The eyes of the nation will be on Prince George more than a year before the opening ceremonies of the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
On January 18, 2014, Prince George will be one of the locations for CBC's extensive coverage of Hockey Day In Canada.
Lloydminister, which straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, will serve as the central base for Hockey Day. Prince George will serve as one of the three other Canadian communities that will be featured.
It took more than a year of behind-the-scenes negotiation and preparation by Scotiabank and the Prince George Cougars to win the Hockey Day spotlight.
"A part of Canadian culture is coming to Prince George," said local Scotiabank branch manager Trevor Lutes, a driving force behind the opportunity. Scotiabank is the national sponsor of Hockey Day. "We are really excited to show off Prince George and the hockey spirit we have here."
CBC personnel will be in Prince George for the event, as will NHL alumni and other guests, with numerous special activities planned.
At the centre of the proceedings will a matinee Western Hockey League game between the Cougars and the Edmonton Oil Kings. A 1:30 p.m. game is rare for the league, but they supported the move because everyone involved understood the overall benefits to Canadian hockey, said Cougars executive Brandi Brodsky.
The Cougars game itself will not be filmed, Brodsky said, since the CBC crews will be focusing their cameras on the people of Prince George putting their most interesting hockey foot forward.
"It is about the community, and showing Canada who we are in Prince George," Brodsky said. "We will open our doors extra early that day, and there will be a lot going on at the game. This offers us the chance to showcase Prince George again, and it is such a great community, and so connected to hockey, that we know people all over Canada will like what they see."
The Cougars have brought the bright lights of national television to Prince George a number of times. Team players and staff took part in a health nutritional experiment that aired on CBC's Marketplace in March. The Cougars were part of a six-episode show called 'The Rookies,' which was filmed during the 2009-2010 season and aired on Rogers Sportsnet Pacific. The MasterCard company once used a Cougars game as the backdrop for a national advertising campaign.
Although Hockey Day has no direct connection to the upcoming Canada Winter Games, it will still help get the word out.
"It's all very fitting that this special kind of coverage is taking place at one of the official venues of the Games," said CWG spokeswoman Alyson Gourley-Cramer. "We love that the Cougars and Scotiabank were able to draw such amazing attention to Prince George hockey and spotlight our community almost exactly one year ahead of the Games in 2015."
Mayor Shari Green agreed that earning the attention was good fortune in its timing.
"Prince George can showcase to Canada a preview of our Winter Games in 2015, as well as all the outstanding hockey facilities we have in Prince George", she said. "Because of the strong support of Prince George Minor Hockey and all the affiliated organizations, CBC and Canada will enjoy a great day in our city."
The behind-the-scenes host of the Hockey Day activities will be Andy Beesley, facilities co-ordinator with the City of Prince George and longtime volunteer with Prince George Minor Hockey Association.
"I had a chuckle with the CBC organizers about where they want to set up for filming," Beesley said. "They asked if there was anywhere with a bit of human traffic in the background, and anyone who has been to the Kin Centre Atrium on any given Saturday can tell you, yeah, we have a busy area for you. There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people who come and go through that atrium and this ice complex on any regular Saturday, and this is just going to ramp those numbers up."
Beesley's team is experienced with national television crews operating in the CN Centre/Kin Centre complex, having worked the Telus Cup, RBC Cup, Scott Tournament of Hearts, and the Road To the Roar.
More announcements of public activities are expected in the days leading up to the event.
