Andrew Ference can’t imagine a more scenic locale to host the 25th anniversary of Scotiabank “Hockey Day in Canada” than Canmore, Alberta.
Having played 16 seasons in the NHL and won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011, Ference lived in Canmore with The Three Sisters peaks of the Canadian Rockies as a backdrop.
“I actually lived there for four or five years,” Ference said. “When I first broke into the League with Pittsburgh and probably my second or third year, my first ever house purchase was a new development in Canmore. It was a duplex, and I thought it was a good place to set up shop in the summertime.
“I love the mountains. Growing up in Edmonton I would go down to ski at Sunshine Village and Lake Louise (Banff, Alberta) all the time and I just loved it. The reason I picked Canmore is that I love the mountains and I thought that place was awesome and I loved it.”
Ference will be back in Canmore this weekend to take part in the “Hockey Day in Canada” festivities broadcast on Sportsnet, Sportsnet+ and CBC on Saturday.
All seven Canada-based teams will play that day, starting with the Bruins at the Ottawa Senators (3 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, NESN), followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNP, NHLN), the Calgary Flames at the Winnipeg Jets (7 p.m. ET; CITY, SNW) and concluding with the Edmonton Oilers at the Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, TVAS2).
All four games will be available to stream for free in Punjabi, Plains Cree, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi, Tagalog, Gujarati and Spanish on sportsnet.ca/hockeyday.
“I’ve been to a few of these now and ‘Hockey Day in Canada’ has become a day where all the Canadian teams are playing and people just hunker down and consume hockey all day, which is pretty cool for the Saturday,” said Ference, now NHL Director of Social Impact and Player Programs. “But for the host city it’s so cool. From Wednesday to Saturday it’s jam-packed with hockey clinics, we’ll have the Stanley Cup there, we’ll do some panels with some of the Olympic athletes, there are galas and parties. It’s just a half-week celebration of the game of hockey. Between the indoor rinks, the outdoor rinks and street hockey, it’s kind of a hockey-palooza for all the kids and families that want to be there.”
The 12 1/2-hour broadcast Saturday will be hosted by Ron McLean live from Canmore Golf and Country Club and Canmore Recreation Centre. The Stanley Cup will be on display at the fan festival, to go along with autograph signings and a ball hockey tournament.
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