From his vantage point in the upper level of Gerry McCrory Countryside Arena, Peter Michelutti can’t help but smile.
The longtime director of Sudbury’s Silver Stick Tournament, which turns 56 this year, is right where he wants to be: watching young people enjoy the game of hockey and listening to the cheers of their parents from the stands.
“Sudbury is a small community — people live off sports,” he said. The tournament gives local teams the chance to take on teams they might not otherwise face, and learn a few things about the game of hockey, he said. “It’s good to play against these other teams, and it’s good to see what other teams are doing.”
It’s no small feat to organize an event that brings so many thousands of people and teams to the city. Local arenas, including 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, are packed for the event.
It not only takes an army of volunteers (“We have great volunteers,” Michelutti said.); it take a lot of money.
The Silver Stick has a budget of $225,000. Of that, $84,000 covers ice fees, with some $45,000 paying for officials. The medal budget alone is $12,000, Michelutti said.
But the spinoff of full hotels rooms, busy restaurants and packed stores translates into a boost of between $11 million and $13 million for Greater Sudbury’s economy.
This year’s event is the largest on record with 124 teams signed on over the two weekends (Nov. 13-16 and Nov. 27-30). Michelutti said 60 teams had to be turned away.
For example, Michelutti said, teams travelling from small northern towns take the opportunity to shop while they’re in Sudbury. He said a Kapuskasing team took the chance to hit Costco to do some Christmas shopping during the event, spending, he said, apparently spending tens of thousands of dollars.
Organizing an event for 4,000 hockey players is one thing. Managing their parents, though, is quite another, the tournament director said.
“We had a lot of hotel complaints this year,” Michelutti said.
He said some parents seem to think they’re on vacation and treat the experience like they’re at a resort.
“Once the booze starts …,” Michelutti said, shaking his head, and letting the sentence trail off. Rowdy, drunken parents created more than a few headaches for him. He said an Oshawa coached ended up arrested for his behaviour at a local hotel.
The level of bad behaviour forced tournament organizers to send an email to all teams warning them to mind their manners lest they get kicked out of the Silver Stick entirely.
“That’s a lot of wasted money” if they get tossed, Michelutti said.
Despite these issues, he said the tournament is always a good time. He was particularly proud at the number of Greater Sudbury teams who made the finals this year, with local representation in the U10, U11, U12, U13, U14 and U15 divisions.
Some great hockey was also played with Saturday saying no fewer than four games go to overtime, with three of those going to triple O/T.
One person who might be a little surprised at the longevity of the 56-year-old tournament is Al Hamill. He is the son of Red Hamill, the Sudbury NHLer who won a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 1939 and went on to start the Sudbury chapter of the Silver Stick 56 years ago.
He visited the tournament this year as a guest of Michelutti.
“I am the mascot,” Hamill joked.
He said it’s a ton of work to organize the event. But today, the organizers have computer assistance to map out the event. Not so back in his father’s day.
“The amount of paper around my house in the ’60s — wow,” Hamill said laughing, adding that back then, his father did all the scheduling himself.
And as for the fact the tournament continues all these years later, Hamill beamed.
“It’s beautiful,” he said. “Dad just always wanted kids to have a chance to play.”
He also tipped his hat to Michelutti and the army of volunteers for all the work they put in.
Winners from local Silver Stick tournaments like Sudbury’s advance to the international finals. Silver Stick events are played across North America, with 26 tournaments in Canada and 13 in the United States. The finals will be played over 10 tournaments (seven boys and three girls) in January.
For full tournament results, click here.
Mark Gentili is the editor of Sudbury.com.