The winning community gets a cash prize dedicated to upgrading their local home arena, as well as the opportunity to host an NHL pre-season game.

The contest itself was developed by Fred Nicolaidis, Pamela McNair, Harry Doupe of the CBC and Jack Hewitt of Kraft Canada.

The application form also requires a short essay, and photographs or a video, depicting the community's hometown pride and passion for the game of hockey.

[1][2] The inaugural 2006 season of Hockeyville featured finalists Smithers, British Columbia, Falher and Airdrie, Alberta, Barry's Bay, Ontario, and as its very first champion, the community of Salmon River, Nova Scotia.

The NHL exhibition game was held September 25 at the Colchester Legion Stadium in the neighbouring town of Truro (the Deuville Rink being too small); the Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators 7–3.

Communities could now enter by logging on to the website, creating a team name, filling out an application form, submitting a short essay and including three photographs which depict hometown pride and passion for the game of hockey.

[3] The four remaining communities from the Top 5 won: The 2009 edition had these cities as the five regional finalists: The winner, announced on March 7 during the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, was Terrace, British Columbia.

The five finalists for the 2010 edition of Hockeyville were: Dundas, Ontario was announced as the winner by Gary Bettman on April 3, 2010, during the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast with 1,066,855 votes.

[5] (Incidentally, Dundas has been, since 2000, within the boundaries of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, a frequent target of efforts regarding potential National Hockey League expansion.)

The town's arena received C$100,000 worth of renovations, and also was to host a pre-season game between the Ottawa Senators and the Atlanta Thrashers on September 26, 2011.

The planned game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 3[7][8] was eventually cancelled due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout, but other festivities continued as scheduled.

The winner receives the usual prize of C$100,000, an NHL pre-season game hosted in their community, and a visit from CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.

Sylvan Lake won the competition on April 7, and hosted a pre-season game between the Arizona Coyotes and the Calgary Flames on September 24.

[13] Because the Panorama Recreation Center Hockey Arena had a limited capacity of only 500, the pre-season game featuring the San Jose Sharks and the Vancouver Canucks was instead played at The Q Centre in nearby Colwood.

[15] Because the Pat Duke Memorial Arena had a limited seating capacity, the pre-season game featuring the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers on October 2 was instead played at Kal Tire Place in nearby Vernon.

Citing transportation and other issues with the O'Leary Community Sports Centre, the pre-season game between the New Jersey Devils and the Ottawa Senators on September 25, 2017, was instead played at the Consolidated Credit Union Place in nearby Summerside.

The four Canadian finalists were announced on August 2: Pense, Saskatchewan; Saint-Félicien, Quebec; Tyne Valley, Prince Edward Island; and Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador.

[32] Twillingate was announced as the winner on the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast on August 15, and was awarded a prize of C$250,000 to upgrade George Hawkins Memorial Arena.

[33] The four USA finalists were announced on August 16: East Grand Forks, Minnesota; El Paso, Texas; Wichita, Kansas; and River Falls, Wisconsin.

[38] The makeup game for Twillingate was played on October 6, 2022, at the Steele Community Centre in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador between the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens.

The four Canadian finalists were announced on March 20, 2021: Bobcaygeon, Ontario; Elsipogtog First Nation, New Brunswick; Lumsden, Saskatchewan; and St. Adolphe, Manitoba.

[42] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the area, the makeup game for Elsipogtog was played on October 8, 2022, at the J.K. Irving Centre in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, between the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators.

[citation needed] The four Canadian finalists were announced on April 23, 2022: Princeton, British Columbia, Douro-Dummer, Ontario, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, and Sydney, Nova Scotia.

[51] The pre-season game was scheduled for September 27, 2023, at Joe Thornton Community Centre in St. Thomas, Ontario, between the Buffalo Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

[48] The four finalists for 2024 were announced on March 9: Elliot Lake, Ontario, Enderby, British Columbia, Cochrane, Alberta, and Wolseley, Saskatchewan.