Paul Bissonnette delves into the importance of Kraft Hockeyville, Auston Matthews, Matthew Schaefer and more

“I knew what Kraft Hockeyville was. You saw it on TV, the clips and you knew what it was about. Helping communities across Canada, fixing up barns and making repairs. But just to see it and be there, as far as the response from fans and the community being overwhelmed by an NHL game coming to their arena. The impact I saw first hand was amazing, and the fact that I got to be a part of it.

“I’ve said this at meetings too, I’m coming into year 20 with the pom-poms, let’s go, but this was a foundation that was laid even longer than 19 years ago. What all the people at Kraft Hockeyville have been able to do, as far as donating over $5.5 million to 105 communities across the country, that’s pretty remarkable. And the amount of joy it’s brought to some of these small communities, because when you think about it, some of these communities, the arena is where they come together. You have the church and the ice rink where you get all the great stories and the memories happen.

Bissonnette played for the Southern Tier Admirals AAA team based in Welland, Ontario, before being selected 31st overall in the 2001 OHL Priority Selection by the now defunct North Bay Centennials. After starring in the OHL, Bissonnette played 202 games in the NHL and spoke about the importance of a community rink as a central hub before his major junior career took off.

“I was blessed to be able to play in Southern Ontario. The accessibility to all these different arenas. We had Fort Erie down the road where they had a new, state-of-the-art rink. There were two pads. Well, it was a little more worn, but nothing that wasn’t manageable. We had them at our disposal, whereas in other areas in the country there might not be another rink for another 100-150 kilometres, maybe even more.”

“The fact that I was given the opportunity to have them available to me in this way is something I am forever indebted and grateful to. So I want to amplify this and try to reach out to these smaller communities where they may not have the money to fix things and help create some of those memories that I’ve been able to experience, that’s why we’re here, that’s why Kraft Hockeyville does it.”

“Part of us remembers being young when we came in. He’s an 18-year-old and he’s a phenom. It’s good to pick the brains of these guys and it’s good to make everyone feel like they’re just normal kids. They’re just extraordinary at playing a game. I think that’s one of the best things about jumping into the media because I really miss the locker room. I miss the banter and the camaraderie and hearing these stories.”

“If you turn these guys on, maybe they tell a story: For Schaefer, he lost his mother before his NHL Draft. Hearing that maybe they were another player on the other side, maybe they lost a family member and how he was able to fight through that adversity and where he took his mentality, and how he overcame it. Just to share all that and help facilitate that and talk to all these great guys, that’s what fills my tank and it’s become my goal.”

“I feel like people are shaming Matthews. They’re just so negative about the team. Sometimes I understand you have to be critical, I just think it’s a little overblown right now with the slander on the Toronto Maple Leafs. They’ve had to deal with injuries in goaltending, they’ve had two key pieces in (Brandon) Carlo and (Chris) Tanev who lost a lot of time at the back end. Matthews, there’s a lot to ask of him, he lost his right-hand man in Mitch Marner, Bissonnette said.

Since the interview took place, the Maple Leafs went into a tailspin for the entire month of January, though Matthews was perhaps the team’s lone bright spot, leading the NHL in 5-on-5 goals through January.

Kraft Hockeyville is an exciting project that has been improving the quality of arenas across Canada for two decades, and Bissonnette is beyond excited to participate in an initiative that truly gives back to communities across the country.