Tara Slone: Living a hockey road trip of her own

Tara Slone knows there is a story to be told in every pocket of Canada.

The Rogers Hometown Hockey host understands being on a constant road trip that stops in small communities all over the country always lends itself to hearing a story or two —like when the roadshow parked in Winkler, Man. for a broadcast earlier this month.

“I knew that it was a Mennonite area, but what I didn’t really understand was the Mennonite-Mexican connection,” Slone said, remarking at government regulations from decades ago that sent groups of people from southern Manitoba to Mexico before they returned later in life.

“So if you want to find authentic Mexican ingredients and food, Winkler, Manitoba is the place to get it.”

With the hockey tour making its final stop of the season in Saskatoon this weekend, there’s no shortage of outstanding stories from the small places of Canada that are often overlooked.

Over the course of a full hockey season, Slone hears endless tales of National Hockey League (NHL) greats that perfected their craft with humble beginnings.

She relishes the opportunity to hear them each and every time.

“I think the word is gratitude,” she said during her 122nd stop for Hometown Hockey.

“Everyone is proud of their hometown. That’s a universality that comes along with this. Not everyone is from Toronto and Vancouver and Montreal — some people are from Floral.”

That’s where Detroit Red Wings legend and Hall of Famer Gordie Howe hailed from. Combining Slone’s other passion of music and hockey in a city like Saskatoon gives the area a unique flavour.

“There’s a lot of art that comes from here, as well as hockey,” she said, pointing to Joni Mitchell and The Sheepdogs.

“The nice synergy for our show on Sunday is that we are celebrating Saskatoon on what would be Gordie Howe’s birthday.”

Slone will co-host Sunday’s broadcast with Ron MacLean as the Calgary Flames take on the San Jose Sharks.

While many flock to MacLean for his heart-warming stories and encyclopedic knowledge of hockey, Slone gets her fair share of fanfare.

Just don’t expect her to rattle off a detailed story about a player’s quirky past like MacLean.

“I don’t have the same retention that he does, but definitely, those are things that you start to pull out from the memory bank,” Slone said.

“I have far more stories and I connect the dots differently than I used to before working with Ron, but there will never be another Ron MacLean.”

Now that the show has put more than 100 tour stops behind it in its five years, Slone thinks the next five look even brighter.

“I think people are really starting to recognize this show. At this point, Ron gets stopped and appreciated as much for his work on this show as Hockey Night in Canada. It takes a little bit to embed something in the Canadian media landscape, but I think we’re there.”