The eyes of the nation will be on Lucan Tuesday and it is more than ready to rise to the occasion.
The town north of London, which was crowned Kraft Hockeyville 2018 earlier this year, will host the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators NHL pre-season game at its local rink. The freshly laid ice bears the special Lucan Kraft Hockeyville logo in the centre, while the rest of the community complex and arena has been decorated in red and blue for the game.
Players are expected to begin arriving at the Lucan Community Memorial Centre around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday.
"This will be really the only opportunity that people will be able to see the players outside," said Mayor Cathy Burghardt-Jesson. "So if anybody wants to get a picture, or perhaps an autograph this is the time to come to the parking lot of the community centre. There will be a red carpet event where a few lucky children have been invited to attend, but also there will be standing room for regular fans."
Tickets for the pre-season game were distributed to Lucan Biddulph residents and those outside of the community by way of a lottery last Monday. But for those who didn't see their name drawn, Burghardt-Jesson reassures there is still a chance of landing the hottest ticket in town.
"In discussions with our partners we are led to believe that maybe on game day there will be some more tickets released. If we are so fortunate to have some released then we will be drawing those," said Burghardt-Jesson.
A block of the tickets was also given to the local minor hockey association, the skating club, and the Junior C Hockey organization, to ensure the area's young athletes get a chance to take in the action.
"It is not often for a small community to be able to host athletes at this level. So we really wanted to make sure that the kids in our community had the opportunity to see the players up close and personal and to experience an NHL game," said Burghardt-Jesson. "For some, this will be the only opportunity they may have to see an NHL game."
Kids who don't participate in organized sports weren't left out of the fun, as area schools have been invited to bring their students to the arena to watch the 10:30 a.m. practice by the Leafs and Senators.
Leading up to the game, the town of just 2,900, held a weekend long celebration. It began Friday with the unveiling of a mural in the downtown depicting Lucan's hockey history. It continued Saturday and Sunday with a kid's skate with NHL alumni, live music, a town party, and a road hockey tournament.
"It really was a weekend about celebration, letting everyone know that Lucan really is Kraft Hockeyville and that we love hockey," declared Burghardt-Jesson.
If all of that wasn't enough, the Stanley Cup will be on display at the community centre Monday from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Lucan beat out High River, Alta., Lafleche, Sask., and Huntingdon, Que., in a social media competition in April to be named this year's Kraft Hockeyville. In addition to landing the NHL pre-season game, the village was awarded $250,000 for arena upgrades.
"It's been a lot of work and it would not have been pulled off without a core group of committed community volunteers that have essentially given up their summers to make sure this all plays out the way it should," said Burghardt-Jesson. "When I think about all eyes of the nation on us, never would I have thought we would be in a position to be able to host these elite players. For somebody who is just a regular old hockey mom, it's an honour. I am so thrilled and proud of our community."