JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- Jason Woolley played 14 seasons in the NHL and remembers what it's like to be a kid dreaming of playing professional hockey.

"Any time you get a chance to go out with the little guys… I was once a little kid who looked up to NHL players and now it's nice to be on the other side," Woolley said at Cambria County War Memorial Arena, where he coached kids in a youth hockey clinic as part of Kraft Hockeyville USA. "They're all out there, working hard having fun and smiling, and that's what it's all about."

Johnstown, named the winner of Kraft Hockeyville USA, will host a preseason game Tuesday between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN). The arena was also awarded $150,000 in upgrades, which were used on new lights, new glass and boards as well as on the sound system, locker rooms and scoreboard fixes.

Woolley, a retired defenseman who had 68 goals and 314 points with five teams in his NHL career, won a silver medal with Canada at the 1992 Albertville Olympics. He said for all he knows, future NHL players could be at the clinic.

Underneath a low ceiling from which hung a glitchy scoreboard were 4,001 blue seats that hockey fans from Johnstown, Pa., braved countless snowstorms to sit in since 1950.

The scene within Cambria County War Memorial should be familiar for many hockey fans. Most notably serving as the set in "Slap Shot," Johnstown was titled Kraft Hockeyville USA after promoting its extensive hockey history.

Nestled in an old steel mill town, the 65-year-old arena received $150,000 in renovations, including an updated scoreboard and the removal of a few seats to expand the team benches. It will also serve as the site for a preseason game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN).

When Alex Alger was traded to the Johnstown Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League in early February, he had no idea what was in store for him. He knew the Pennsylvania town was where the iconic movie "Slap Shot" was filmed, but that was about it.

The small town of Johnstown, Pa., may not be thriving as it was when the steel industry boomed throughout much of western Pennsylvania. But when 3,000-plus fans piled into the Cambria County War Memorial for his first game for the junior team, Alger realized how unique his new home was.

"When I first came in they told me I could go to the soup kitchen and see people there that are at your games," Alger said. "It shows what hockey really means to the community. People are willing to spend what little money they have to come out to support the team. It's really an incredible place to play. It's truly a hockey community."

Soon after he arrived, Alger learned of Johnstown's bid to win Kraft Hockeyville USA. He enthusiastically joined the campaign, and enlisted his friends and family from his home in Livonia, Mich., to encourage people to vote for Johnstown.

Although the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Tampa Bay Lightning will be the ones to christen the updated arena with a preseason game Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN), the Tomahawks will be the ones benefitting most from the $150,000 the city won that will go toward rink renovations.

Bob Costas' broadcasting career will come full circle next week in Johnstown, Pa.

Costas, who is known more for his work in baseball, on NBC's Sunday Night Football and at the Summer and Winter Olympics, got his start in hockey. The first professional game he ever announced was at Cambria County War Memorial Arena, where he will anchor coverage of Kraft Hockeyville USA on Tuesday when the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning play a preseason game in Johnstown (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Costas' first professional broadcast was an Eastern Hockey League game between the Syracuse Blazers and Johnstown Jets in 1973.

Chris Stewart and Dana Heinze stood in the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, Pa., on May 2, anxiously awaiting the announcement as to which city was going to win the title of Kraft Hockeyville, USA.

Johnstown was one of 10 finalists for the first Kraft Hockeyville USA title, and Heinze, the head equipment manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Stewart, the Penguins' head athletic trainer, had a strong feeling their hometown had won.

They were right.

"Coming together as a community was the big thing that you saw throughout the whole process," Stewart said. "Once they got it, it was just a sense of pride in the community with the way they stood and really took action to get this game there."

Stewart and Heinze attended the announcement party after the Penguins' run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs ended with a loss in the Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Rangers. But both are excited to return to Johnstown with their team when the Penguins play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Marc-Andre Fleury is no stranger to slap shots, but how good would the Pittsburgh Penguins goalie be acting out a scene from the movie "Slap Shot"?

Fleury recently traded his goalie pads for a Charlestown Chiefs jersey and wig, dressing as French-Canadian goalie Denis Lemieux from the 1977 film for a scene posted to the Penguins website Tuesday. Dan Potash, a reporter who covers Penguins games for ROOT Sports, played the role of broadcaster Jim Carr.

NORTHFIELD, Ill. – In partnership with the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) and the National Hockey League (NHL), the inaugural Kraft Hockeyville USA contest captured the nation and ultimately named Johnstown, Pa., as the first-ever "Kraft Hockeyville USA." Johnstown's Cambria County War Memorial Arena will receive $150,000 in arena upgrades and the opportunity to host an NHL Pre-Season Game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning televised live on NBCSN on September 29, 2015.

Johnstown has always celebrated its passion for hockey, even serving as inspiration for the popular hockey movie "Slap Shot" Rich in hockey heritage, Cambria County War Memorial Arena will use the winning funds to upgrade its ice-making equipment and scoreboard, providing a better game experience for community members.

NORTHFIELD, Ill. – Hundreds of communities across the country have shown their hockey spirit and passion by nominating their local rinks for the esteemed title of "Kraft Hockeyville USA," and the chance to host an NHL Pre-Season Game in their local community. Launched in the United States for the first time on January 1, in partnership with the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), National Hockey League (NHL), NBC Sports Group and USA Hockey, Kraft's Canadian-born program captured the nation, reaching communities in all 50 states, with 1,324 rinks nominated and 18,388 unique story nominations. The top 10 communities will share $425,000 in arena upgrades from Kraft.

The 10 communities, five from the West and five from the East, moving on to the first round of voting include:

NORTHFIELD, Ill. -- January 1, 2015 -- Today, at the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® featuring the Chicago Blackhawks® and Washington Capitals® broadcast on NBC, the puck officially drops for Kraft Hockeyville™ USA -- the search for America’s most passionate hockey community. Uniting an all-star roster of partners including the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), National Hockey League (NHL®), NBC Sports Group, and USA Hockey, Kraft’s award-winning, Canadian-born Hockeyville™ program has expanded into the U.S. for the first time to help build better hockey communities across the country. Beginning today, hockey communities across the U.S. can vie for the esteemed title of "Kraft Hockeyville™ USA" and enter for a chance to win the grand prize of hosting an NHL® Pre-Season game televised live on NBCSN and $150,000 in arena upgrades.

"Seeing all these passionate hockey fans cheering on their team in the brisk winter air reminds me of the way so many of us fell in love with the sport," said Dino Bianco, Executive Vice President and President, Kraft Beverages. "Fans like this coming together for their shared love of hockey is what inspired us to launch Kraft Hockeyville in the U.S. and celebrate the unity that hockey brings to communities across the country."