Hockey Night in Canada will feature a shout-out from the Tyne Valley Minor Hockey Association tonight, Jan. 4.
It’ll take place during the second intermission of the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Islanders game – as part of the broadcast’s Headlines roundtable discussion. The game starts at 8 p.m. Atlantic Time.
Jarod Colwill, president of the association, said ever since the Tyne Valley sports centre burned down on Dec. 29, 2019, they’ve received a lot of support from surrounding communities and associations, as well as from off-Island.
While there are plans to rebuild, the association lost everything in the fire, such as nets and jerseys, he said.
“We have a lot of fundraising ahead of us before we have our new home.”
There was risk the Tyne Valley Tornadoes, which has twelve teams, wouldn’t have a rink to play in. In late 2019, the centre underwent renovations due to air quality issues, so Colwill had already considered some options in case this impacted the hockey season.
So, the week following the fire was busy for him. Luckily, he managed to schedule his teams into other Prince County arenas for the entire season, in the communities of Alberton, O’Leary, Evangeline, Summerside, and Slemon Park.
He wanted to find a way to share how thankful he and the association were for all the support.
“Let’s go for the biggest platform of all – Hockey Night in Canada,” he said.
After using social media – and a colleague's connection to NHL coach Gerard “Turk” Gallant, who’s originally from Summerside – he was able to touch base with the NHL broadcast’s staff.
Elliotte Friedman, sports panelist for the broadcast, told Colwill they were very interested in having an on-air discussion about the Tyne Valley centre and the support the association received.
“The biggest thing is we want to get a big thank you out,” Colwill said.
After working out the fine details, Colwill was able to confirm his associations shout-out would air on Hockey Night in Canada on the evening of Jan. 4.
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