Windsor Classic comes to town

by Evan Mathias

Local hockey fans have something to look forward to this holiday season.

The Windsor Classic, which is sponsored by Investors Group Inc., is coming to the downtown area. A two-day road hockey event will take over Riverside Drive West between Ferry Street and Ouellette Avenue Dec. 28 and 29. The event is trying to fill the void of the cancellation of the NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic. It will feature three road hockey games every hour and scores will be cumulative for either Toronto Maple Leafs fans or Detroit Red Wings fans.

At the end of the two days, whatever team of fans has the most total goals wins the Windsor Classic. There is a $10 registration fee for players and all donations will go to the Downtown Mission. Investors Group is looking to donate $40,000 but the organizer for the event and division director at Investors Group Trevor Whaling said he thinks they can exceed that goal.

Whaling said he came up with the idea for the game to run along with the NHL Winter Classic.

“I had an epiphany that the rivalry that is going to be in this town between Leafs and Wings fans during that time is going to be incredible,” said Whaling.

There is enough hype with the rivalry between Leafs and Wings fans without having to promote a lot because of the Home Box Office specials on the Winter, said Whaling.

Whaling said he wanted to run the Windsor Classic through the NHL and use it as one of the events that go on in the area. There has been lots of community involvement, including local businesses stepping up.

“I get probably 20 emails and 20 phone calls a day of how can we be a part of it,” said Whaling. “Anything you can think of putting an event together like this, all of the moving parts to putting up the fencing, lighting, and paramedics.

“We’ve had somebody in every category come to the table for us and say we want to be a person that helps with this event.”

The event has had more interest on how people can get involved than people actually signing up so far. When the official announcement goes out later this week they are expecting a large interest by hockey fans of all ages.

The close proximity to Detroit has pulled in some interest from Detroit businesses who want to be a part of the event.

“Playing, I don’t know, but in terms of getting involved and seeing how they can support the event, yes,” said Whaling.

Whaling said he has had some NHL player interest but he doesn’t want to say too much because nothing in that matter is official yet.

For more information on the Windsor Classic follow the event on Twitter @WindsorClassic or check their Facebook page, The Windsor Classic Presented by Investors Group. There is also additional informational on the Downtown Mission website.