Carolina Hurricanes General Manager Ron Francis will be back in one of his old stomping grounds for the start 2016-17 NHL Exhibition Season. In fact the entire Canes team will be joining him.
He’s not hosting a preseason party in his hometown of Sault Ste Marie, known by everyone as The Soo, or holding some sort of team-building exercise in the wilds of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The Carolina Hurricanes and the Buffalo Sabres will be playing two preseason exhibition games October 4th and 5th in Marquette, Michigan and Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.
Hockeyville USA, Marquette, Michigan
The first game is part of the prize that Marquette and its Lakeview Arena won by being named a Kraft Hockeyville USA community. The nationwide annual contest is a partnership between the NHL, NHL Players Association and Kraft Foods that works to promote hockey at the local level in small towns across the U.S.
Hockey towns submit entries describing why their town and arena deserve to be the next Hockeyville USA, and the winner is decided by online and text voting. The winning town receives $150,000 towards renovating and refurbishing their local hockey arenas, and the chance to host a nationally-televised NHL exhibition game.
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The other top nine vote-getters also receive monetary awards from Kraft, ranging from $75,000 for the runner-up to $10,000 each for the bottom six. Over 1,000 communities submitted their stories showing their hockey spirit and passion, according to Kraft.
“We’ve seen amazing participation across the country in Kraft Hockeyville USA’s second year,” Nina Barton, senior vice president of marketing of Kraft Heinz, told the Detroit News. “This year’s contest led to millions of votes from passionate hockey fans, and we’re so proud America has chosen the spirited, well-deserving community of Marquette as Kraft Hockeyville USA 2016.”
"“We’re thrilled to be involved with this initiative, which highlights the grassroots of our sport,” General Manager Ron Francis said in a statement. “I grew up about three hours from Marquette, so it will be fun to be on the Upper Peninsula to be a part of this special event.”"
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman added, “The local rink is a hub of activity, excitement, entertainment and fun — a place where the love of hockey can energize an entire community.”
‘Ronnie Franchise’ Takes the Canes Home
After their game in Marquette both teams will make the three-hour road trip across the Canadian border to Ron Francis’ hometown of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, and have their second exhibition game the next night at Essar Centre, the OHL Soo Greyhounds home arena.
The game was a closely-held secret until last Wednesday, when representatives from the city, the Essar Centre, the Greyhounds and Ron Francis (via telephone) announced the plans.
“I’m really excited, obviously, being born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie and wearing the red and white of the Soo Greyhounds,” Francis said. “It’s really exciting to me to be in a position to bring our team and NHL hockey back into the city of Sault Ste. Marie.”
“I know how passionate the people are in the Sault about their hockey … We’re looking forward to next fall and I just want to thank the Sabres to agreeing to the event.”
Ronnie’s record with The Soo
As a reminder to all of those who may not know Ron Francis’ hockey life before he started his Hockey Hall of Fame career in the National Hockey League, here are some quick details.
As mentioned, he was born and grew up in Sault Ste Marie, playing hockey since he could walk, and making the OHL Soo Greyhounds roster in 1980 at the age of 17.
His rookie season with the Soo grabbed national attention, and was a harbinger for his NHL career and the #2 spot he holds in the record books for all-time assists. In 1980 he posted 26 goals, 43 assists for 69 points in 64 games.
He was drafted 4th overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, and started the next season back in Sault Ste Marie for the first 25 games of the 1981-82 season.
He quickly showed that his rookie year wasn’t a fluke, by posting 18 goals and 30 assists in those first 25 games. The Whalers had him in their roster before the Soo’s 26th game, and he went on to score 25 more goals and 43 more assists in the final 59 games of the Whalers’ season.
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‘Ronnie Franchise’ would play for the Whalers, becoming their Captain, leading scorer and true franchise player, until March of 1991 when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Caniacs would have to wait until 1998 for their Captain, and now General Manager, to start calling Carolina home.
We’re so glad he made it, and can’t wait to see him and the Hurricanes playing hockey in his beloved hometown.