Woodstock Wildcats want Civic Centre Arena to be Kraft Hockeyville finalist

Emily Stewart, Echo Correspondent

The Woodstock Wildcats need your help to get the Civic Centre Arena to be part of the Top 4 for Kraft Hockeyville this spring.

Kraft Hockeyville is an annual contest run by the NHL, NHL Players Association, and Kraft-Heinz where communities nominate their arena for a chance to win $250,000 for upgrades and an NHL game in that arena. The three runner-ups will earn $25,000 for upgrades. A Jan. 9 post on the Woodstock Wildcats Facebook page called out for the local hockey community to come together and vote for the Civic Centre Arena to be on the Hockeyville shortlist.

“While it does hold a real soft spot for many Wildcats and former Wildcats, I think anyone who has ever entered the Civic Centre Arena would quickly understand why this contest would be extremely important to us,” Carey Yungblut, Wildcats’ vice president and registrar told the Echo. “There is no denying it could certainly use some cosmetic upgrades, but the Civic arena does have a very real need for some functional upgrades as well and this money would go a long way to making a dent in some of those.”

Yungblut also said winning Kraft Hockeyville would further promote the ever-growing Woodstock Wildcats. Girls hockey in Woodstock and Oxford County is growing quickly.

“Every year, we push the limits of our available ice time until there is absolutely no room left to push,” he said. “We feel that winning this contest would bring awareness to girls hockey and help the entire city and city council understand how important available ice time is to the girls and families in Woodstock.”

The Woodstock Wildcats hold two tournaments annually, a House League tournament in November and a Rep Tournament in January, that play a key role in fundraising for the hockey association and sharpens the players skills. Yungblut hopes if the Civic Centre Arena wins Kraft Hockeyville, there will be more attention to Woodstock’s girls hockey.

“I think Woodstock sometimes struggles with being a small city,” he said. “Too small to have the amenities of a larger city like London or Kitchener, and too big to be considered a small town where residents don't mind travelling to larger cities for amenities. It's important to us to bring awareness to the city and how strong our girls hockey program is.”

Along with the Woodstock Wildcats, Woodstock Minor Hockey and several adult hockey leagues play at the Civic Centre Arena.

“Everyone has been very supportive of this as it would benefit so many in our community, beyond just the Wildcats,” added Yungblut.

Nominations close on March 2. The arena rally web page for the Civic Centre Arena will be accepting stories, photos, and notes indicating how much the arena means to the community. For more information, and to support the arena, visit https://hockeyville.kraftheinz.com/community/civiccentrearena/?locale=en.