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The City of Elliot Lake revealed on Wednesday that the NHL pre-season game it won the right to host after being named Kraft Hockeyville 2024 will take place in Sudbury.
The game between the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins will be held at the Sudbury Community Arena on Sept. 29, according to a short city news release.
“More information regarding the game and ticketing will be announced at a later date,” the release read.
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The location of this year’s Kraft Hockeyville pre-season game has been the subject of much speculation since Elliot Lake was named the competition winner in March.
While this win resulted in $250,000 for facility upgrades and $10,000 worth of youth hockey equipment, the question of whether the city’s only hockey arena, the Centennial Arena, would be up and running for the game was always up in the air.
The Centennial Arena’s state of disrepair, which resulted in its closure last September due to safety concerns, served as the main driving force and selling point behind Elliot Lake’s Kraft Hockeyville campaign.
Elliot Lake also received $300,000 for arena repairs from US-based software company founder Jim “Jaime” Armstrong in April.
In May, it was revealed that the total price tag to fix the 55-year-old arena was $4.3 million.
COMMUNICATIONS DEPT. HIRINGS
The Senators have hired longtime local journalists Ian Mendes and Sylvain St-Laurent to their communications department.
The Senators announced Wednesday that Mendes will join the team as vice-president of communications while St-Laurent will serve as director of communications.
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Mendes has covered the Senators for more than 20 years for Rogers Sportsnet, TSN 1200 and most recently as a senior writer for The Athletic.
He returns to the Senators organization after working as the NHL club’s manager of communications from 2000 to 2002.
“Returning to the organization that helped launch my career is truly a special feeling,” Mendes said in a statement. “I’m excited to bring my skillset as a journalist and storyteller to the organization to help create dynamic and compelling content across various platforms.”
St-Laurent followed the Senators for more than 20 years as a beat writer and columnist for Le Droit.
He left Le Droit last December before taking on the role of media relations manager for Ottawa’s Professional Women’s Hockey League team during its inaugural season.
”I was very impressed when Michael Andlauer made it clear, as soon as he arrived, that the Senators are the team for the Ottawa-Gatineau region,” St-Laurent said. “I’ve spent two decades telling hockey stories, mainly to French-speaking fans. It’s only natural for me to continue this work in the Outaouais and Eastern Ontario communities.”
— With files from The Canadian Press
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