Fan Arena big hit in Kenora, Ontario

KENORA, Ontario -- He never expected a vintage hockey helmet to put a smile on his face, but Jeff Booth left the NHL Centennial Fan Arena on Saturday marveling at the sight of a Cooper SK10.
The helmet was just one of several historic pieces on display in the Fan Arena, which made a one-day stop to Kenora, Ontario, the host city for this year's Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada.

"It was pretty neat seeing some of the old stuff, that gear, the old SK10," Booth, a Kenora native, said about the helmet predominantly worn in the 1960s and '70s. "That's basically what I wore when I started playing."
Booth, Hali Carlson and their daughter Annika Carlson-Booth made their way to Kenora's Harbourfront to celebrate the game and the opportunity to tour the fan arena, an interactive traveling experience that will visit all 31 NHL cities and other stops along the way as part of the League's Centennial Celebration.

Kenora, located about 140 miles east of Winnipeg, is the first non-NHL city to host the tour. Booth and his family were glad they had to chance to see it.
"This is an amazing thing for the town," Carlson said. "Kenora's always been a really big hockey community."
Booth liked the old Cooper helmet, but Carlson said the "old goalie stuff" was her favorite.
The family completed its tour of the NHL Centennial Fan Arena with a photo taken in the personalized digital Winnipeg Jets locker room and by signing the NHL/100 wall.
The NHL Centennial Fan Arena features the 53-foot museum truck, an entertainment truck with a giant video screen, the Clear The Ice Zamboni VR Experience and the Stanley Cup.
The next tour stop will be in Pittsburgh on Friday and Saturday, when the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, NHL.TV) in the 2017 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series at Heinz Field.