With just some finishing touches remaining before Spectra Place can be considered complete, the final fundraising dinner was held March 25 on the arena floor of the new facility.
Joe Bowen, a Toronto broadcaster who covers Maple Leafs games, emceed the evening, even auctioning off a late-ticket item to the live auction, added by Brian Burke.
Burke, the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager, made his third trip to Estevan to witness the opening of the new arena. He previously saw the early stages of development of the facility and marveled at the finished product.
"It's breathtaking. It's awesome," he said. "I couldn't believe it when I walked in here. It's just a beautiful facility, and it looks like they thought of everything. I love it."
Burke has supported the new facility's construction and offered up a special item to the live auction: a four-person trip to Toronto to see a Leafs game from Burke's own suite, as well as a joining the team on their plane for a two-game road trip.
Bowen, impressed by the auctioneer's style earlier, thought he'd try his hand at selling the item. It went for $25,000. Before that, the live auction raked in $157,000.
Burke said supporting initiatives that develop athletes at the minor level is something that he considers of utmost importance.
"It's vital (to support minor leagues). The bottom of the pyramid is small towns in Canada, and parts of the United States and Europe. It's small towns at the bottom of the pyramid where players learn the game, begin to play and learn their skills. The top of the pyramid, where we work, is totally dependent on the state of hockey, the health of the hockey business. It all starts here. It all starts in towns like Estevan and Weyburn. I love assignments like this."
Six years ago Burke made his first trip to the city, and this time around he was impressed by the growth of the city, making it all the more enjoyable to come back to.
"They keep asking me (to come back to Estevan)," he said. "And every time I come, I enjoy it. I've been involved since the very first sportsman dinner that was intended to raise funds for the new building. And I came back with commissioner (Gary) Bettman, and now I'm back today. I'm very honoured to be invited a third time. The people are wonderful."
Burke spoke before the dinner about the state of the National Hockey League and touched on some of the hot topics, like the increased awareness of concussions. He said he feels, despite the way the sport has been portrayed this season, the NHL is having a "great" year.
"I think what happens when you have a couple of incidents like the hit on (Max) Pacioretty, the non-sports media get involved," he said. "I think within the sports media they'd agree we're having a good year. I think we've got a good handle on the head shot issue, and I think we're attacking it properly. The notion that we're going to have an injury-free game is pretty naïve and pretty silly. It's a full-contact sport. We're going to have concussions, and we're going to have to keep them to a minimum."
Burke said he's happy with the league's decision last season to put an end to blind-side headshots, but said, "I'm not in favour of a penalty for an otherwise legal check that results in contact with the head."
The playoff races at the end of the season are one of the things Burke looks to as a huge positive for the NHL.
"The West is bizarre," he said and noted how a ninth place team jumped to fifth by winning one game the night before.
"It's nuts. It's great for hockey. I'm not sure it's great for GMs, I got no fingernails left. But I think it's great for the game."
As far as the Maple Leafs are concerned, Burke believes the best performances come because of pressure, and his team has enough players fighting for jobs that they will only get better.
"For an organization to get better, you need pressure from beneath. There has to be competition for jobs that comes from your AHL team. I feel we've restored that, and I don't we had that when I arrived."
Noting some of the young players coming into the organization, he said they have created pressure on players' jobs in Toronto. As it looks like his team will fall short of the playoffs, Burke finds the positives from the year.
"This will not be wasted time or in any way lost development time, because I think for our young players going through a stretch like this where the games are vital, it's like a playoff atmosphere in Toronto. I think there's great value even if we miss."
