Elkhorn, Man., watch party to cheer on local hockey star Travis Sanheim in Olympic final

Many Canadians will be skipping morning sleep-ins on Sunday as they tune in to watch the Olympic men's hockey team take on the United States in the gold-medal game in Milan. 

Some Manitobans will be at home cheering in pyjamas when the puck drops at 7:10 a.m. CT, while others will be decked out in Team Canada jerseys at bars and pubs opening early for the game. 

But as the sun rises in Elkhorn, Man., the local hockey rink and community centre is expected to be packed with people rooting for homegrown hockey star Travis Sanheim as he laces up for Canada in the final showdown of the Winter Games.

Devrin Stonehouse, president of the community centre's board and head of Elkhorn Minor Hockey, said the board decided on Saturday they would organize a watch party for Sunday morning. 

Stonehouse said they're expecting a pretty big crowd to flock to the rink, where the game will be played on a projector screen while breakfast is served. 

"The response has been good so far," Stonehouse said. 

"Families with kids in minor hockey have contacted asking what time to show up and stuff. So it's good — the more the merrier for sure," he said. 

Whether people are watching from home or gathering at the rink, Stonehouse said it's "pretty special" to see flags and Sanheim's jersey being hung up in windows across the western Manitoba community of about 500 people.

"Whether they're at the watch party or at home watching the game, I'm pretty sure there'll be a very high majority of citizens of Elkhorn will be watching the game and rooting them on," he said.

Garth Mitchell, a friend of the Sanheim family who coached Travis when he was a young player, said he may tune in from home because he's "a little bit of an intense fan" to watch hockey games with. 

"I think every TV set in town has been tuned in to catch every game. Yeah, it's been really interesting to follow the journey," Mitchell said, calling Milano-Cortina 2026 an "opportunity of a lifetime" for both Sanheim and the entire Elkhorn community.

Mitchell said it has been "overwhelming" to see the outpouring of support for Sanheim and the rest of Team Canada, including elementary students at Elkhorn School who put together poster board displays cheering them on. 

"It's really, really neat and very emotional for these kids to be able to see this," said Mitchell, adding his grandchildren are huge fans of Sanheim. 

"I think [it's] really important for the long-term interest in the game of hockey locally and when you see a local boy go through the minor hockey system here and get to the highest level," he said.