![['O’Leary mayor Eric Gavin during Saturday’s Hockeyville announcement party at the Community Sports Centre.']](https://saltwire.imgix.net/PI-AXX-XXXX2017-NHL-game-1.jpg?cs=srgb&fit=crop&h=568&w=847&dpr=1&auto=format%2Ccompress%2Cenhance)
Where should the NHL pre-season game that is part of the prize package be played? Who should get first crack at the tickets?
Jo-Anne Wallace, on behalf of the committee that spearheaded the drive to the Hockeyville Cup, addressed the discussion head-on with a Facebook post on Sunday.
“Here is what we can share with you now,” Wallace wrote, after reflecting on how fun the journey’s been so far. “The NHL game is the property and responsibility of the NHL, Kraft Hockeyville and their partners. They will make all decisions around the NHL game based on their regulations and the rules of the Kraft Hockeyville contest.”
Although the committee wants the game played in O’Leary, Wallace reiterated the decision is not the committee’s to make.
“What it was about,” Wallace explained her post, “it was kind of saying, ‘the NHL owns this. This is big.’ And I don’t think it was hitting home how big this is.
It’s big, but it’s NHL and Kraft Hockeyville and NHLPA.
“It’s theirs. We’ll take their lead.”
Wallace posted: “With the deepest respect on the excitement about the game, we respectfully ask that you refrain from discussions around location and tickets for the NHL game at this time and keep the group at this point in time for celebrating and sharing your Hockeyville and hockey memories.”
Meetings to get the planning underway for the delivery of the prize, and especially the Sept. 25 NHL pre-season game between New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators, start Tuesday.
“It’s about getting to work and seeing what has to be done,” Wallace said, explaining the process before adding: “Our whole goal with this will be to get as much as we can out of it for O’Leary.”
