyd Memorial Hockey Tournament underway in North Sydney
The fifth annual Tokyo Lloyd Memorial Hockey Tournament is underway at the Emera Centre Northside.
The tournament, in memory of automotive entrepreneur Lloyd MacDonald, is underway and continues until
Sunday at the
North Sydney facility.
The event is a fundraiser in Ryan support of the
Emera Centre Northside with money going towards the arena’s operating costs.
“We were looking for ways to do some fundraising for the Emera Centre and one of the ideas was having our own hockey tournament because there wasn’t one on the Northside for quite a long time,” said tournament organizer Wayne Ryan.
“In a conversation with Jim MacDonald, I mentioned the idea to him and he said he was interested in sponsoring it, so that’s how the MacDonald Auto Group put their name on the tournament.”
A father of 12, the elder MacDonald established the MacDonald Auto Group. He became known as Tokyo Lloyd after a series of television commercials in which he starred, to promote his business.
Born in North Sydney, MacDonald began his career selling vehicles at R.J. Logue’s on the Northside. Later, he co-founded Scotsman Motors in Sydney, before establishing Lloyd MacDonald Sales in Sydney River. He would be joined by his four sons in the 1980s and the business expanded to become the MacDonald Auto Group.
MacDonald died on April 27, 2013.
“He was a fine gentleman,” said Ryan. “As a teenager I got into business and I always looked at (Lloyd) because I knew he started right from the very ground level — I knew him quite well.
“My parents and (the MacDonalds) grew up together — they were quite good friends.”
The tournament, which features 20 recreational hockey teams from across the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, is sold-out this year with the maximum number of teams registered.
The event started on Wednesday with one game and will continue today and Friday with five games scheduled each day.
The busiest day of the tournament will be Saturday with 15 games.
There will be five championship
“He was a fine gentleman. As a teenager I got into business and I always looked at (Lloyd) because I knew he started right from the very ground level — I knew him quite well.’’ Wayne Ryan
games, one for each tournament division, A-E, starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Emera Centre Northside.
“You have some really topnotch hockey players that actually play in the tournament,” said Ryan. “Anybody who’s a hockey person would enjoy the entertainment for sure.”
Ryan, who is joined on the organizing committee by Adam Daye, John Parsons and Mike MacDonald, said along with money raised from sponsorships and the tournament, the arena will also make money from the extra ice rentals as well as bar sales during the event’s dance.
Music for the dance will be provided by the Privateers from 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. on Saturday at the Emera Centre Northside. The dance is currently sold-out.