Courtenay council's excitement about a hockey star coming to Courtenay was obvious Monday as it voted in favour of a road closure for a road hockey game in town.
Trevor Linden is the hockey star, and and he's coming to town to take on Comox Valley players in a road hockey mixer Oct. 18.
First Insurance is organizing the event and asked for a temporary closure of England Avenue between Eighth and 10th streets between 3 and 5 p.m. so the mixer could be held near its Courtenay office on Eighth Street.
Coun. Manno Theos noted he's played in the Comox Cup hockey tournament for over a decade, and the road closure in downtown Comox over the past couple of years didn't seem to cause difficulties in the community.
He is excited by the idea of this event in Courtenay.
"I think this may be the only hockey we'll be seeing around that time with the current strike going on in the NHL, but joking aside, this is what I believe to be an exciting event for families," said Theos. "Having somebody with the profile of Trevor Linden coming to our community is quite a thrill for a lot of people."
Coun. Ambler agreed, but added council will likely hear some complaints from a few naysayers.
"I think this is exactly what we need to be doing," said Ambler. "I think it gets people excited for something positive, but when we do it we've got to recognize that somebody's going to not be able to turn right onto that street and they're going to be upset, and somebody's going to hear a whistle blowing and they're going to be upset, and somebody's going to hear a stereo and they're going to be upset, and we've got to stop listening every tiny minority that's mildly inconvenienced for five minutes and think about the good that we're doing."
The mixer will happen between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. Linden will also drop the puck on the Glacier Kings alumni game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. that evening at the Comox Valley Sports Centre.
Kids between the ages of four and 12 can enter to win a chance to play hockey with Linden. Stop by any of the Comox Valley First Insurance offices before Oct. 12 to enter.
The community event is free.
writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com