Ference excited Hockey Day in Canada spotlights Canmore, Alberta

Andrew Ference can't imagine a more scenic locale to host the 25th anniversary of Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada than Canmore, Alberta.

Having played 16 seasons in the NHL and won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011, Ference lived in Canmore with The Three Sisters peaks of the Canadian Rockies as a backdrop.

"I actually lived there for four or five years," Ference said. "When I first broke into the League with Pittsburgh and probably my second or third year, my first ever house purchase was a new development in Canmore. It was a duplex, and I thought it was a good place to set up shop in the summertime.

"I love the mountains. Growing up in Edmonton I would go down to ski at Sunshine Village and Lake Louise (Banff, Alberta) all the time and I just loved it. The reason I picked Canmore is that I love the mountains and I thought that place was awesome and I loved it."

Ference was back in Canmore this weekend to take part in the Hockey Day in Canada festivities broadcast on Sportsnet, Sportsnet+ and CBC on Saturday.

All seven Canada-based teams will play, starting with the Bruins at the Ottawa Senators, followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNP, NHLN), the Calgary Flames at the Winnipeg Jets (7 p.m. ET; CITY, SNW) and concluding with the Edmonton Oilers at the Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, TVAS2).

All four games will be available to stream for free in Punjabi, Plains Cree, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi, Tagalog, Gujarati and Spanish on sportsnet.ca/hockeyday.

"I've been to a few of these now and Hockey Day in Canada has become a day where all the Canadian teams are playing and people just hunker down and consume hockey all day, which is pretty cool for the Saturday," said Ference, now NHL Director of Social Impact and Player Programs. "But for the host city it's so cool. From Wednesday to Saturday it's jam-packed with hockey clinics, we'll have the Stanley Cup there, we'll do some panels with some of the Olympic athletes, there are galas and parties. It's just a half-week celebration of the game of hockey. Between the indoor rinks, the outdoor rinks and street hockey, it's kind of a hockey-palooza for all the kids and families that want to be there."

The 12 1/2-hour broadcast Saturday is hosted by Ron McLean live from Canmore Golf and Country Club and Canmore Recreation Centre. The Stanley Cup is on display at the fan festival, to go along with autograph signings and a ball hockey tournament.

"Getting time with the Stanley Cup is kind of cool, everyone gets a chance to go up and see it, touch it and get their picture with it," Ference said. "It's always neat to see people interact with the Cup in their own little hometowns. Between Sportsnet and Scotiabank, they do such an incredible job not only promoting it, but with boots on the ground in little towns that host it, it's just a really, really fun hockey party."

Along with Ference, who played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Bruins, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers during his career, NHL alums Lanny McDonald, Colin Patterson, Matt Stajan, Curtis Glencross and Jay Bouwmeester is in attendance.

As part of the festivities, an alumni game took place, also featuring members of the Sportsnet "Hockey Night in Canada" broadcast team.

"I rip around and try to light it up," Ference said. "They're pretty fun actually, guys try pretty hard, and the women too, we mix it up and get everyone in there. We've had some pretty competitive games, so it's fun."

The city of just over 15,000 located about 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of Calgary, is home to the Canmore Eagles of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point played four games there in 2011-12, and forward Noah Philp, who was recalled by Edmonton on Tuesday and is expected to play against the Canucks on Saturday, played 31 games there in 2014-15.

Philp is a Canmore native and played for his hometown team as a 16-year-old before moving on to the Western Hockey League to play with Winnipeg and Seattle.

"Hockey is huge in Canmore, and growing up we took a lot of pride in representing the Bow Valley area," Philp said. "We're trying to kind of pass that along with different programs and it's kind of cool to see 'Hockey Day in Canada' coming to my hometown.

"We were fortunate enough to have an outdoor rink just a two-minute walk behind our house, so we spent a ton of time out there. We would practice and then go to the outdoor rink out there. We lived out there. Those are some fond memories."

Philp signed a one-year contract with the Oilers on July 1, 2024, after sitting out the 2023-24 season for personal reasons. He has 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in 28 games with Bakersfield of the American Hockey League, and one assist in five NHL games since making his debut Oct. 31.

The 26-year-old has fond memories of growing up in Canmore and is excited for his town to be in the national spotlight Saturday.

"It's such a beautiful place and that rink that I was talking about, it's kind of centered and you can see the mountains around it. It's pretty picturesque," he said. "I think the two go hand in hand and I'm fortunate to be from there."