Joshua Hillier now in Toronto

A former Salt Spring resident has found himself in the national eye this fall because of his love for hockey.

Twenty-four-year-old Joshua Hillier is one of three finalists in a contest to create a new, official cheer for Hockey Canada, the organization in charge of the country’s national teams.

The contest jointly sponsored by Hockey Canada, Pepsi and Gatorade saw 1,100 entries pour in over five weeks. Hillier, a graduate of a university program in film post-production work, said he first heard about it on a television ad during a Maple Leafs game.

“I had some ideas in my head and after the game I went into my room and started working things out on my computer,” Hillier said on the phone from Toronto. “I consider myself to be very patriotic as it is and hockey is my favourite sport, so it just kind of made sense.”

Hillier was surprised to hear from contest organizers less than two weeks after submitting that his cheer was a top-three finalist. Canadians were able to vote for their favourite cheer on Pepsi’s website from Oct. 19 to Nov. 1.

One day after the voting closed, Hillier was beginning his wait until the results are announced on Sunday, Nov. 8.

“The anticipation’s pretty huge, but win or lose, I’m just glad I made it this far. If I win it will be a dream come true, and if not it was really cool to come up with something that represents the team. Hockey’s such a beloved sport,” Hillier said. “I’d just like to thank everyone that voted.”

Hillier’s cheer riffs on spelling Canada, but replaces the ‘a’s with ‘Eh’s, running: “C-Eh-N-Eh-D-Eh-N-Eh, We say . . . Go Canada Go!” If Canadian fans choose it as their favourite, it will become Team Canada’s official cheer, led by the official Ambassador of Cheer, Cameron Hughes.

If he wins, Hillier will also receive a trip to the World Junior Championships in Saskatoon next May and a trip to the three final Men’s World Championship games in Cologne, Germany.

Hillier attended school on Salt Spring in Grade 3 and Grade 6.