Top 10 moments in Kraft Hockeyville history

The preseason game for the 20th anniversary of Kraft Hockeyville will be played in the fall of 2027. Public voting opened Friday at 9 a.m. ET and will close Saturday at 5 p.m. ET to decide between Taber Community Centre in Taber, Alberta, and Tumbler Ridge Community Centre Arena in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, for the grand prize of $250,000 toward upgrading their arena and a preseason game celebrating the milestone event. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will announce the winner during "Hockey Night in Canada" on Saturday and the runner-up will receive $100,000 for rink upgrades.

The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens will play at Colisée Vidéotron in Trois-Rivières, Québec, on Sept. 21 to celebrate 2025 winner Saint-Boniface, Québec.

Thousands living in small towns across Canada, many who have never seen the NHL or the Stanley Cup in person, have been gifted with Kraft Hockeyville, a life-changing experience that resonates to this day. To mark the upcoming anniversary, NHL.com is counting down the top 10 events in the program's history. Today, the top four.

1. The 'Beatles' effect

The locals call Elliot Lake, Ontario, "Our Jewel in the Wilderness," also the title of Joseph Brann's book sharing 100 pages of nature, landscapes and landmarks. The crown jewel is Fire Tower Lookout, a panoramic view of scenic wilderness and breathtaking views reaching all the way to Manitoulin Island on the North Channel of Lake Huron. The Stanley Cup was there during Day 1 of its tour, where locals refer in Ojibwe as "Spirit Island" circled by freshwaters of the Kagawong, Manitou, Blue Jay Creek and Mindemoya Rivers.

Caption: The Stanley Cup on display at Fire Tower Lookout in Elliot Lake, Ontario, the winner of Kraft Hockeyville 2024.

"There's no other place on the earth like it," said Amanda McKay, chair of the Elliot Lake Local Organizing Committee that helped win Kraft Hockeyville 2024 for Centennial Arena. "Whether you like to ski or ATV or snowmobile, there's lots of tourist opportunities here. You can go anywhere in the world. ... We can take pictures all day, but they'll never show the true beauty of what Elliot Lake is."

Hundreds of kids and their parents traveled nearly two hours east and stood outside Sudbury Community Arena chanting the name of Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby for at least a half hour before the Penguins were scheduled to walk the red carpet. The Penguins captain found his way to Jim and Erin Dunnett, their daughter Charlie, and a son they named Crosby. Charlie brokered a deal with her parents for an allowance. The offer was $10; she wanted $8.70 and got it. A short time later, Crosby put his signature on her sign. Charlie missed it in all the excitement and when he walked away she looked unhappy. 

Jim then pointed out the signature. Charlie wore a smile for a long time. 

"When he comes to Canada, it's like the Beatles," then-Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said, a tinge of awe in his voice.

Crosby scored his first of two goals at 8:55 of the first period in a 5-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators on Sept. 29. By the time the NHL left town, the grand prize and other endeavors raised $952,787 to restore Centennial Arena, but the wait for a rebirth continues. On Sept. 23, 2025, city councillors voted unanimously to spend another $11.6 million in repairs to what's now Rogers Arena that will delay reopening until at least the winter. 

Though the Elliot Lake Vikings of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League still must travel at least two hours to play, rooted in the community is the fact Kraft Hockeyville is theirs.

"You can tell the passion for the game is here," Crosby said. "It's something that's ingrained in the community, like it is in so many communities. To have a game like this to raise money and create more and more opportunity, ultimately that's what it's about.

"Hopefully this gives everybody a big boost. There's always little reminders of the way people come together when you need to. This is another example of it."

Caption: Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby poses with fans during the Kraft Hockeyville red carpet outside of Sudbury Community Arena in Sudbury, Ontario, on Sept. 29, 2024.

2. Great moments, great opportunity

Lucan, Ontario, mayor Cathy Burghardt-Jesson was reminded of a famous quote from Herb Brooks after the NHL arrived for Kraft Hockeyville 2018, one she used in a letter to the community upon her reelection four years earlier: 

"Great moments are born from great opportunity." 

Little did Burghardt-Jesson realize she'd live those words ahead of Lucan Community Memorial Centre hosting the Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs -- the first in a Maple Leafs sweater for John Tavares after he left the New York Islanders on July 1, 2018, to sign a seven-year, $77 million contract with his favorite team growing up in Mississauga.

"You have to be willing to be open to opportunities," Burghardt-Jesson said. "Instead of being the negative voice and thinking of what can go wrong, you think of what can go right. When you have a moment where that door is open a sliver, if you don't try to open that door further, you're never going to move ahead. Sometimes you don't realize that moment until it's passed and you're either basking in the glory or thinking, 'What did I do? I should have gone for it.'"

The first and only time an NHL team played in Lucan was when Maurice Richard and Bernie Geoffrion skated for the Montreal Canadiens against the Lucan Irish Six for opening night Dec. 15, 1952. Tavares and the Maple Leafs had next. His goal at 5:12 of the first period sparked Toronto to a 4-1 win, Ottawa's first game since trading defenseman Erik Karlsson to the San Jose Sharks on Sept. 13.

"I don't think we'll ever be normal again," Burghardt-Jesson said. "People have realized that it doesn't matter how small you are. You're really capable of doing anything you want. If there's a vision and a want for our community, an industry or a business they want to bring to town, why can't we do that?"

3. 'The place where we learn'

Cape Breton Blizzard Female Hockey Association president Christina Lamey found an opening to elevate girls' hockey in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and rebuild Canada Games Complex on the campus of Cape Breton University. 

The cause won the Maritimes community Kraft Hockeyville 2022. Ceremonies before the game between the Senators and Florida Panthers at Centre 200 on Oct. 1, 2023, featured Graham Marshall, Councillor, Membertou Mi'kmaw Nation, playing a hand drum and joining Chief of Membertou Terry Paul, holder of the position for 37 years that was longest tenured in Canada for a land acknowledgement. 

The day before, Marshall joined members of Mi'kmaq First Nation for a walk around Maupeltuewey Kina'matno'kuom Membertou School and a traditional round dance. In Mi'kmaw, Maupeltuewey Kina'matno'kuom, means "the place where we learn." 

"People are going to remember that day for the rest of their lives for the close relationship we have with the NHL and our town here as well," Marshall said. 

Senators forward Drake Batherson returned to where he skated for Cape Breton of the then-Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2015-18. He had four points (one goal, three assists) in a 4-2 victory.

"I saw a lot of old Eagles Batherson jerseys on," he said. "It was a fun night in general, and I'll probably remember it for the rest of my life."

A refurbished Canada Games Complex was renamed Kehoe Forum on April 25, 2025, in honor of community benefactors Jim Kehoe and the late Roma Kehoe. The building opened Oct. 4 to become Canada's first hub for women's hockey.

4. 'Celebration of a new beginning'

The COVID-19 pandemic paused the 2019-20 regular season and put Kraft Hockeyville on hold for three years before it returned with two events in one week: 2020 winner Twillingate, Newfoundland, and Elsipogtog First Nation, New Brunswick (2021). 

Chief Young Eagle Recreation Centre was Elsipogtog First Nation's symbol of rebirth. The original fundraising efforts were led by Albert Levi, who was elected chief in 1967 and died Oct. 22, 2020, about one month after his labor of love was ruined in a fire. One week before the community won Kraft Hockeyville, a fishing boat capsized off the Nova Scotia coast. The ship's captain, Craig Sock, a beloved Band Councillor and major player behind the bid, was lost at sea. 

"We were torn down," said Jaime Carpenter, Levi's granddaughter. "Losing 'Jumbo' ... one of the best people from Elsipogtog was taken away from us. Breaks my heart."

Hockey Hall of Famer and six-time Stanley Cup champion Bryan Trottier of Metis heritage skated in an alumni game. Colton Benard, an autistic 24-year-old town resident, was deemed Stanley Cup ambassador for the day by Band Councillor Ruth Levi. Joining Trottier at the community picnic was Jocelyne Larocque, also Metis and the first Indigenous athlete to play women's hockey at the Olympics. The defenseman helped Canada win gold at the 2014 Sochi and 2022 Beijing Games, and silver at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and 2026 Winter Olympics.

Caption: Bryan Trottier with Indigenous NHL alumni and players from Kraft Hockeyville 2021 winner Elispogtog First Nation, New Brunswick, following a game at Imperial Kent North Centre in Richibucto on Oct. 6, 2022.

"It's a celebration of life, a celebration of a new beginning of this beautiful First Nation community," said Reggie Leach, a member of Berens River First Nation in Manitoba and Stanley Cup-winning forward with the 1974-75 Philadelphia Flyers. "We as First Nation people, we overcame a lot of the things in our lives. We're not going to stop up now. We're just going to keep fighting back. I'm very proud of this community and all our communities across the country."

Batherson's goal at 2:45 of overtime gave the Senators a 3-2 victory against the Canadiens at J.K. Irving Centre in Bouctouche, where Montreal goalie and Fredericton native Jake Allen made 26 saves in a game he insisted on starting. 

 "I said I'm playing that game," Allen said "There's no way around that."

Lead photo caption: Young fan Charlie Dunnett shows off what brokered a deal with her parents for an allowance of $8.70, a sign soon autographed by Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby during the Kraft Hockeyville red carpet outside of Sudbury Community Arena on Sept. 29, 2024.

5. 'We Are Renous'

Alex Belzile, an undrafted 28-year-old forward yet to play a regular-season game in the NHL, scored a short-handed goal at 13:57 of the third period to give the Montreal Canadiens a 4-3 victory against the Florida Panthers at K.C. Irving Regional Centre in Bathurst, New Brunswick, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Kraft Hockeyville 2019 winner Renous. 

The community was reeling over the death of Thomas Dunn, a 14-year-old youth hockey player whose dirt bike collided with a car June 30, 2018. Dunn's memory and a rallying cry of "We Are Renous" inspired a bid to repair Tom Donovan Arena, named after a town pillar and completed in 1984. An overflow gathering at the Renous Rec Centre learned they were Kraft Hockeyville at 11:45 p.m. ET on March 30, 2019, 15 minutes before what would have been Dunn's 15th birthday.

"It was his spirit that led us," said Nancy Hallihan-Sturgeon, chair of the volunteer organizing committee. "We knew his presence was going to be in the area. We knew it from registration in October right to when we talked about doing the nomination."

Yvan Cournoyer, owner of 10 Stanley Cup rings, represented Canadiens alumni at the community celebration. Harry and Dawn Dunn joined their oldest son, Aaron, to drop the ceremonial first puck between Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry and Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov. 
Dawn held a framed photo of Thomas to her chest.

"We were all shaking," she said. "It was a little nerve-wracking, for sure, but once we came out seeing all the people, everybody was cheering. I have to say I had a hard time not breaking down. From the support of everybody here, it's just amazing. It's just a rush of emotion, excitement, sadness and happiness, if you can imagine that. They're all here because of Tom."

The Dunn family was given a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey signed by Sidney Crosby, Thomas' favorite player, which read, "Thomas, now we know your name."

Fans await the arrival of the Montreal Canadiens on the red carpet for Kraft Hockeyville celebrating Renous, New Brunswick, outside K.C. Irving Regional Centre in Bathurst on Sept. 18, 2019. A logo designed in memory of 14-year-old youth hockey player Thomas Dunn is displayed in the background.

6. McDavid helps Lumby heal

Lumby, British Columbia, a community of 1,731, was given a treat after winning Kraft Hockeyville 2016 when Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings before 3,003 and an additional 500 with standing room at Kal Tire Place in Vernon on Oct. 2, 2016. Three days later, McDavid became the youngest captain in NHL history (19 years, 266 days), 20 days younger than Gabriel Landeskog when he was named Colorado Avalanche captain Sept. 4, 2012.

Organizers since raised another $100,000 for renovations that included four new locker rooms, including one for girls. The town commemorated the 10th anniversary of its victory by holding a free family skate and photo opportunity with representatives at Pat Duke Memorial Arena on Feb. 5.

"It was super magical, a super positive feeling, everyone voting Lumby for Kraft Hockeyville," organizer Angie Clowry told The Keremeos Review covering the Similkameen Valley in British Columbia. "It gave us all a sense of pride and a feeling we could do it."

Community pride helped rally Lumby following the death of a beloved local coach. Peter Catt grew up playing hockey in Pat Duke Memorial Arena. He was playing shinny on the morning of Nov. 2, 2015, until leaving early complaining of heartburn. He awakened that night asking for Rolaids before going back to sleep.

Catt never woke up. He died of a heart attack the next morning at the age of 46, leaving behind his wife and high school sweetheart, Rhonda, and sons Linden and Jace.

Rhonda raised awareness through social media and word of mouth to generate votes. Preschool kids, families and those attending NHL games in other cities shared photos of themselves in hockey jerseys while using the hashtag #VoteLumbyforKraftHockeyville2016. The Family Day holiday brought more than 300 people to the local arena and another 150 in the stands for enough votes that made Lumby Kraft Hockeyville.

"For me, it just keeps Peter alive," Rhonda said. "I want to be able to talk about him and I want to be reminded of him and remind others of him. I don't want him to be forgotten.

"He was a good man, he was great with kids and he loved the sport. And because there was so much positive energy trying to drive this Hockeyville win on behalf of him, it makes me feel good because I know other people want to remember him like that too."

Rink Chats 5: Lumby, BC

7. Cracking the code

North Saanich, British Columbia, marked a return to Adam Cracknell's hockey roots. The native of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, was raised in Victoria about 16 miles away, where he played minor hockey, junior hockey for nearby Juan de Fuca of the Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association and four seasons with Kootenay in the Western Hockey League.

Cracknell signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks at age 30 on Aug. 25, 2015, and found himself practicing before about 2,000 people ahead of a preseason game against the San Jose Sharks.

"I'm feeling a lot of energy," Cracknell said in remarks published by The Times Colonist in Victoria. "I won't need much coffee today. This reaction among the fans today shows what the Canucks mean here. All my friends grew up dreaming of playing for the Canucks, so there's a lot of pride in putting on this jersey. I'm still living the dream … and playing for the Canucks."

Cracknell took the opening face-off and scored in overtime for a 1-0 win at The Q Centre in Colwood on Sept. 21, 2015, three months after the NHL Board of Governors approved a new 3-on-3 OT format. The moment was a mic drop for Jason Fletcher, the Peninsula Minor Hockey Association coach and parent who spearheaded the winning bid for the Panorama Recreation Centre that reopened Oct. 15, 2017, after a $2.2 million renovation of Arena B added new seating, a giant TV, scoreboard and a rink upgraded to NHL regulation standards. 

North Saanich was also a prophecy for Bo Horvat. The forward who would be named the 14th captain of the Canucks on Oct. 9, 2019, came through the West Lorne Minor Hockey program. The "small but mighty" town of 1,300, 45 minutes from Horvat's native London, Ontario, won Kraft Hockeyville 2023 and rechristened West Lorne Arena the Bo Horvat Community Centre on Aug. 24, 2024.

8. From Roberval to the Stanley Cup

A spillover crowd of 1,237 gathered in Roberval when the Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 at what is now Centre Sportif Benoît-Levesque on Sept. 23, 2008. The event was also a homecoming for Canadiens rookie David Desharnais, an undrafted forward who played for nearby Chicoutimi in the then-Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Watching from his living room sofa was a youth hockey player from Roberval named Samuel Girard. He never considered playing in the NHL until something inside him changed that made it seem possible.

"I then wanted to be part of something bigger," Girard wrote for LNH.com on March 20, 2021. "I can tell you that winning that award and hosting that game changed my life and the city of Roberval. We were all so proud, not just for a few months, but for several years. Roberval won the competition in 2008, and people still talk about it today."

Girard played three seasons for Shawinigan of the QMHL and won the 2016 Emile-Bouchard Trophy given to the defenseman of the year with 74 points (10 goals, 64 assists). He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the second round (No. 47) of the 2016 NHL Draft, became a 2022 Stanley Cup champion with the Colorado Avalanche and was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 24.

Rink Chats: Roberval, QC

Coming March 28: Moments Nos. 5 and 6

Lead photo caption: Kraft Hockeyville 2008 organizing committee member Marie-Eve Sasseville (far right) and family pose with the Stanley Cup during a ceremony in Roberval, Quebec, on Sept. 21, 2008.

9. 'Arena of Dreams'

The winning bid for Hockeyville 2012 in Stirling-Rawdon, Ontario, was organized by chairperson Cindy Brandt for their "little village with a big heart," in memory of Barry Wilson, manager of Stirling Arena for 25 years and a 40-year volunteer with the Stirling District Minor Hockey Association.

Wilson died of a stroke at the age of 61 on May 14, 2011. The Barry Wilson Memorial Fund created by family and friends was launched Jan. 6, 2021, to assist with paying registration costs to help families experience the sport of hockey or figure skating.

"We spoke about Barry and how he had plans," Brandt said. "We needed the girls to have a place to play hockey. They needed the same facility as the boys. We wouldn't have had this energy without Barry."

Though a lockout canceled the game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs, other festivities continued as planned including an NHL alumni charity game featuring Stirling native Rob Ray, a retired Sabres and Senators forward. Eight players honored a commitment to visit the community and skate with kids of various ages: Brad Richardson, Derek Smith, Jamal Mayers, Kurtis Foster, James Reimer, Nick Foligno, Josh Bailey and Belleville, Ontario, native Matt Cooke. They signed paraphernalia and posed for photos, including a group shot outside Stirling Arena with the town's minor hockey players.

"It brings back a lot of memories," Foligno, then with the Blue Jackets, told the NHL Players' Association website. "This is where we started. We all feel a connection to these kind of rinks because this is where we started to play hockey and the people who are involved got us to where we are today, so it's great to come back and give back."

Following an NHL Officials Clinic, the Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets played a makeup game at Yardmen Arena in Belleville on Sept. 14, 2013, each team bringing marquee players, including Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Evander Kane. A crowd of nearly 300 lined up outside to cheer players when they got off the respective team buses. Ovechkin, Backstrom, Green, Kane and Zach Bogosian were among those who took extra time to interact after the morning skate.

Capitals forward Brooks Laich took it all in, though he missed the game because of a left hip flexor injury.

"I know how they're feeling, I know how important it is," Laich told The Canadian Press. "I think sometimes as players, too, we forget really how important the NHL is to people and how delicate it is to be in the NHL. It's just a really, really cool experience."

Green's shootout goal gave Washington a 4-3 win before more than 3,000 fans.

"It was a lot of fun," Green said. "We didn't know what to expect and the city welcomed us with open arms. We had a lot of fun today. Yeah, it was exciting."

10. Only the beginning

The first Kraft Hockeyville saw the Monteral Canadiens defeat the Ottawa Senators 7-3 at Colchester Legion Stadium in Truro, Nova Scotia, on Sept. 25, 2006. Salmon River and Deuvilles Rink defeated finalists Smithers, British Columbia; Falher and Airdrie, Alberta; and Barry's Bay, Ontario, for $50,000 in upgrades and $10,000 in hockey equipment. The rink was built in 1958 and owned and operated by Webster John "Web" Deuville, who remained a fixture long after turning over full-time operations to his son, Ellery, in 1998 and was often seen watching games from his apartment window overlooking the ice.

"I remember those words, 'And the winner of Kraft Hockeyville Salmon River Nova Scotia,'" Ellery said in a video produced by Kraft Hockeyville.  "I'll never forget that. The whole thing was just a trip that any community has won it knows. It's a special, special, feeling that'll never leave."

Web dropped the puck for the ceremonial face-off in the neighboring town of Truro. He died at the age of 96 on Aug. 22, 2014.

"When my mom passed away, we did not think he would last," said Web's daughter, Donna. "And then Hockeyville came along and that just gave him that little boost. I'm so happy that he got to see Hockeyville because he's the one that is Hockeyville.

"When Hockeyville came along, I realized just how unique this place is."

Linesperson Steve Barton instructs local minor league officials at an NHL Officials Clinic during Kraft Hockeyville in Stirling-Rawdon, Ontario, on Sept. 13, 2013.