Last week’s announcement that the 2022 Centennial Cup presented by Tim Hortons is coming to Estevan was a victory, not just for the Estevan Bruins, but for the community as a whole.
Estevan had been gunning for the 2021 edition of the national junior A hockey championship, but ultimately Hockey Canada decided to award the tournament to Penticton, B.C., for 2021, and then Estevan in 2022, rather than forcing Estevan to go through the bid process all over again when the Energy City had such a strong bid.
It was a pretty bright move to solve the situation of a dead heat between the two communities.
The Centennial Cup is a hockey tournament, but it is much more than that. It will be a showcase for our city. It’s a chance for people to see what a great arena we have in Affinity Place, the excellent hotel and restaurant options that we boast, and the wonderful people living here.
The bid committee for Estevan has been touting an estimated $3 million economic spinoff for the city. There will be four teams coming here from across the country, and in addition to the teams’ players and staff, you’ll have player parents and even a few fans making the trek to Estevan. You’ll also have scouts coming from across North America to see the talent on display.
It will be a chance for our business community, as they’ll have an influx of people coming to Estevan. Hopefully we’ll see a lot of “Welcome to Estevan” type signs on business storefronts.
People from across Canada will see how welcoming we can be, how dedicated our volunteers are and how much we love this great game.
They’ll spend their money here, and hopefully they’ll tell their family and friends what a great time they had.
We hope the only negative for the other teams will be when they play, and hopefully lose to, the Bruins.
The pressure will also be on the host Bruins to ice a championship-calibre team. The last three Centennial Cup hosts have won the tournament. The last five hosts have been in the final.
Hosting the tournament gives a team an edge when it comes to recruiting talent, since those players know they have a chance to appear in a national tournament with the spotlight on them. But it’s not a guarantee for success.
This also speaks to the strength of the bid document put forward by the Bruins and the City of Estevan. The Penticton Vees are one of the prestige organizations in Canadian junior A hockey, as they’re a powerhouse in the B.C. Hockey League. Penticton is also one of the few junior A hockey communities in the country that has an arena on par with our Affinity Place.
They made money off of the Western Canada Cup the year after the Bruins made money off the tournament. They have excellent community and corporate support, but the city is also easier to access for those coming from out of town than Estevan.
The bid document put forward by the Bruins and the City of Estevan was a flawless proposal that documented the Bruins history, Estevan’s track record for hosting outstanding events, the venues that will be used for all of the activities associated with the tournament, and where any profits from the tournament would be directed.
It checked every one of the boxes that Hockey Canada would want.
Now another challenge begins: getting ready to host the tournament. It would be easy to be complacent; after all, it will be nearly 2 1/2 years until the best junior A teams in the country will come to Estevan.
But we only have to look at the 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games for an example of how quickly 2 1/2 years can pass. After all, Estevan was awarded the 2016 Games in November 2013.
The good news is that the steering committee for the 2016 Games went to work right away, and it proved to be an incredible, well-run week that showcased all that Estevan has to offer for the thousands of people who flocked to this city.
And now we’re going to get a chance to showcase the community in 2022 on a national scale.
