NHL forward Jon Sim, shown here with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006, will be part of this year's Hockey Day in Canada broadcast in New Glasgow, N.S. "I get a chance to give back to the community in little ways, and hopefully it helps some kids get to where I am some day." (Gregory Smith/Associated Press)

Jon Sim sits quietly in his Garden City, N.Y., home watching a movie with his three-year-old son Landon, anxiously awaiting a return to the National Hockey League.

Sidelined since October following major reconstructive knee surgery, the New York Islanders left-winger has grown tired of the seemingly endless rehabilitation.

"I'd take a full-out bag skate for two hours right now," Sim told CBCSports.ca. "I'm dying to get on the ice but it's still another couple of weeks away."

As a diversion, Sim jumped on board when given the chance to join host Linda Kelly at one of six satellite locations for CBC's eighth annual Hockey Day in Canada, hosted by Winkler, Man., this Saturday (noon ET).

They will be stationed at the annual winter carnival in Sim's hometown of New Glasgow, N.S., to celebrate "The Journey," exploring how people's lives are shaped and changed by the game of hockey.

"Initially, I was nervous [about being on-air] but as it's getting closer, I'm more excited than anything," said Sim, 30. "It's going to be totally different than what I'm used to [being on the other side of the camera as a player]. I think it's going to be fun."

Showing off the town of 10,000 should be easy for Sim, who can draw on his many experiences playing minor hockey and growing up in a household with two brothers where hockey was "all we did, all we wanted to do.

"There are so many people that helped me along the way," said Sim, who tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee in an Oct. 6 game against Buffalo. "Now I get a chance to give back to the community in little ways, and hopefully it helps some kids get to where I am some day."

Sim received his first pair of skates when he was three years old, and the following year was a member of the novice East Hants Penguins. He climbed the ranks of triple-A and was part of some exciting playoffs, including the AAA bantam Atlantic finals against Moncton.

"It was covered across the Maritimes on ATV [Atlantic Television, now CTV Atlantic] and was pretty big at the time," Sim said. "We ended up losing 4-3 in triple overtime."

Father coached triple-A midget

Fellow New Glasgow native Colin White, now a defenceman with the New Jersey Devils, was a teammate of Sim's that season along with Toronto Maple Leafs farmhand Derrick Walser. To this day, they reminisce about that game.

Sim later joined his older brother Mike on the Pictou County Weeks triple-A midget team coached by their father, Hugh.

"Everyone wanted to play for the Weeks triple-A midget team," said Sim, currently with his eighth NHL team in nine years. "When I finally got there, it was good. I ended up getting drafted that year [by the Laval Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League].

"Colin [White] and I went there together for about three months before we parted ways. He went to Hull [of the QMJHL] and I went to Sarnia, Ont. [to play for the Ontario Hockey League's Sting]."

New York Islanders forward Jon Sim looks for the puck during a game against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 6, 2007. Sim suffered a season-ending injury during the contest. (Ed Betz/Associated Press)

A diminutive forward, Sim lit up the OHL in the mid-1990s, scoring 56 goals and 102 points in the 1995-96 season.

That summer, he was drafted 70th overall by the NHL's Dallas Stars and then put together 95- and 94-point campaigns before joining Dallas' International Hockey League affiliate in the fall of '98.

Sim spent most of the 1998-99 season with the Michigan K-Wings before getting a taste of the NHL. He played seven regular-season games and remained with the Stars for their run to a Stanley Cup title.

Bringing the Cup home to New Glasgow for a day that summer was special, considering Sim had yet to play a full season in the league.

"It was unreal," said Sim, who has failed to win again with Nashville, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Florida and Atlanta. "I was 21, had just finished playing junior the year before, was in the minors a lot [with Michigan], and all of a sudden I get called up and get a chance to play [in Dallas].

"It just seems it all went by so fast. We had a [Stanley Cup] parade and I think everybody [in New Glasgow] was out. It is something I'd love to do again, especially with a family and kids."

Family outing

Sim and his wife Marla also have an eighth-month-old son, Lane, who will probably take part in some of the Hockey Day festivities.

"I think it's going to be exciting having the kids skating around [on the Westside outdoor rink]," he said. "Hopefully [my other son] Landon will be out all day Saturday starting his own tradition."

The Westside rink, a staple in New Glasgow for more than 70 years, is one of Sim's favourite childhood spots. He would visit after school or on weekends, "lace 'em up and go home when you couldn't feel your hands.

"I remember the way we were brought up. Pictou County was always 'play hard and be tough.' All the teams I played on, that was our motto, and it stuck with me."

Sim's tenacity and strong work ethic has helped him carve out a decent NHL career in which he has collected 97 points in 309 career regular-season games.

Part of Sim's focus this weekend will be thanking those who made it all possible.

He is organizing a fundraiser, complete with a live band, and live and silent auctions, to thank the volunteers of minor hockey in New Glasgow and Pictou County.

"The friendships you make in minor hockey are unbelievable. I still have friends that I played with," said Sim, who helped donate 25 sets of equipment to minor hockey this season and ran a golf tournament last summer to raise money for charities.

"I'm happy where I grew up, and that's why I go back and do the things for the town."