One of the busiest weekends of minor hockey is just now wrapping up in Sudbury as several playoff games are underway late Sunday afternoon for the annual Silver Stick hockey event -- the largest single hockey tournament in Northern Ontario.
The annual tournament is so big it is taking place over two weekends in November; this past weekend which is just ending and the closing weekend from November 27 to 30; all happening in Sudbury.
The tournament features close to 4,000 hockey players representing dozens of teams from U10 to age U18A division from across Northern Ontario, central Ontario and the Ottawa Valley.
Tournament director Peter Michelutti said on Tuesday that the annual tournament scores big for Sudbury's tourism economy.
"This is so important for Sudbury,” Michelutti said. “There are 4,400 hotel rooms that are rented out over two weekends. The restaurants are just jam packed. The city tells me it's about $11 million of tourism revenue coming into the city over these two weekends," Michelutti added.
Along with the economic boost, Michelutti said the winning teams at the Sudbury Silver Stick get the opportunity to advance to higher levels of hockey in each age group across North America, as other Silver Stick tournaments are being played across Canada and in many U.S. cities.
It was just moments after the Milton Menace in the U18A division took a 3-1 win over the well-known Stittsville Rams on Sunday that Milton coach Bob Simoneau remarked on a key reason why the Silver Stick is important to regional hockey in Ontario.
"We just won this one. It was a nice close hockey game against Stittsville, a great hockey team; number one in Ontario. Our boys stepped up and played a great game today," said Simoneau.
He said the great thing about a big tournament like Silver Stick is that it attracts the best teams and that raises the level of competition for everyone who takes part, regardless of what community or region they're from.
"So Silver Stick, obviously with many locations of the regionals all across Ontario and throughout the U.S. also, and we're seeing teams that we don't normally see," said Simoneau.
"The competition is from all over the place from Iroquois Falls, down to Stittsville, Ottawa, Milton. So it brings teams together. It raises the bar, absolutely. This is the best our guys have played. And I'm extremely proud of them," he said.
He added that the Sudbury event was fun for the team because they had the chance to enjoy the sights.
"You know when we first planned on going to the Silver Stick a lot of questions were "Where's Sudbury?" he laughed.
"But you know, it was fantastic as we took in the sights. We hit the Big Nickel; we hit Deluxe burgers, so we did it all, and it brought the team together nice and close," said Simoneau.
He said the team looks forward to returning to Sudbury for more hockey action.
Also competing Sunday were the U18A division Porcupine Gold Kings, out of Timmins, and the equally well-known Hearst Lumber Kings. Porcupine took the win over Hearst 3 to 1 also.
Coach Tyler Mairs said he too was pleased with how the tournament opens new opportunities for teams from smaller cities.
"Well, small towns across Northern Ontario don't have very tough competition often, right? So coming to one of these and having the possibility to move on to the international level, it's big for these boys. It's memories that they can really create. We've had the pleasure of going to three Silver Sticks as part of the Gold Kings, and it's just a fantastic experience, more than anything, for the kids, right?," said Mairs.
He said the tournament was well-organized but the only downside is that the tournament is now so big that it has to be played over two extended weekends.
Mairs added that the Sudbury tournament is always a key event for the team and their family members who get to enjoy a getaway weekend, always with the thought in mind that they might get a chance to advance to a larger tournament.
The Sudbury Silver Stick tournament continues Nov. 27-30, with players ages ranging from U18AA all the way down to U10 A-division hockey. All the games are free to the public with full details available on the Sudbury Silver Stick 2025 website.
The website also includes game details at the local arenas, which include the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex, the Carmichael Arena, the McClelland Community Centre and Arena in Copper Cliff, the T.M. Davies Community Centre and Arena in Walden, the George Armstrong Community Centre and Arena in Garson, the Toe Blake Memorial Arena in Coniston, and at the Chelmsford Community Centre and Arena.