We all knew that the 2022 Centennial Cup national junior A hockey championship, presented by Tim Hortons, was going to be an incredible tournament.
After all, that’s how we do things here in Estevan.
But as it turns out, it will be the biggest Centennial Cup ever, with 10 teams instead of five.
Obviously, it will give more teams the chance to compete in what is traditionally one of the most difficult championships to win in hockey.
And the community of Estevan is going to be a really big winner.
We’re going to have 10 teams here, including the host Estevan Bruins, for 10 days. Between players and staff for each team, along with their families, that’s a lot of people. Then you’re also going to have officials, media and so many other people who are coming to the Energy City.
They will be staying in our hotels, frequenting our restaurants, visiting our retail stores and service stations, and spending time and money in places in our community.
This is an event that typically has a multi-million-dollar spinoff. Hopefully the economic impact of this tournament will be greater than ever before.
We hope that businesses with signs will use them to welcome all of the visitors to the community.
Everybody who has spent time in Affinity Place has marvelled that we can have a venue like this in a community of this size. Communities with 50,000 people with major junior hockey teams envy us.
The people who will come here for the Centennial Cup will talk about what a great place it is to watch and play hockey.
Yes, there will be added challenges associated with going from five teams to 10. It means you’ll have two or three games per day instead of one or two. It won’t be easy to maintain the ice with so much activity over 10 days in May, when temperatures can get pretty warm.
It means that the organizing committee will have to work a little magic with the dressing rooms, since there are 10 teams and nine dressing rooms inside of Affinity Place.
There will need to be more volunteers because there will be more games. You can’t expect everybody to help out at three games per day, day after day.
We can’t take anything for granted, but this city has a history of stepping up big-time when the call for volunteers is issued.
And there will have to be more hotel rooms set aside for the tournament, although the hotels won’t be complaining about all of the extra activity.
For those who purchase ticket packages for the national tournament, it’s going to be one of the best values in hockey. It’ll be tough to make it to all of the games, but it will get you to some great games for a reasonable rate.
The challenges associated with a 10-team tournament will be worth it. We’re going to get to showcase our community, our amenities and our people. Estevan is going to be on display for thousands of people, many of whom haven’t been here before.
We certainly hope this won’t be the last time they’re here.
Regardless of whether their team wins or loses (and when they play the host Bruins, we hope they’ll come up short), we hope they’ll look back on the seven to 10 days that they spent here, and say “we had such a great time, and if we ever have a chance to return to Estevan, we’d welcome the opportunity.”
Estevan has shown an ability to successfully host marquee events in the past and send people home raving about their experience.
Let’s all do our part to set the bar high once again.
