Top two: Taber a finalist for Hockeyville’s grand prize

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Vauxhall Advance

By Cal Braid
Vauxhall Advance
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

After last week’s news that Taber had made the cut as a top-13 contender for this year’s Kraft Hockeyville award, it surprised itself again when Kraft announced that it was a top two finalist in the running for the grand prize: a preseason NHL game and $250,000 in arena upgrades.

Along with Tumbler Ridge, Taber is one of the two remaining towns in Canada eligible for Hockeyville 2026. Within a three-month window, Taber took a significant blow to its collective sense of community, and Tumbler Ridge took an extreme one to its sense of peace and safety, but both showed up to make a case for becoming this year’s Hockeyville.

While the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge was a true tragedy with devastating human impacts, Taber took a hit that was disrupting, disturbing and potentially deadly – but ultimately recoverable. The arena explosion created uncertainty and threw a monkey wrench into the local sports scene, but no one was killed or injured.

Taber’s Communications Manager Meghan Brennan broke the news with a media release on Saturday and talked about it more on Monday.

“It was a surprise for Taber to be named top two, 100 per cent, “ she said. “All of the 13 nominees were completely deserving. Tumbler Ridge didn’t surprise me. Personally, I think they have a story that really, really showcased how hockey helped and is helping their community, and it makes total sense.”

Brennan said when the top 13 nominees were announced, she looked into the backstories of those towns’ campaigns, and they all had a worthy case for consideration.

“I was reading the stories of other arenas, and the one in Saskatchewan was really heartbreaking to read, and all of the arenas were super worthy,” she said. “So when Taber was named, it was certainly a surprise to us, not a surprise about the community spirit and the community rallying. But it could have gone any way.”

She said that more than anything, the rally for Hockeyville was a citizen-driven initiative; basically, the Town followed the lead of its residents.

“I mean, within an hour after the explosion, the dust really hadn’t settled by the time people were already in the comments talking about Hockeyville,” she said of monitoring social media in the immediate aftermath. “So, yeah, it was immediate. We were still in the investigation phase when they were talking about Hockeyville. So really, it was because of those community comments that the Town kind of decided, ‘All right, well, this is what our community wants, and we’re gonna do this for the community.’ So it really was because of the citizens.”

In the midst of the excitement, Taber is still going ahead with this week’s community engagement activities for public feedback on the idea of a new recreation centre. A citizens survey is linked to a third-party facilitator on the Town’s website and that same party will gather and deliver the results of the community engagement to the Town.

“That will ultimately be made public to council and the staff and then to the public proper,” Brennan explained. “There’s a bunch of other stuff that’s going on behind the scenes as well. They’re doing a bunch of feasibility research into other community centers in the region and stuff like that. So feedback is one part of it, and then there’s the rest of the study that goes into it.”

While there is not yet an ETA on when the results will be released, Brennan said it will be this year. As for Hockeyville, she summed up the mood with an overwhelmingly generous perspective.

“It’s definitely an honour to be named shoulder to shoulder with Tumbler Ridge, and regardless of who wins on April 4, both communities are ultimately winners, which is wonderful.”

“Whether we’re first or second, it’s just an honour to be named (alongside) them. And Taber of all communities can certainly empathize and sympathize with what their community has gone through – and is going through. As their competitor, we’re rooting for them just as much as we’re rooting for ourselves. And at the end of the day, we know our community is going to be just fine whether we’re first or second place, and we hope that the same is true for Tumbler Ridge.”

Now the vote goes Canada-wide, and the public can vote within some eligibility limitations (eg. must be 14 years of age). Visit the Hockeyville website for full details. The voting will take place Friday, April 3 beginning at 7 a.m. and continuing through to Saturday, April 4 at 3 p.m. MST. Canadians can vote at hockeyville.kraftheinz.com/home

As a reminder, this week’s ‘new rec centre’ community engagement events are scheduled as follows: Community Pop-Up Booth at Play On! Street hockey tournament – Fri. Mar. 27 5 – 7 p.m.