Rogers is aiming a little closer to home with a Stanley Cup final campaign that gives star players’ hometown communities a spotlight on hockey’s biggest stage.

For “This Is Our Ice,” the telco gathered frozen shavings from the childhood rinks of some of the Oilers’ top players and shipped it to Edmonton where it was added to the playing surface at Rogers Place ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final last week.

The 60-second video, created in collaboration with Publicis Canada, brings the frozen shipments to Alberta’s capital from the arenas where Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse, Stuart Skinner, Evander Kane and Calvin Pickard skated in their younger days.

“Hockey’s biggest stage should reflect where the game truly begins – in hometown hockey rinks across Canada,” Terrie Tweddle, chief brand and communications officer at Rogers, said in a news release. “’This Is Our Ice’ is about rallying communities across the country to celebrate our collective pride in Canada’s game as the Oilers play to bring home the Stanley Cup.”

The video is the latest extension of Rogers’s larger “This Is Our Game” platform that was launched ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off international tournament in February, which ended with a Canadian win over the U.S. in the gold-medal game on McDavid’s overtime goal.

Rogers tells strategy that it decided to build on the patriotic momentum created during the 4-Nations Face-Off and extend the platform into the NHL playoffs after five Canadian teams qualified for the postseason.

The Oilers are the last Canadian club standing and now trail the Florida Panthers 2-1 in the best-of-seven championship series after Monday night’s 6-1 loss.

In April, Rogers reached an $11-billion 12-year agreement to purchase the broadcast rights for all NHL games in Canada through the 2037-38 season.

“Every player starts on community rinks in hometown arenas that shape the soul of Canadian hockey,” Publicis Canada CCO Vinicius Dalvi said in the news release. “By bringing that ice to the Stanley Cup final, we’re not just celebrating the players, we’re honouring the millions who lace up from coast to coast and prove it’s Canada’s game every time they play.”

The “This Is Our Ice” campaign rolled out nationally last week on TV, OLV, OOH and social media.

Rogers moved its creative assignment to Publicis Canada in early 2024.