Jason Fletcher can be excused for feeling a bit like an expectant parent.
The seed of an idea from last spring has germinated into this glossy travelling circus rolling into town called Kraft Hockeyville.
Pre-season games aren’t supposed to be big in any sport. But this one is, televised by Rogers Sportsnet across the country on Monday night when the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks take on the San Jose Sharks at The Q Centre in Colwood at 7:30 p.m., complete with a Coach’s Corner segment featuring the now-famously irrepressible pairing of Don Cherry and Ron MacLean.
But that’s just the tip of this puck-a-palooza, which is in its ninth year of showcasing hockey in a down-home type setting followed by an annual NHL exhibition game in a small rink. The Stanley Cup will be on display Sunday at the Panorama Recreation Centre from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with NHL veterans Doug Bodger from Chemainus and former Canucks defenceman Jyrki Lumme on hand.
There will also be road hockey games, an all-comers skate, obstacle courses and plenty of barbecue in what is being billed as a parking lot party. There is no problem turning it into a tennis bubble party if the weather gods impede, said Fletcher.
“When you see the 30 to 40 people each from the NHL and Kraft arriving into town, you feel so proud that the moment has finally arrived,” added Fletcher.
“It’s so satisfying that what started out as just an idea 51Ú2 months ago has turned into all this. It’s truly exciting. It’s getting more and more real as the hours go by now into the weekend and to Monday night.”
Fletcher is the Peninsula Minor Hockey Association coach and parent who spearheaded the winning bid by the Panorama Recreation Centre of North Saanich in nation-wide Internet voting last spring, earning the NHL exhibition game and the $100,000 in arena improvements to Panorama that goes with it. Panorama plans to use the money for improved dressing rooms and storage space.
Although North Saanich and Peninsula Minor Hockey won the bid in national online balloting, it was decided to play the Canucks-Sharks exhibition game at The Q Centre on the West Shore as Hockeyville became a movable feast across the region.
Some have asked why the 7,006-seat downtown Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre was not utilized so more fans could have been accommodated for the game. But the whole vibe of the annual Hockeyville celebrations is about the roots of the game.
“That’s a component of it … I think they like that smaller feeling for this,” said Fletcher.
Tickets to both the game Monday evening and the morning practice skates are free and were distributed through lottery. But fans who didn’t get tickets can still see the players arrive into The Q Centre rink Monday morning for the pre-game skates during red-carpert entrances. The Sharks arrive between 7:45 and 9 a.m. and the Canucks starting at approximately 10:15 a.m.
“The players are encouraged to meet with the fans as they enter the rink and this is a great chance for everyone, with tickets or without, to interact with the players,” said Fletcher.
“The players do spend time with the kids on the red carpet.”
Fletcher is as excited as any of the kids. He has every right to be, considering the work he has put into what began as a North Saanich community effort that morphed into a CRD-wide event.
“I haven’t been to an NHL game in years,” said Fletcher.
So he will certainly enjoy Monday night more than most.
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