A southern Alberta town that lost the use of its aging hockey arena after an explosion has won thousands of dollars to use in its recovery efforts.
Taber was revealed Saturday as one of the Kraft Hockeyville contest’s provincial winners after a two-week judging process.
The town, located east of Lethbridge, will receive $50,000 as it moves on to a second phase of the national competition with the potential for more prize money.
“It’s totally awesome, it’s perfect,” Derrin Thibault, the town’s chief administrator, told CBC News moments after hearing Taber won during the Hockey Night in Canada program.
WATCH | Taber’s video entry into the Kraft Hockeyville contest:
Thibault said the town’s entry this year was stronger because of the situation the community is in now compared to a failed attempt in 2020.
“It makes a huge difference when you’re in a spot of a want versus in the spot of a need. And this community right now is in the spot of a need,” he said.
“And that’s one of the things that have made it so much more vibrant this time.”
A blast on the afternoon of Dec. 17 turned several interior walls of the Taber Community Centre to rubble and rendered its rinks unusable.
A third-party investigation later placed the cause of the explosion on a Zamboni ice resurfacer’s mechanical failure.
A community shaken up by the incident regrouped weeks later to support Taber’s entry into Kraft Hockeyville, sharing photos, videos and memories of their time in the arena.
Taber will now have to wait until March 21 to hear if it’s among two finalists subject to a period of voting by Canadians coast-to-coast to determine who wins a $250,000 first place prize.
‘Heartbeat of a community’
Delia Kinniburgh is one of some 250 young hockey players who have been forced to travel for practice and games since the explosion.
“It was really sad when we couldn’t play there anymore,” the eight-year-old told CBC News in a recent interview.
“We had to go to other towns for hockey and it just wasn’t the same as playing at home.”
But the wider Taber community isn’t just relying on Kraft Hockeyville prize money to help with rebuilding.
A street hockey fundraiser later this month will allow teams of minor hockey players who raised the most cash to draft a few former professional players and coachs.
Former enforcer Tim Hunter, who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League, says it was an easy “yes” when he was asked to participate as one of nine celebrity draft picks.
“The rinks in these small communities are the heartbeat of a community because everyone’s there,” Hunter said.
“Whether you’re figure skating, playing hockey, coming to watch friends, it’s just like a library or a church in a small community.”
Kinniburgh, who plays for the under-nine Taber Oil Kings, is entering the Play On! Tournament with her friends under the name Sugar Town Slashers.
“We want to help raise money for our rink and it’s going to be really fun playing street hockey with everyone,” she said.
“The rink is where I see all my friends and play hockey together. I really love [being] there and I miss it.”
Kinniburgh and her friends as of Saturday night raised the most money of any team so far at over $2,600, according to the donation page, while the overall amount fundraised inched closer to $40,000.
The street hockey showdown runs March 27-28 in Taber.
The future
Kinniburgh might not have to wait long get back inside her second home.
The town has recent reopened an auditorium, lease spaces and offices inside the Taber Community Centre, after safety measures were met.
Officials say the next milestone is to get the large ice rink online by Aug. 1 — just in time for an annual hockey training camp put on by former professional players Kris Versteeg and Devin Setoguchi.
As for a long-term plan, the town will gather feedback this year on potentially building a new facility.
A study by the Town of Taber into building a new dry land recreation facility was already underway last year before the existing 56-year-old community centre was damaged in December.
Thibault, the town CAO says that effort, put briefly on pause after the explosion, has now been renewed with a wider scope.
Thibault said “there was some really good thought” put into creating the current facility in 1970 after its predecessor burned down a year prior.
“So we’re hoping that people are gonna come out and have their voices and ideas heard so that we create the some kind of similar situation for the next 40 years,” he said in an interview.
“This thing is going to service our community and so we really want to hear from the public and get engaged as possible.”
Once that engagement process is completed through focus groups, workshops and public conversations, staff will give a presentation to Taber’s town council in October.
Then it will be up to Taber’s elected leaders to make some decisions on the future of the town’s recreation options.