Kraft Heinz Canada announced the finalists for the annual honour on Saturday afternoon, with the Town of Lumsden emerging as the only community west of Manitoba to receive the reach the final four .
The contest will see the winning community receive $250,000 for arena upgrades as well as an opportunity to host a National Hockey League pre-season game. The runners up will receive $25,000 each and all four finalists will receive $10,000 for brand new hockey equipment for their minor hockey programs through the NHL Dreams and Goals Fund.
The Lumsden Community Sports Centre will be the focus of Hockeyville in Saskatchewan this time around.
“Lumsden is a feeder arena and residents from all over the immediate and surrounding communities have worked tirelessly over the years to sustain and develop hockey programs, especially women’s hockey, through countless hours of volunteerism,” the Hockeyville press release said. “Lumsden is in need of arena upgrades that will make their hockey culture more vibrant and aid them in their effort to grow women’s hockey.”
Saint Adolphe, Man., Bobcaygeon, Ont. and Elsipgtog First Nation, N.B. are the other four finalists for the contest.
Canadian residents can vote for one of the remaining communities online at krafthockeyville.ca beginning at 7 a.m. on Friday, Apr. 9 and closing at 3 p.m. on April 10th. Votes can only be cast on the website during the voting phase and voting per person is unlimited. The final announcement will take place later that evening on Hockey Night in Canada on Sportsnet and CBC during the first intermission of the 5 p.m. games.
The community of Pense became a Hockeyville cause célèbre in Saskatchewan during the 2020 Hockeyville contest, and despite not winning the contest, eventually received enough donations to support the $300,000 in renovations for the Pense Community Arena.
For more information on Kraft Hockeyville 2021, visit krafthockeyville.ca.
