United by hockey

Every once in a while, we’re reminded exactly what it truly means to be Canadian. Such a reminder came this week when Sackville, N.S., resident Jamie Munroe announced he was cancelling a nomination for the local rink for the Kraft Hockeyville 2020 contest and put his support behind Tyne Valley, P.E.I. As is well known, in the early hours of Dec. 29, the Tyne Valley Community Sports Centre was completely destroyed by fire. Shortly afterwards, plans were in the works to rebuild the community rink and submit a bid to Kraft Hockeyville. Tyne Valley recently held a rally with more than 1,000 supporters chanting “rally for the valley.” Hockey is one of the fabrics of Canadian society. Community arenas are much more than buildings with an ice surface. They’re places where memories and life-long friendships are made, both on the ice between players and in the stands between parents sitting with a hot coffee. This time around, it was Munroe who was sitting in the stands at his son’s game on P.E.I. when he struck up a conversation with another hockey dad, who happened to be one of the firefighters who responded to the Tyne Valley rink fire. On the four-hour drive home, Munroe decided to withdraw the nomination for his home rink and try to get the Sackville community to throw its support behind Tyne Valley’s bid. So far, so good. And, on Saturday, Sackville is planning to hold its own rally to support the Tyne Valley bid. Hockey connects us all in one way or another. It’s become a tradition in Canada for generations of families to sit in front of their televisions on a Saturday night and watch Hockey Night in Canada. As with previous years, hockey families will be watching Hockey Night in Canada to see the winner of the Kraft Hockeyville contest announced. This year’s top-prize is $250,000 for local arena improvements and the chance to host an NHL pre-season game. Camera crews descend on the finalist’s community rinks to give us a glimpse into the all-day parties. As the announcement nears, communities anxiously wait and hope their name gets called. Whether Tyne Valley wins the contest, or even makes the finals, is anybody’s guess. If it doesn’t, the rink will be rebuilt. Islanders will find a way to make sure that happens. But Tyne Valley’s bid has one thing going for it. The contest judges will be basing their decision in part on inspirational stories from the communities that show the spirit of hockey. They’ll be hard pressed to find a more inspirational story than one Nova Scotian community giving up its chance for the spotlight to help a P.E.I. neighbour in need. Not only is that an inspirational story, it’s a truly Canadian one.