Community members in Ermineskin are in the running for the Kraft Hockeyville $100,000 arena upgrades and NHL preseason game.
Kraft Hockeyville made the announcement March 4 who the top 10 finalists are, with five communities each representing eastern and western Canada.
Ermineskin’s submission features a 10-minute video about the impact hockey has on the lives of its residents on the reserve. With comments from Chief Randy Ermineskin and Const. Perry Cardinal the video shows just how important these organized sports are for activity and physical exercise.
In it, Chief Ermineskin states that in the winter there’s not much for programming besides hockey and residents usually converge on the arena. “People realize they need to start volunteering and get involved in children’s activities so that they can keep the kids busy.”
“Hockey is the most common in our community,” he adds in the video.
If Ermineskin were to win it would receive $100,000 in arena upgrades for the Neyaskweyahk Arena, plus an NHL preseason hockey game, which would be featured at a large arena.
This would also garner additional funds coming from 50/50 tickets and with the combined prize money and the fundraising, the Ermineskin Cree Nation could be in for a windfall.
Voting will be what helps the community.
Canada Votes
Beginning at 9:00 a.m. EST on March 12, Canadians can vote for their favourite of the top 10 communities at KHV2017.ca.
The top 10 voting phase will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on March 13. The two communities that receive the most votes in each region will move on to the top two final round of voting, beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET on March 19 via KHV2017.ca. The final voting phase will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on March 20.
The grand prize will be announced during Hockey Night in Canada April 1.
Top 10 communities
West
• Courtenay, B.C.
• Maskwacis (Ermineskin)
• Didsbury
• Ituna, Sask.
• Wilkie, Sask.
East
• Cobden, Ont.
• Collingwood, Ont.
• Saint-Ambroise, Que.
• O’Leary, PEI
• Bay Roberts, Newfoundland and Labrador