Sudbury has long been acknowledged as an outstanding hockey market and Pro Hockey Life was not about to let that opportunity slip by.

"Considering how many minor hockey associations are in town, how many rinks are in town and how big of a hockey community it was, it only made sense for us to come here," noted Mike Ceolin, associate Vice-President of store operations last weekend at the grand opening of the 20th location in the chain.

Acknowledging that their interest dates back some two and a half years, Ceolin confirmed that there is plenty of thought given to decisions such as these.

"We had our eyes on Barrie, Kingston, Sudbury and London," he said, with Pro Hockey Life now situated locally at 1499 Marcus Drive, the former location of Bed, Bad and Beyond near the eastern end of the string of stores at the top of the hill.

"It took some time to go through all of the analysis and all of the work. But with the opportunity to give the community the breadth and assortment of all of the top brands, we felt it was important to be here."

Sudburians familiar with the Southern Ontario outlets will note a very familiar atmosphere.

"For us, it's about openess - a bright and open store - easy navigation and accessibility for everybody," said Ceolin. "It's easy to shop; it's easy to move around."

And in a market like Sudbury, a small-town feel in a population basin of 165,000 or so, it's also about building connections.

"We are here for the community," said Ceolin. "I'm not really worried about sales this weekend. It's more about giving these kids, both boys and girls, something to get excited about."

Some of the interactive exhibits clearly accomplished that - as did a Sunday visit from member of the Canadian national team and two-time world champion Jaime Bourbonnais, on hand to sign autographs, pose for pictures and share with the kids a hands on look at an IIHF gold medal.

A member of the New York entry in the PWHL (Professional Women's Hockey League), Bourbonnais contrasted her experience as a teenager with the Oakville Jr Hornets to the one that current members of the Sudbury Lady Wolves might know.

"For girls now to be able to meet me and want to play in the PWHL is such a different experience," said the 25 year-old smooth-skating blueliner who was in Sudbury as a member of the Appleby College Blue Dogs entry at the 2015 OFSAA Hockey Championships.

"You can kind of feel the excitement. Girls have such a different mindset now. It's not just a hobby; it's not just something you can do in your free time."

Like most who were involved with the league, Bourbonnais admitted that there was little more she could have asked for from the first year of operations from the six-team PWHL loop.

"The support that we got this year exceeded every expectation that I had," noted the graduate of the Cornell University Big Red program, the same institution where Sudbury native Rebecca Johnston starred.

(in fact, Bourbonnais noted that later this month, she would be attending the wedding of Rebecca Johnston and fiance Curtis Lewington in Calgary)

"I knew that women's hockey had a demand and that people wanted to see us at a professional level - but the amount of fans and the support that we got still feels kind of surreal to me," added Bourbonnais.

"Selling out NHL-sized rinks is pretty special."

And while the skill level in women's hockey continues to grow in leaps and bounds, Bourbonnais noted that there is at least one other area where she would not mind seeing the gap closed between genders.

"This past year, the physicality is more than it ever has been - and I think people want to see that in hockey," she said. "In the NHL, there's fighting, there's hitting and people love it."

"I'm not sure we'll ever get to fighting because we do have cages on but the physicality is something I think the fans really enjoyed - and we enjoyed it as well," Bourbonnais continued, acknowledging that she would have no issue at all to see body checking allowed at the highest levels of the female game.

"If that continues, I think the game will stick around for a long time."

Sounds like the same game plan that Pro Hockey Life might adopt, now that they are calling Sudbury home - or at least one of their twenty homes.