Fredericton hosts Hometown Hockey tour
On the weekend of October 26th, Canadian broadcast legend Ron McLean and Tara Slone visited the Grant Harvey Center in Fredericton, NB to host Rogers Hometown Hockey which is a national tour that celebrates local hockey stories and the game’s biggest stars.
The weekend was packed with fun events for the whole family such as live music, entertainment, food, and a variety of skill-testing games.
There were a number of retired NHL professionals to take photos and sign autographs with fans. Celebrities included Georges Laraque, Craig Rivet and New Brunswick’s very own Mike Eagles. Today, Eagles is the Athletic Director at St. Thomas University but spent an impressive 20 years playing professionally for teams all over North America.
Fredericton’s new Junior A team was also present as a way of giving back to the community and to help grow the game. They played ball hockey with kids in a miniature rink and volunteered at various booths.
This is the first year for the Fredericton Jr. Red Wings. The team is part of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League and they play teams from other New Brunswick communities, as well as Nova Scotia and PEI. Their roster has players from all over Canada and the US. Eliot Bergbauer is originally from Florida, but is happy to be part of the Jr. Red Wings team.
“It definitely helps small communities like Fredericton to broaden hockey and trying to get everyone involved and more kids excited about the sport and hopefully playing the sport because of them coming to the city.”
After a parade and a friendly game of ball hockey between the local universities St. Thomas and UNB, the weekend wrapped up with McLean and Slone live-broadcasting the San Jose Sharks at the Ottawa Senators.