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25 things you need to know ahead of the 25th Hockey Day in Canada

Twenty-five years ago, Ron MacLean stood in a puddle that was supposed to be an outdoor rink on a mild January day in Toronto nursing a sizeable concern ahead of the first-ever Hockey Day in Canada broadcast. Namely, “How are we going to talk hockey for 13-and-a-half hours?” 

Not long after the cameras went live, former Toronto Maple Leaf Howie Meeker joined the show and for 10 straight minutes, the three-time Stanley Cup champion laid into MacLean for holding a stick he felt was far too long for a forward, thus setting a bad example for the many fans watching the show. 

“He really gave it to me,” MacLean says now, and though he admits being torn apart on TV while standing in a puddle was a tough start, once Meeker got going on MacLean’s stick, the host was no longer worried about running out of Hockey Day material. Instead, MacLean had a new concern: “Good grief, 13-and-a-half hours isn’t enough time!”

On Saturday, Jan. 18, this time from picturesque Canmore, Alta., Hockey Day in Canada will celebrate its 25th anniversary with another epic day of talking and watching and playing hockey. 

Ahead of the anniversary event that will see all seven Canadian NHL teams in action, we reached out to MacLean to weigh in with some of his favourite memories, plus things he’s most looking forward to. MacLean has hosted every single Hockey Day, so who better to provide 25 things to know about Hockey Day in Canada, ahead of its 25th birthday. 

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  • Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada on Sportsnet

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1. A spectacular show opening is planned for Big No. 25, though you’ll have to wait to see exactly how that looks — the host spills no secrets. “Helicopter, train, dog sled, boat — we’ve done ‘em all,” MacLean says. The opening is shot in advance of the show, and on the day of, MacLean will spend much of his time in a rink and on a stage featuring a tough-to-beat backdrop: “Canmore with its mountain majesty offers up perhaps the greatest setting in the 25 years,” he says. “The setting is outrageously beautiful.”  

2. And the hope is that the town’s outrageous beauty is visible. “One of the funniest parts about this show is they check the weather every 12 minutes for a month, hoping for nice weather,” MacLean says. Sadly, early looks at this year’s conditions aren’t promising. “It's not going to be cold [only -11, according to The Weather Network]. It's going to be overcast, though, and that might just blot out some of the mountainscape,” MacLean says. But forecasts aren’t always right… right?   

3. The schedule is one certainty. Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa all hit the ice, with only the Senators facing an American opponent, as they take on the Boston Bruins at 1 p.m. (all times are local, MST). The Canadiens host the Maple Leafs and the Jets host the Flames, both at 5 p.m., while the 8 p.m. finale features the Oilers visiting the Canucks. All games will be broadcast on Sportsnet. 

4. Canmore’s own Noah Philp made his NHL debut with the Oilers earlier this season, the 26-year-old forward and former University of Alberta star playing three games with the big club in the fall. Philp has a wonderful story: He took the 2023-24 season away from hockey before setting out on an eight-month comeback that culminated in his first steps on NHL ice. Impressive, indeed. 

5. The most spectacular thing about Hockey Day isn’t necessarily on the ice, if you ask MacLean. “I always use Crocodile Dundee’s line: ‘You don’t go back to someone’s house because you like the furniture.’ And that’s the story of Hockey Day,” he says. “It’s the people — the rink rats.” 

6. Sometimes those rink rats are mighty famous, too. One who comes to MacLean’s mind was key in celebrations back in 2004 in her hometown of Shaunavon, Sask., and that’s none other than four-time Olympic champion, Hayley Wickenheiser. “By then she was one of our country’s most decorated athletes, and she was also blazing the trail,” MacLean says, pointing to the work Wickenheiser continues to do to grow the game, not only by way of her dominance, but also through initiatives like WickFest, her annual female hockey festival. 

7. Canmore will host a U Sports women’s game as part of its Hockey Day schedule, featuring Edmonton-based MacEwan University taking on Calgary’s Mount Royal University. The MacEwan Griffins sit in last place in the Canda West conference and will be looking to score an upset over the Cougars, who are near the top of the standings. U Sports women’s games are now a regular part of the Hockey Day schedule, and this one gets going Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Canmore Recreation Centre.

8. The rec centre will be busy on the big day, and Sportsnet’s broadcast will feature highlights and live look-ins from the games taking place there. At noon, an Alberta Elite Hockey League U-18 AAA boys’ game will feature in the festivities, with the Airdrie CFR Bisons taking on the Calgary NW Flames. And at 7:30 p.m., the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Drumheller Dragons will take on the local club, the Canmore Eagles. 

9. Former Eagles alumni include Philp, Lightning star and two-time Stanley Cup champion, Brayden Point, and Mark Bombersack, Canadian Junior A’s all-time leading scorer, whose Eagles jersey can be found in the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

10. The Eagles play their home games on one of two NHL-sized rinks in town, the Alex Kaleta Rink. Kaleta was born in Canmore, and played seven seasons in the NHL, for Chicago and the New York Rangers, before joining the WHL’s Saskatoon Quakers to close out his career. The winger known as “Killer” had a big impact on the game: He’s credited with helping to invent the term, “hat trick.” There are a few different origin stories for the concept, but this one is recognized in the Hockey Hall of Fame: As the story goes, Kaleta went shopping for a new hat while his Blackhawks were in Toronto. He didn’t have enough money for the grey fedora he had his eye on, but the owner of the store, Sammy Taft, offered him a deal: If Kaleta scored three times that night against the Maple Leafs, Taft would give him the hat for free. Kaleta scored four goals that night, in January of 1946, and the hat trick was born. Taft reportedly continued to offer a free hat to players who scored three times or more at Maple Leaf Gardens. 

11. This is the third time Alberta has played host to Hockey Day, with previous stops in Red Deer (’01) and Lloydminster (’14). The Canmore event ties Alberta with B.C. and Saskatchewan for the second-most Hockey Day hosting gigs, behind only Ontario, which has hosted six times. 

12. One of MacLean’s fondest Hockey Day memories: A big goal he had a hand in during the alumni game in Kamloops, B.C., in 2016, scored by former NHLer Rob Brown. “All because Rob said to me before the game: ‘Ron, if I pass you the puck, give it right back — I didn’t mean it!’ So, I did, and he wired one from the slot,” MacLean says. 

13. That alumni game is the highlight of the day for three-time Olympic gold medallist and HNIC studio analyst Jennifer Botterill, who will again be part of the Hockey Day coverage. Last year, she played in that alumni game in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,000 in Victoria, B.C. MacLean, Kevin Bieksa and Botterill were on the same team, and even cooked up some faceoff plays in advance. In the end-of-game shootout, Sportsnet anchor Ken Reid suggested Botterill use his “disgusting gloves,” as she puts it. She’d missed on a previous breakaway attempt, and Reid thought they might help. He was right, too — Botterill scored on the shootout wearing his filthy mitts. It was her first time playing in full equipment in years, and Botterill is looking forward to the chance to gear up again in Canmore.   

14. Canmore’s Nordic Centre was built ahead of the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, and played host to the Olympic Nordic events. It also served as the training base for this country’s most decorated winter Paralympian, Brian McKeever, who won a whopping 16 Paralympic gold medals and 19 world championships. The cross-country skier and biathlete, who’s visually impaired, is now head coach of Canada’s Para Nordic team. 

15. When the Flames play host to the Jets on Hockey Day, the broadcast will be available in Plains Cree, a dialect of the Cree language. The game is one of three to be broadcast in Cree on Sportsnet this season, featuring play-by-play commentary from Clarence Iron and analysis from Earl Wood, John Chabot and Jason Chamakese. 

16. The Jets will probably win. They’re 10-3 on Hockey Day in Canada (a stat MacLean pulled out of his near-photographic memory bank), while the other six Canadian teams have records in the neighbourhood of .500 (also via MacLean’s Brain).

17. Celebrations in Canmore begin two days before Hockey Day, and include a Chad Brownlee concert, an opportunity to skate with and eat brunch alongside the Stanley Cup, and an NHL alumni game watch party and after party. 

18. 32 Thoughts: The Podcast will record live from Canmore. Hosts Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas will be stationed at the Silvertip Resort on Jan. 16 at 3 p.m. Canmore is special to Bukasukas, who tied the knot in the town two summers ago. 

19. MacLean’s Hockey Day highlights are many, but the most special in his books is also due to a personal connection, which came in Whitehorse, Y.T., in 2011. MacLean spent much of his childhood in the city since his dad, Ron Sr., was stationed in Whitehorse with the Air Force in the mid-’60s. When the city played host to Hockey Day, Ron Sr. and Jr. revisited the home they lived in, and Hillcrest, the outdoor rink where MacLean learned to raise the puck. Ron Sr., who was then 89, passed away in 2015. MacLean holds dear those memories of celebrating Hockey Day in Whitehorse with his dad. 

20. As hinted above, weather is always a big story on the big day, and Hockey Day has seen it at both ends of the thermometer. In Year 2 in Red Deer, it was -40, and many of the locals who’d gathered to stage the world’s longest outdoor hockey game got frostbite. Iqaluit in Year 4 saw the broadcast move inside after 30 minutes because camera wiring froze and snapped due to temperatures that hit -70 with the wind chill. In 2006 in Stephenville, Nfld., MacLean did the opening in Gros Morne National Park while wearing a t-shirt on a 10-degree day. 

21. The Most Deserving Host City Award may go to Owen Sound, Ont. Hockey Day in Canada tried to get there three times, but had to pivot twice due to COVID. Owen Sound had its well-deserved celebration in 2023, and hasn’t stopped celebrating since. “They’ve kept the legacy by having their own little Hockey Day each year,” MacLean says. “I think they’re the first to do that.” 

22. There’s an outdoor Fan Fest Area in Canmore, which will be the site of a ball hockey tournament on Hockey Day, open to all ages and skill levels. The tournament will feature an adaptive game, too. 

23. The broadcast will see MacLean honour his mentor, the late Ed Whalen — nicknamed ‘Wailin’ Ed’ — a world-famous sports broadcaster and writer who covered everything there was to cover in Calgary and the surrounding area. Whalen — famed host of Stampede Wrestling — gave MacLean the most valuable guidance he’s ever received, early in his career. “He would explain to me all the time how scared he was before his early shows, how mad he got at himself several times during his young career. He would sort of explain to me, you know, the feelings I would have,” says MacLean, who suffered from anxiety and panic attacks in those early days. “I wouldn’t have made it without him.” 

24. Canmore is the birthplace of Olympic champion Chandra Crawford. Crawford won gold in freestyle sprint cross-country skiing at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, and she’s the founder of a charitable organization that seeks to empower girls through sport, physical activity and education, called Fast and Female.    

25. Now 25 years in, MacLean has exactly zero worries about talking hockey for a day-long stretch. His says his worries ahead of the first Hockey Day broadcast stemmed from a quote that goes like so: You celebrate something at the expense of its playfulness. “Which I took to mean, the minute you start to put something on a pedestal when it's supposed to be fun, like our game, you've ruined it,” he says. “I was always really afraid of that, this idea that celebrating hockey would be a ‘gag me’ experience. But it's been the opposite for the reasons that I should have understood.” Those reasons, as he knows well now: “Why are you there?” he asks. “You're there to elevate. You're there to celebrate, is the word, the folks who are the rink rats.” 

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