Orillia video game streamer Cody Burnett, known as @Xposed on social media, is the new co-owner of the Orillia Ball Hockey Club.
Burnett, 27, took over the reins from Ballhockey.com in March with his fiance, Shania Reed.
"I told them Orillia is a passion project and it's not something that generates a lot of income in its current state," he explained. "They kind of agreed with that."
Ballhockey.com was willing to sell the rink and negotiated a deal with Burnett.
"I've been playing here since I was about 11 years old," he said. "I remember when I was growing up, going to the rink, and having my parents drop me off to play youth games."
Burnett says the Orillia Ball Hockey Club "means a lot" to him.
"I remember looking at the website and going through the stats as a kid," he said. "It brings back a lot of really good memories."
Burnett, who has played in Orillia for 16 years, says he knows most of the players and the rink itself well.
"I know what the community needs," he said. "I think it's a perfect fit and that's what others have told me."
Ball hockey provides a great opportunity for players to enjoy good exercise while being outdoors.
"There's just something about it," he said. "You put a sweat on, battle, and compete. It's great."
Burnett has played "at the highest level," travelling as far as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to play in competitive tournaments.
"I just love the game," he said. "it's fun."
Since taking over, Burnett has fixed up the bleachers, filled potholes in the driveway, put hooks in the benches, added doors to player benches, and fixed a dangerous lip that was in the floor.
"There is more maintenance coming to the rink, we are just on a tight schedule right now," he said. "It's tough to postpone games or take the time needed to dive in and perfect it all."
Burnett says the rink is a work in progress, but he is committed to making it a place players can be proud to call home.
"I want to strive to have the best facility," he said. "I want to strive for everything to be perfect. It obviously isn't perfect, it's a work in progress, but it's coming with time and people will see changes that are good."
Burnett says he's received nothing but good feedback since he and Reed took over. Players are especially thrilled to have registration fees cut by almost 50 per cent, bringing the cost to $100 per player for each season.
"I care about bringing back those cheaper prices," he said. "I don't really care too much about making money off of this project as much as others may. This is more of a passion project for me."
Burnett hopes to eventually livestream games for people to watch at home.
"There are a lot of other cool things coming as far as prizes go," he said. "It's all kind of top secret right now, but there are some big things coming."
Burnett is also in the process of building the new Xposed Ball Hockey League in Warminster. The project has been delayed but is expected to be complete by September.
"Soon we will have two facilities," he said. "This will allow us to have better game times for everybody. With better game times, affordable pricing, and good prizes, it will make for a really good league."
Once both rinks are up and running, Burnett asks local players to get their best teams ready.
"There is going to be a splash in the community as far as tournaments go," he said. "Huge tournaments, probably the biggest ball hockey has ever seen."
