This coming from Canada’s public broadcaster. CBC’s annual celebration of Canada’s game, the day-long Hockey Day in Canada will take place on January 18 from Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan in the Western part of the country.
CBC will air four games involving all seven Canadian NHL teams plus it will carry programming and features showing how much the game is beloved in Canada. It’s one of my favorite days of the calendar and NHL Network in the United States will carry two of the four games plus part of CBC’s programming.
It’s the 14th annual Hockey Day in Canada and I hope as Rogers takes over the NHL contract next year, it will continue this tradition of celebrating the sport.
Here’s what will be seen on CBC for Hockey Day in Canada.
CBC ANNOUNCES BROADCAST PLANS FOR HOCKEY DAY IN CANADA FROM LLOYDMINSTER, AB/SK, ON JANUARY 18, 2014
Hockey Day in Canada on CBC includes a full day of hockey programming beginning at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT) including four NHL games featuring all seven Canadian teams
December 4, 2013 – CBC is once again celebrating the game that brings communities together across Canada with the 14th edition of Hockey Day in Canada from Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan, on Saturday, January 18, 2014 beginning at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT). The CBC broadcast includes four NHL games featuring all seven Canadian teams.
“For 14 years Hockey Night in Canada has showcased our love for the game that continues to play an important role in communities across the country through Hockey Day in Canada,” said Jennifer Dettman, executive director, studio and unscripted content, CBC. “It’s always an important day on the CBC calendar. We’re proud to have Lloydminster as host for this year’s national celebration of grassroots hockey and community spirit.”
The theme of this year’s Hockey Day in Canada broadcast is ‘Community’ and will include features that examine the common bond Canadians share through hockey and the local rinks in which it is played as well as the role the game plays in bringing Canadian communities together from coast-to-coast-to-coast. Throughout the broadcast CBC will look in on hockey-related events taking place in communities across the country including Prince George, BC, Barry’s Bay, ON and Sydney, NS.
The broadcast begins at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT) with Hockey Day in Canada: Celebrating the Game, live from the Winter Festival in Lloydminster with host Ron MacLean at an outdoor rink built specifically for Hockey Day on the Exhibition Grounds. MacLean will be joined in Lloydminster by Don Cherry, Cassie Campbell-Pascall and NHL alumni including Wendel Clark and Ambassadors Mark Napier, Lanny McDonald, Darcy Tucker and Marty McSorley.
Elliotte Friedman, P.J. Stock and Kevin Weekes will check in throughout the day from Vancouver where they will be stationed for CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA game coverage. In addition, Canadian sledge hockey player Greg Westlake and national team coach Mike Mondin will be on hand to announce the roster for the team that will compete for Canada at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in March. Later in the day, the backdrop changes as MacLean and the crew move inside the Lloydminster Centennial Civic Centre arena where the Lloydminster Bobcats will go head-to-head against the Sherwood Park Crusaders in a Junior ‘A’ game.
“We are ready to host Canada and Canadians everywhere on CBC as we celebrate the game with the Hockey Day in Canada team,” said Jeff Mulligan, chair, Lloydminster Organizing Committee. “We will bring all sectors of our community together to embrace hockey past, present, and future, recognizing the way it shapes our proud Canadian fabric.”
NHL game coverage begins with two games at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) featuring the New York Rangers visiting the Ottawa Senators for viewers in Ontario and to the East while viewers in Manitoba and to the West will see the Winnipeg Jets play host to the Edmonton Oilers. Hockey Day in Canada: Celebrating the Game continues following the first games with more features as well as live look-ins from the Winter Festival in Lloydminster and communities across Canada.
Hockey Tonight leads viewers into the national doubleheader at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT) followed by an Original Six match-up between the host Toronto Maple Leafs and longtime rival Montreal Canadiens at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT). At 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) the Calgary Flames travel to Vancouver to take on the Canucks in the final game of the night on CBC. Scott Oake and Kelly Hrudey wrap up the night following the late game with After Hours.
The Hockey Day in Canada broadcast includes a full day of coverage, but the celebrations start four days earlier on Tuesday, January 14 with a Stanley Cup relay that will see the iconic trophy travel to the CBC headquarters in Regina that morning for a public event that will give fans the opportunity to have their photo taken with the Cup. CBC Edmonton will host a similar event in Churchill Square on the morning of Wednesday, January 15 before the Stanley Cup travels to Scotiabank branches in Camrose, AB and Vermillion, AB during the day on the way to Lloydminster.
The arrival of the Stanley Cup signifies the official start of the Hockey Day in Canada celebrations in Lloydminster with a series of events in and around the community in the days leading up to Saturday, January 18. Activities taking place include on-ice clinics for youth hockey players and visits to local schools with NHL alumni Bryan Trottier, Clark, McDonald, McSorley, Napier and Tucker as well as members of CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA broadcast team including Kelly Hrudey, Dick Irvin, Andi Petrillo and Craig Simpson in addition to Campbell-Pascall and Stock.
CBC News Network’s Ian Hanomansing and Carly Agro will also make the trip to Lloydminster and will be broadcasting live and filing reports into the weekend detailing the hockey-related events taking place in the community. In addition, Hanomansing will have a feature report about Hockey Day in Canada in the January 17 edition of The National.
Also included on the schedule are several public skates and receptions giving local fans the chance to see the Stanley Cup up close. The morning of Thursday, January 16 features a celebrity breakfast followed that evening by the Stolen From a Hockey Card concert featuring Dave Bidini and several special guest performers including Tami Holtby (mother of Washington Capitals goalie and Lloydminster native, Braden Holtby), Bryan Trottier and the winner of Hockey Night in Canada Song Quest. The annual Hockey Day in Canada Banquet will be held on Friday, January 17 and includes a live charity auction.
Located approximately 250 kilometres east of Edmonton, Lloydminster’s closest NHL franchise is the Oilers and the team will be well represented at Hockey Day in Canada with appearances from Oilers president of hockey operations, Kevin Lowe, president and COO, Patrick LaForge, and members of the Edmonton Octane cheer team.
Outside of the broadcast, there is a full day of activity planned for Saturday, January 18 at the Lloydminster Winter Fest beginning with the HockeyFest, where four minor hockey teams will be coached by NHL alumni, and continuing throughout the day with a pancake breakfast, a pee wee girls ‘Outdoor Classic’ hockey game, an outdoor NHL Alumni hockey game as well as the Junior ‘A’ game between Lloydminster and Sherwood Park.
Viewers can connect with CBC and Scotiabank leading up to and throughout Hockey Day in Canada on Facebook and on Twitter by following @CBCHockeyDay and @ScotiaHockey and using #hockeyday.
Hockey Day in Canada broadcast schedule:
Saturday, January 18, 2014
- 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT) – Hockey Day in Canada: Celebrating the Game (Part I)
- 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) – New York Rangers @ Ottawa Senators (Ontario and to the East)
- 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) – Edmonton Oilers @ Winnipeg Jets (Manitoba and to the West)
- 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) – Hockey Day in Canada: Celebrating the Game (Part II)
- 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT) – Hockey Tonight
- 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) – Montreal Canadiens @ Toronto Maple Leafs (National)
- 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) – Calgary Flames @ Vancouver Canucks (National)
- 12:30 a.m. ET (9:30 p.m. PT) – After Hours
*All games also available live online at CBCSports.ca
That will do it.
