Hockey Day In Lloydminster

The border city of Lloydminster was on display today across the entire CBC network as Lloydminster hosted Hockey Night in Canada personalities for the 2014 edition of Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada! Lloydminster, as shown in the image above, is uniquely positioned on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border so that the city exists in both provinces. Because of this, Hockey Day in Canada spans two provinces in terms of the celebration! There were a lot of things to highlight from today and the last couple of days, so let's get cracking on the biggest day for hockey across Canada!

• I have nothing but the utmost respect for Ron MacLean and all the work he has done for hockey in this country. He's an icon on his own outside of his partnership with Don Cherry, and he genuinely loves the game of hockey. And while I get that Lloydminster sits on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan, there's absolutely no need for this abomination. Sure, I get that Saskatchewan's only pro team is the CFL's Roughriders, but there's no reason to destroy two jerseys. That's horrible.
• The influence of Don Cherry on hockey hasn't been lost on Lloydminster. The Lloydminster Bobcats of the AJHL decided to get into the act and honour the man who dropped the puck for the ceremonial face-off tonight by donning incredibly-fantastic uniforms based on Don's wardrobe. I'd love one of these uniforms for my own collection. They follow the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs who wore their own Don Cherry-inspired jerseys in 2009.
• Lloydminster also honoured Ron MacLean. When he's not on Hockey Night in Canada, MacLean is an amateur official and works as often as he can in the stripes. The boys in stripes in Lloydminster will work the game tonight in Ron MacLean-inspired uniforms as well!
• CBC posted a fantastic infographic on their site yesterday about all the players born in Lloydminster who have played in the NHL. I was not aware that there were that many players who hail from Lloydminster. And knowing is half the battle.
• I'm not sure if Allan Muir is trying to raise the ire of Winnipeg Jets fans, but the SI.com NHL fan misery rankings put Jets fans at #10. I appreciate what Mr. Muir is doing in breaking down the problems with Winnipeg's current situation thanks to the debacle that happened in Atlanta, but there's no reason to think that Winnipeg fans have suffered in the three years they have been back in the Manitoba capital. Sure, there have been frustrating times, but to lead off the "fan misery rankings"? Someone, Mr. Muir, needs to visit Winnipeg more often.
• You know what makes Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada even better? A goalie scrap. The Manchester Monarchs and the St. John's IceCaps decided to settle things with fisticuffs after things got out of hand in the Monarchs' 6-0 win tonight. Honestly, it doesn't matter if you attend the game and see the home team lose 15-0 if there's a goalie fight.
• I know there are a lot of rookies out there having great seasons, but is it too early to start the #voteforTrouba campaign? I'm pretty sure that Jacob Trouba of the Winnipeg Jets has been the best defenceman on the Jets this season, and his two goals today show that he's just as effective in the offensive zone as he is in the defensive zone. Start it up, kids: #voteforTrouba.
• Dominic Moore of the New York Rangers found out that the water pressure in Ottawa might be a little high. Wow.
• The eighth annual Hockey Day in Minnesota also happened today from Elk River, Minnesota! There were some great games played in "the state of hockey" today, most notably from the impeccably-dressed Elk River girls team! Those uniforms are made by Vintage Minnesota Hockey, and they look fantastic! I'm not familiar with the team, but I'm going to assume that Michaela Gould wore the slightly undersized toque over her mask. Still looks good, though! Jessica Edwards, who replaced Gould with eight minutes to play in the 3-0 loss to the Anoka Tornadoes, wore the traditional hockey sock toque over her mask.
• It's not that I like calling out teams who wear logos from other teams, but Anoka appears to have a history of using established logos. It appears they wear or have worn two familiar logos on their uniforms: the Oakland Athletics and the Atlanta Flames. Where's the originality?
• The Maple Leafs wore their Winter Classic jerseys today versus the Montreal Canadiens. Again, make this the alternate. It's gorgeous. Do it, MLSE.

So there's a little hockey fun for Canada and Minnesota on January 18. We got to see some great uniforms that we rarely see, we got to see some great hockey action, and we had some fun learning all about the city of Lloydminster. Sounds like a pretty nice Hockey Day in Canada!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!