By his own count, Gerry Aspen spent 1,072 hours building the Estevan Bruins' new dressing room.
On Thursday night, when the masterpiece was revealed, it was all worth it for the Bruins' trainer, who began working on the room in June.
Players and sponsors were left speechless when they were finally allowed to get their first look at their new home.
Aspen said the project was a labour of love.
"I guess I had a vision and a design in mind and I wanted to see it come to reality. I knew there were a lot of other people who were counting on me to provide them with a quality product and I guess it comes from the heart," said the long-time trainer.
"It's my hope that this will be my legacy to the Bruins and it's my hope that this'll be another key to drawing young men to our community to play junior hockey."
Players noted what sets the room apart is the detail. There are potlights above each stall, along with engraved nameplates with Bruin pucks on either side of them. Each stall also has a drawer below it with a Bruin logo engraved into it, work that was done by Grant Findlay of Regina.
"It looks like he's put so much time and effort into it, just with the little engravings and stuff like that. It's really something special," said veteran forward Matt Dochylo.
"Here's a guy, he's got a full-time job, he's got a bunch of other stuff on his plate, and he just drops it and spends countless hours and a lot of sacrifices to get that room done."
He described the room as "something you'd see in a movie."
Defenceman Dominic Perrault agreed with that assessment.
"Gerry put hours and hours into that room and he's the backbone of the Bruins. He's always been there for us.
"It's amazing. It's nothing I've ever seen before and a lot of the guys, the look on their face, it's like Christmas morning, guys not knowing what to say and then looking around in the room in awe."
New captain Josh Jelinski said the fine detail was enough to "bring a tear to the eye."
Head coach Keith Cassidy said his players were impressed by the hand-crafted details.
"It's something that Gerry poured his heart and soul into building and I think it resonates with the players. I think they can appreciate everything that he's put into it and I think it's going to be a huge benefit to us going forward," he said.
"This is hand-built, from oak. Every piece in there, Gerry's had his hands on and crafted it with a very specific plan in mind and I think that shows through in the finished product."
Aspen said he believes the new room is the nicest in the SJHL and also rivals some of the WHL rooms he's seen.
As for the new captain, Jelinski said it shouldn't be hard to motivate his teammates in such a nice room.
"You come to the rink and you look at this, and there's no reason I shouldn't be able to go out and put a hard effort in when I get to play in a place like this."
