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Rogers Hometown Hockey in North Vancouver

Rogers Hometown Hockey

Rogers Hometown Hockey tours across Canada and stops in different communities across the country. In 2022 it was at the Shipyards in North Vancouver.

Note: Sportsnet has cancelled Hometown Hockey. 2022 was the final year of the event.

Rogers Hometown Hockey used to set up in 16 or so different places between the Maritimes and Canada’s Pacific coast during the regular NHL season. The small event involved fun activities and broadcasting live from each location.

 

Rogers Hometown Hockey in the Lower Mainland

Between 2014 and 2022, Sportsnet broadcast national TV games as Rogers Hometown Hockey. Each week the Hometown Hockey tour stopped at a new community somewhere in Canada and hosted a broadcast from that location during a game that took place elsewhere.

In addition to the broadcast itself there were usually a couple days of events leading up to the big game. These included the chance to meet NHL alumni and enjoy live music. There was also a variety of games and other activities for people to do. The broadcasts were hosted by Ron MacLean and Tara Slone. Attendees were able to show up and be seen on screen during intermissions and other breaks in the hockey action.

The games on the Hometown Hockey broadcasts usually included at least one Canadian team. Sometimes there were two American teams, however, if there were no Canadian teams playing on the given date.

 

Hometown Hockey in North Vancouver
Hometown Hockey on 1st Street

 

Admission and What to Expect

A Hometown Hockey tour stop was a full weekend festival. There were events organized on the Saturday and Sunday followed by the broadcast watch party on the Monday night.

The best part about the events was that they were all free! You had to register for a ticket to reserve a spot, but it didn’t cost anything.

The 2022 North Vancouver stop took place from April 23rd to 25th. On the Saturday and Sunday activities happened along a couple of blocks of 1st Street which is about a 5 or 10-minute walk from Lonsdale Quay. On the Sunday, the day the NHL hockey game was broadcast, the event happened in the Shipyards District by the Polygon Gallery at the bottom of Lonsdale Avenue.

The events on the 23rd and 24th ran from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. The Monday broadcast ran from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. On the final day the venue opened at 4:00 pm. At the Monday event there was a truck with a couple of large TV screens and a roped off area for the crowd to stand in.

Hometown Hockey used to take place rain or shine, so umbrellas were recommended if the weather wasn’t nice. Attendees were encouraged to bring their own hockey sticks as well if they wanted to take part in some of the games at the event.

 

Rogers Hometown Hockey in North Vancouver
Hockey Fun on 1st Street

 

2022 Events

There were two special guests at the North Vancouver Hometown Hockey events in 2022. There was the former Canucks star goalie Kirk McLean as well as three-time Olympic gold medalist Meghan Agosta. Both of them were at the festival on the Saturday and Sunday to sign autographs and take pictures.

Also on the weekend there were live music performances by Kadooh and the Tanner Olsen Band. There were also fun games to take part in. There were hockey skills training activities on the Saturday, for example, and a shootout tournament on the Sunday.

On the Monday the focus was entirely on the broadcast itself with fewer other activities. The night began with Ron MacLean and Tara Slone telling stories about North Vancouver’s hockey history before the puck dropped on the game at 5:00 pm. There were a couple of large-screen TVs at the event to watch the game on. Not a lot of people attended the event, but those that did had fun watching the game.

 

The Hockey Circus Show
The Hockey Circus Show

 

Saturday Events Schedule

The following was the schedule of events along 1st Street from April 23rd in 2022:

  • 11:00 am – Opening Remarks (Main Stage)
  • 11:00 am – Alumni Autograph Signing with Kirk McLean
  • 11:30 am – Special Guest: Coach Jeremy
  • 12:00 pm – The Hockey Circus Show
  • 12:30 pm – Alumni Autograph Signing with Meghan Agosta
  • 12:45 pm – Safeway Grocery Games
  • 1:15 pm – Live Music with the Tanner Olsen Band
  • 1:45 pm – The Hockey Circus Show
  • 2:00 pm – Alumni Autograph Signing with Kirk McLean
  • 2:30 pm – Hyundai Tent Drills and Skills with Coach Jeremy
  • 3:30 pm – Live Music: with the Tanner Olsen Band
  • 3:30 pm – Alumni Autograph Signing with Meghan Agosta
  • 4:00 pm – Playmobil Wordplay
  • 4:15 pm – Safeway Grocery Games
  • 4:30 pm – Live Music with the Tanner Olsen Ban

 

Kirk McLean at Hometown Hockey
Autographs with Kirk McLean

 

Sunday Events Schedule

The following was the schedule of events that took place along 1st Street on April 24th in 2022:

  • 11:00 am – Live Music with Kadooh (Main Stage)
  • 11:00 am – Alumni Autograph Signing with Kirk McLean
  • 11:30 am – The Hockey Circus Show
  • 12:15 pm – Alumni Autograph Signing with Meghan Agosta
  • 12:15 pm – Safeway Grocery Games (Main Stage)
  • 12:30 pm – Live Music with Kadooh (Main Stage)
  • 1:15 pm – Playmobil Wordplay (Main Stage)
  • 1:45 pm – Hot Stove with Kirk McLean & Meghan Agosta
  • 2:30 pm – Safeway Grocery Games (Main Stage)
  • 2:30 pm – Alumni Autograph Signing with Kirk McLean
  • 3:05 pm – Desjardins Community Cup Shootout
  • 3:30 pm – Thank You Presentation to North Vancouver
  • 3:45 pm – On-Site The Hockey Circus Show
  • 4:00 pm – Alumni Autograph Signing with Meghan Agosta
  • 4:30 pm – Live Music: Kadooh (Main Stage)

 

When was Hometown Hockey in the Lower Mainland?

The schedule was completely different each season. In years past, Hometown Hockey was typically in the Lower Mainland once or twice per season.

North Vancouver was set to host its first Hometown Hockey in March of 2020, but that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, the event did manage to make its way to the North Shore on April 25th, 2022 (with events also in the two days leading up to that date).

Below is the list of all the Hometown Hockey broadcasts in the Lower Mainland in years before it was cancelled.

  • November 9th, 2014: Burnaby (Vancouver Canucks vs Anaheim Ducks).
  • February 14th, 2016: New Westminster (Philadelphia Flyers vs New York Rangers).
  • February 21st, 2016: Abbotsford (Calgary Flames vs Anaheim Ducks).
  • January 15th, 2017: Vancouver (Vancouver Canucks vs New Jersey Devils).
  • December 10th, 2017: Surrey (Edmonton Oilers vs Toronto Maple Leafs).
  • January 13th, 2019: Langley (Vancouver Canucks vs Florida Panthers).
  • February 10th, 2019: Whistler (Toronto Maple Leafs vs New York Rangers).
  • December 8th, 2019: Abbotsford (Vancouver Canucks vs Vegas Golden Knights).
  • April 25th, 2022: North Vancouver (Philadelphia Flyers vs Chicago Blackhawks).

 

North Vancouver's Shipyards
The Shipyards in North Vancouver

 

Other Information

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