The last time Ron MacLean did a broadcast from Victoria, he was in a studio overlooking the Inner Harbour co-hosting CBC’s coverage of the 1994 Commonwealth Games.
He is returning with a vengeance more than two decades later.
It was announced Thursday the MacLean-hosted Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour will stop in Victoria on Feb. 28 as part of the San Jose Sharks at Vancouver Canucks NHL game broadcast. MacLean will also be in town as part of the broadcast team for the Kraft Hockeyville NHL exhibition game Sept. 21 between the Sharks and Canucks at The Q Centre.
Hometown Hockey was seen as a demotion by some — after George Stroumboulopoulos replaced MacLean as host of Hockey Night in Canada last year — but MacLean made the most of it and turned his new Sunday night show into a surprise hit as he told the multi-layered stories of hockey in communities large and small across Canada during the pre-game show and the intermissions.
“Each weekend is a uniquely Canadian experience that brings us all together,” said MacLean, in a statement.
“Our mantra has been simple — take you someplace and tell a story. We’ve discovered at each stop, a story that belongs to us as no other story could. It’s of Canadians, with hockey at its core.”
The weekly Hometown Hockey shows begin Oct. 11 from Kitchener, Ont.
There will be three weeks in a row featuring B.C., beginning Feb. 14 from New Westminster, Feb. 21 from Abbotsford and Feb. 28 in Victoria.
“This show couldn’t exist without Ron MacLean . . . or at least it wouldn’t be the same without him,” said Hometown Hockey sideline reporter Tara Slone, by phone.
“It’s Ron’s show and he gets engrossed and wrapped up in conveying the stories of these communities. Hockey brings communities, both big cities and small towns, together in this country. It’s where everybody congregates. It’s our sport, and there are so many rich details and stories to tell from each town.”
Details of the location in Greater Victoria from which MacLean and Slone will broadcast are still being worked out.
