Hockeyville Hub: Canada, Day 4

Kraft Hockeyville Canada, now in its 12th year, awards one winning community in Canada a once-in-a-lifetime experience for hockey fans. This year, Lucan, Ontario, and the Lucan Community Memorial Centre were selected as the winner after an online vote. The rink will receive $250,000 in arena upgrades, and there will be festivities and player appearances prior to the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Ottawa Senators in a nationally televised preseason game at Lucan Community Memorial Centre on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS). NHL.com staff writer Jon Lane is in Lucan to provide all the sights, sounds, highlights and news leading up to the game:

Tuesday

Trading places

Dylan DeMelo
was moving into a new apartment in San Jose when he was acquired by the Ottawa Senators in the trade that sent
Erik Karlsson
to the San Jose Sharks on Sept. 13. The defenseman and native of London, Ontario, who played junior hockey for Mississauga of the Ontario Hockey League, recalled the sudden transition as a surreal and crazy moment.
But that turned into excitement once he realized he had a chance to participate in Kraft Hockeyville Canada.
"It's amazing," DeMelo, 25, said after practice at Lucan Memorial Community Centre. "I used to skate here when I was younger, probably before I was tying my own skates. It's great to be back here. Things happen fast in this business. As soon as I found out I was traded to Ottawa, I thought it'd be really cool to play in this game, so I'm lucky to be here and lucky to be playing."
Senators coach Guy Boucher is from a small town (Notre-Dame-du-Lac, Quebec) and realizes the event will leave a lasting impression in Lucan.
"I can't even imagine the NHL coming to me when I was young," Boucher said. "This has to be a dream. This has to be a once in a lifetime thing. You grow your fan base and more than that you touch hearts. You develop passion in individuals who will maybe decide to do more hockey later and their families and their own kids and so on. The depth of the impact it has is immeasurable."
The Senators arrived in Lucan for their first preseason game having put last season behind them. Ottawa finished 28-43-11, 30 points behind the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, one season after extending the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins to double overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final. In addition to Karlsson, forward
Mike Hoffman
was traded to the Sharks and then flipped to the Florida Panthers on June 19.
"What last year?" Boucher said. "Now we're moving forward. That's our message. We want to transition off ice and on ice. That's our focus right now."

Nervous energy

Nazem Kadri, a native of London, Ontario, who played for the London Junior Knights AAA team and London of the Ontario Hockey League, felt the energy from the tight-knit Lucan community as the Toronto Maple Leafs arrived Tuesday morning.
"We were waiting for the suspense of it," the Maple Leafs forward said. "They were here early in the morning lining up. We certainly appreciate that dedication and the passion that the community of Lucan has shown both organizations. It's overwhelming.
"It'd definitely more of an atmosphere. It's exciting to see the community of Lucan to get so excited and the passion of the fans. We're happy to have them."
The common theme among the Maple Leafs was nervous energy, even if it's a preseason game.
"If you don't get that feeling it might be time to hang them up," Kadri said. "We're still passionate about what we do. We get excited, anxious and a little bit nervous before games and I think that's a natural feeling."
For center John Tavares, the goal is simple for he and the Maple Leafs.
"No matter when you play, you want to win," said Tavares, who will be making his Maple Leafs debut and also played for London of the OHL. "It's finally great to get into some game action. For myself, it's been a little long, so it's nice to get back into that competitiveness and a lot of those things you need to get prepared for the regular season.
"I'm going to just try and carry over things that we've been learning from the first few days of camp and establish that, and individually just get yourself up to the level you want to get to and use the opportunity to build."

Hockeyville is here

A gathering of fans young and old lined up outside Lucan Memorial Community Centre to await the red-carpet arrival of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators for Kraft Hockeyville Canada. It's the first 2018 preseason game for each team.
Among the notable names on the rosters for the game is John Tavares, who will make his debut with the Maple Leafs.

The sight of Tavares, who signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with Toronto on July 1, has excited many local fans, some who are going to the game and others who will be watching under a tent at an outdoor viewing party.
"It's going to be great," said Tory Gilchrist, coach of the first-year atom team Lucan Fury. "Small little venue, old school arena. It's going to be awesome."
Larry Merner is from Zurich, Ontario, 30 minutes northwest of Lucan. He's been a Maple Leafs fan for 73 years and watched them win the Stanley Cup in 1967. Even if Toronto doesn't end the drought this season, Merner is confident the addition of Tavares will eventually pay off with a championship.
"I'm glad he's playing," Merner said. "Sometimes they don't play the better players the first game. Without him they're maybe 3-4 years away [from winning the Cup] but if not this year, next year.
"[Team president Brendan] Shanahan is doing a fantastic job. He has a plan and the plan is falling into place. I hope it continues."
Wendy Hardy was one of a handful of Lucan residents who was surprised with a visit from the Stanley Cup on Monday. She will watch the game at the viewing party.
"He should have been there long ago," Hardy said of Tavares. "The Toronto boy coming home. I think it's his dream too, to have his career in Toronto."

Monday

Ference believes losing can be 'ultimate inspiration' for McDavid, Oilers

Connor McDavid may be sick of losing, but that frustration could be used to the Edmonton Oilers' advantage if channeled properly, according to former Oilers captain Andrew Ference.
"It's good as long as you have good direction for your frustration," Ference said while attending Kraft Hockeyville Canada 2018. "Losing is one of the most frustrating things you can have. It can be a burden, it can weigh guys down, it can be a bit detrimental if it's not attacked appropriately. Or it can be the ultimate inspiration as well."
Though McDavid won the Art Ross Trophy for the second straight season with 108 points (41 goals, 67 assists), the Oilers missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs after finishing 17 points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card from the Western Conference one year after taking the Anaheim Ducks to Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round.
McDavid spoke his mind during the NHL Player Media Tour in Chicago early this month, and that can be the tonic the Oilers need to rebound this season.
"I've been part of teams that's been through the most devastating of losses," said Ference, whose Boston Bruins blew a 3-0 lead to the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals one year before winning the Stanley Cup. "But we took a horrible experience and ended up winning the next year because we approached it the appropriate way. We attacked it as a team and as a group and had a plan.
"If it's just Connor that's frustrated, which he is, that won't be good. He'll need the other guys around him to equally be ticked off about how last year went and the general feeling of not winning games."
McDavid will try to become the first player to lead the NHL in scoring three straight seasons since Jaromir Jagr did so in four straight with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1997-2001. Though McDavid has put up impressive numbers in three NHL seasons (256 points; 87 goals, 169 assists), teammate Ryan Strome told Sportsnet on Sept. 15 he thinks the Oilers captain will "absolutely torch this league."
That could happen according to Ference, who sees shades of former Penguins teammate Mario Lemieux (2000-03) in McDavid.
"You almost had to always be prepared for the puck to somehow land on your stick when you least expected it," Ference said of Lemieux. "He saw the play develop, he knew exactly where you should be, knew exactly where you wanted it, it's just that you don't expect that pass to every get there, and it would.
"That's similar to what I see with Connor, a lot of just unbelievable plays and guys are so conditioned to not expect that play to get there because there's not too many people in the world that can get the puck to your stick there. If he can find that chemistry and that pure guy who can convert those chances for him, it will be ridiculous how many … he should have had double or triple the amount of assists he had last year."

DOP mission statement

Lucan mayor Cathy Burghardt-Jesson was among the community leaders who attended a Declaration of Principles luncheon at Lucan Library. A presentation was given by NHL director of social impact, growth and fan development Andrew Ference about eight key ideologies aimed at rededicating hockey at every level, the value of a positive family experience and how the game is for everyone.
It was early in Ference's hockey career that he learned life-changing lessons of what it means to be an athlete, a team player and how there's more going on in your life than just the game itself. Ference played for coach Brent Peterson with Portland of the Western Hockey League from 1994-97, and Peterson's mandate to his players was not only to play the game, but to be involved in the community.
"It was fun," Ference said. "It turned into a real getaway for me to expose myself to different people and get involved in different things, and it carried on through my entire career in the NHL."
Ference played 16 NHL seasons and won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011. He retired July 13, 2017 after a hip injury limited him to six games with the Edmonton Oilers in 2015-16. His role with the NHL is helping advance its social impact, community-based grassroots and fan development growth efforts while attracting new audiences though efforts anchored by the DOP.
"Our mission is to make those declarations meaningful through action, and to not just talk about them and patting ourselves on the back about having them, but what are we actually doing about them," Ference said. "This is who we say we are. We have to live up to those.
"Progress is the promised land of having everything on those principles be a complete reality. I don't think you ever get there. I think that's something you always strive for."
The message preached by Burghardt-Jesson was one of educating the community on the value of playing sports and why it's important those lessons continue to be put into action after Kraft Hockeyville is finished.
"Your job as a parent and as community leaders is to lead young people to become leaders in the community, to become people of character," she said. "They do that through teamwork, perseverance, success and failures. You can only do that through sport in my mind. Long after the NHL moves out of here on Tuesday night, this is what will be left with us and how we can keep this living in our community. The job continues."

Hello, Stanley

The Stanley Cup has arrived here in Lucan, making its first appearance at a sign welcoming residents and visitors about a half-mile from Lucan Memorial Community Centre.
The Cup's schedule includes a couple of surprise visits, a private Declaration of Principles luncheon with NHL director of social impact, growth and fan development Andrew Ference and community leaders, and a public viewing at the grounds behind the rink.

The Cup has made its rounds since Alex Ovechkin held it aloft after the Washington Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Most recently
it was in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shenzhen last week ahead of the 2018 O.R.G. NHL China Games
.

Sunday

Road to Hockeyville

For the citizens of Lucan who witnessed 9-year-old boys from various atom hockey teams take part in the Lucan road hockey tournament, it was another day of celebration during a time when the spotlight is shining on their town leading up to when the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Ottawa Senators at Lucan Community Memorial Centre on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS).
Tory Gilchrist stood street side coaching the Lucan Fury, a first-year atom team, the basics of the game. The Lucan resident was proud of how Kraft Hockeyville Canada 2018 has brought an already tight town closer together.
"There's is lot of passion for hockey here," Gilchrist said. "I think it's well deserved and it's been a lot of fun so far."

A bit farther down the road, the sizzle and aroma of a BBQ lunch in the background, Jason Feddema was watching his son Ben play. Feddema and his wife won two tickets to Maple Leafs-Senators in a lottery.
"It's going to be a wonderful event," Feddema said. "It's going to be full. It's going to be loud, it's going to be exciting. Some of the guys who have played in the London Knights organization [Nazem Kadri, John Tavares and Mitchell Marner], Lucan is obviously a huge supporter of the London Knights and so it's nice to have those guys come back and support our town too.
"It's really shown that a small community can really rally together and put on an event like this and be shown in a bigger stage. The whole community, young and old, has been able to attend and enjoy."
Lucan Mayor Cathy Burghardt-Jesson expanded on the importance of hockey in the community.
"There is something different about hockey," Burghardt-Jesson said. "There is a level of respect and dignity. The things that you are teaching your kids, and the qualities you hope that they get out of that experience, are life-long character-building identities and skills. That you can't put a price on. The roots and community and all that, there's no question that's all part of it."

A warm welcome

It's Day 2 of Kraft Hockeyville Canada here in Lucan, Ontario. The ice at Lucan Community Memorial Centre is ready for a community skate today at noon after unseasonably humid weather postponed what was scheduled for Saturday.
A pleasant afternoon is expected for the Lucan road hockey tournament, a BBQ lunch for participants and an NHL Officials Clinic.

Born in Kincardine, an hour and 41 minutes from Lucan, Kevin Pollock will help with the clinic. Pollock has been an NHL referee since the 1999-00 season and worked the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the 2015 Stanley Cup Final. He was also the referee for Game 6 of the 2017 Final when the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Nashville Predators to win the Cup for the second consecutive season.
The buzz generated by Hockeyville and the game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators on Tuesday continues to build. The local gas station and supermarket each has welcome signs on display. At the drug store across the parking lot from Foodland is a mural created by the town to commemorate the preseason game between the Lucan Irish Six against the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 15, 1952, and the game that will be played Tuesday.
"Anytime a small town gets to come and be a part of the NHL and Kraft Hockeyville, I think it's awesome," former Maple Leafs captain Wendel Clark said Saturday. "It brings our best game in the world to small towns, small communities, where the game starts."
Clark also took time for an
exclusive Q&A
to discuss the Maple Leafs and how they're handling lofty expectations entering this season.

Saturday

Return to Lucan

For the first time since 1952, an NHL team will play at the Lucan Community Memorial Centre when the Toronto Maple Leafs skate against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
That night in '52 was the first and only time Lucan played host to an NHL team, when Maurice Richard and Bernie Geoffrion were two of the Montreal Canadiens who played against the Lucan Irish Six on the arena's opening night.
Norm Hardy and Jack Hardy were two who represented Lucan. Jack's granddaughter, Amy Hardy, attended the Kraft Hockeyville Community Festival on Saturday with her husband and son, who each won tickets to the game Tuesday in a lottery drawing.
For Amy Hardy, a Lucan resident whose grandfather died a year ago, Lucan being chosen to represent Kraft Hockeyville Canada struck an emotional chord.
"It's fun history," she said. "It touches close to home."
For Stephanie Sparling, also living in Lucan, there's a sense of pride surrounding the community and its close ties with hockey. Sparling was with her husband, Corey, who also won tickets via the lottery.
"I'm just so proud," Stephanie Sparling said. "Lucan is hockey. There's so many times where all residents are up at the arena at some point throughout the year, whether it be for skating, watching the Lucan Irish, practicing … it's our hub of Lucan. It really is. Everyone rallies around our players and the team. It's fun. When they announced Lucan, it was surreal. It's a point in time where everyone will remember where they were at that time."
Also part of the fun Saturday was a festival featuring inflatables, games for children, Kraft brand sampling, local vendor booths and a chalk talk with retired NHL players Bryan Smolinski and Chris Kelly to expound the virtues of the Declaration of Principles. Among the core values that promote how Hockey is for Everyone are teamwork, commitment and passion -- values that carry equal weight, no matter your background.

"It puts down on paper what hockey means to you," said Smolinski, who works for the NHL as regional director for the Learn to Play Program. "When you get all the people that were brought together to make the DOP come to life, there's some smart people and they have history with the game. They put down on paper what every hockey player would feel. When you read it, you're like, 'Oh yeah, that.' You go through those experiences with your family along with the sacrifices and commitments that you made to become a master of what you do. It's everything."

Welcome to Hockeyville

It's an unseasonably warm 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit) in Lucan, Ontario, for the first full day of Kraft Hockeyville Canada 2018. The weather is so humid, a public skate scheduled for today was postponed until Sunday because the ice isn't quite ready.
The fun started at 4 p.m. on Friday with a ticketed event where guests enjoyed all-you-can-eat pulled pork and continued with a community festival outside of Lucan Community Memorial Centre.
The buzz here is palpable. Banners and signs are welcoming the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators, who will play a preseason game here Tuesday to celebrate the Lucan Community Memorial Centre receiving the highest number of votes to receive $250,000 in upgrades and $10,000 in equipment from NHLPA Goals & Dreams. Visitors and locals are in a great mood in greeting the NHL to the southwestern Ontario town with a population of 4,500 residents who will experience a variety of events in the community, including NHL player and alumni visits, hockey clinics and a pregame fan festival.
Wendel Clark, an icon in Toronto who played 13 of his 15 NHL seasons with the Maple Leafs, was the first alum to visit the Kraft Hockeyville Community Festival. Clark held an autograph session and spent time coloring with children. In between, he spoke with me to discuss the state of the Maple Leafs and the aura surrounding Kraft Hockeyville. Check back on NHL.com later for the story.
Looking ahead to Tuesday, center John Tavares is among the Maple Leafs who will play against the Senators. It will be the Tavares' first game wearing Maple Leafs blue and white since signing a seven-year, $77 million contract July 1. On the other end of the spectrum, the Senators will play their first game without defenseman Erik Karlsson, who was traded to the San Jose Sharks on Sept. 13.

But that's later. Right now, retired NHL forward Bryan Smolinski is about to give a chalk talk on his playing days and share a message about the NHL Declaration of Principles.