Trout Creek hoping to keep the Hockeyville crown in northern Ontario
Trout Creek finds out in March if it makes the final four, who go to a public vote in April
The tiny community of Trout Creek, south of North Bay, is hoping to make it two-in-a-row for northern Ontario in the Kraft Hockeyville contest.
Elliot Lake won the title last year, along with $250,000 for renovations to the local arena, which, despite millions more in private donations, remains closed for a second hockey season and isn't expected to re-open until the fall.
The 500 people who live in Trout Creek are also worried about the future of their local rink.
After an engineering report this fall questioned whether the roof of the 50-year-old community centre could survive a heavy snow load this winter, temporary pillars were installed around the rink.
"You would have liked to see something done sooner, so we didn't have the risk of losing this," said 31-year-old Travis Tennant, who grew up skating at the arena and still plays hockey there twice a week.
"Because if this was actually to get closed down, I think it would create quite an uproar."
The uncertainty facing the future of the arena prompted Tennant to throw Trout Creek's name into the 2025 Kraft Hockeyville contest, in hopes of using the prize money to pay for needed repairs.
He says it is not just about hockey, as the community centre hosts everything from weddings to dog shows to the very popular Family Day carnival in February.
"It's probably the biggest part, if not the biggest part of Trout Creek. Because really, there's not a whole left there. There's no more restaurants, we have a general store, post office," said Tennant.
"So, really the Trout Creek arena is what gets everyone involved."
Trout Creek is in the Municipality of Powassan and Mayor Peter McIsaac says he's thrilled to hear of the Hockeyville campaign.
He says town council will have some tough decisions to make in the months ahead about whether to replace or refurbish the Trout Creek arena, saying the renovation bill could run as high as $2.5 million.
"Trout Creek Community Centre is a very important piece of infrastructure in our community and council is going to do everything we can to protect it," said McIsaac.
Tennant says he's had a strong response to the Hockeyville campaign in just the first few days.
He says Trout Creek finds out in March if they make the final four communities, who will then face-off in a public vote to determine the 2025 winner in April.