The City of Cochrane simply missed the grand prize as Elliot Lake, Ont, was declared the winner of the 18th annual Kraft Hockeyville Saturday.
In the course of the first intermission of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres recreation, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman revealed the Ontario metropolis secured the grand prize, getting probably the most votes solid.
The town will obtain $250,000 price of upgrades to its enviornment and the chance to host an NHL preseason recreation.
Elliot Lake’s enviornment should meet all the necessities of the league and the gamers’ affiliation to host the sport.
The Metropolis of Elliot Lake thanked the cities of Enderby, B.C., Wolseley, Sask, and Cochrane on social media.
“Since final night time we now have acquired tons of of messages of assist from members of every of your communities displaying an astounding degree of sophistication and assist for our neighborhood and we want to acknowledge every considered one of them! Thank You,” the publish reads.
Latest hardships have impacted town’s leisure and aggressive hockey leagues, together with their junior hockey group, the Vikings, forcing them to relocate because of the closure of the Centennial Enviornment as a result of “important structural points with their roof.”
“This has not solely impacted town financially however has affected the psychological well being and well-being of the kids locally,” reads an announcement from the NHL.
“Successful Kraft Hockeyville 2024 would supply the assist wanted to reopen Centennial Enviornment, providing their metropolis the house enviornment they deserve and persevering with to foster hockey’s hopeful spirit in Elliot Lake.”
In the meantime, tons of of Cochranites gathered on the Spray Lakes Sawmills Recreation Centre to listen to the announcement, and regardless that it wasn’t the specified final result, lots of the residents are actually sharing their congratulations to the Ontario neighborhood on social media.
And whereas the outcomes weren’t ultimate for the finalists, they may nonetheless profit from the competitors.
They are going to obtain $10,000 price of hockey tools for neighborhood programming and $25,000 for enhancements to their current enviornment.
“We want to congratulate Elliot Lake, Ontario and all of this 12 months’s finalists for his or her superb dedication to their communities and making this 12 months’s program an enormous success but once more,” stated Simon Laroche, President of Kraft Heinz Canada.
“As a lifelong hockey fan, it has all the time been clear to me that Kraft Hockeyville has a practice of championing Canada’s recreation. This 12 months, the fervour was clear with hundreds of nominations, serving as a reminder that once we unite to make hockey extra accessible and inclusive, something is achievable.”
