CITY FACTS:

• London began as a 405-hectare site reserved for John Graves Simcoe in 1793 as a future provincial capital and strategic pivot for defence. The rebellions of 1837 led to the stationing in London as the largest body of British troops west of Toronto.
• The opening of the Great Western Railway ensured London's continued growth as a regional centre.
  
  

HOCKEY FACTS

• The Greater London Hockey Association is a member partner in the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario. It is responsible for minor hockey in London.
• There are approximately 4,400 players registered on 250 teams in the GLHA.
• The girls' hockey team in London is known as the Devilettes. Started in 1986 with a single peewee team, it has grown to a record 690 registrations this season.
• A huge concern in London is that the city is not producing NHL-calibre hockey players. In the past decade, only three players from London have made it to the professional ranks. During the 1970s and '80s, 17 players went through the London minor hockey system and roared on to NHL careers.
• London is staging its own mini-version of HDIC, complete with a celebrity game, skills competition, a boys vs. girls game, sledge hockey, a road hockey tournament and all-star game.
• Ward Cornell, former host of Hockey Night in Canada, was from London.
• On Oct. 13, 2002, the city opened the new John Labatt Centre, a 9,100-seat facility that has transformed the downtown core. The arena cost $41 million to build. Its prime talent is the London Knights
• The City of London celebrated its first national championship in 70 years last March when the University of Western Mustangs men's hockey team won the university title.
• The first NHL game played in London was between the Hamilton Tigers and the Toronto St. Pats on March 18, 1924. Londoner George (Goldie) Prodgers scored the winning goal for Hamilton in the last minute of play to pull out a 6-5 win before 2,000 fans.
• This year, a LMHA bantam team hosted a team from Hallsberg, Sweden, billeting the players and arranging a series of exhibition games and social events for the team.
  
  

NHL alumni from London:

• 41 people who were born in London have made the NHL.
• Notable names include Jeff Hackett, Eric Lindros, Craig MacTavish, Joe Murphy and Joe Thornton.