NHL Chief Content Officer Steve Mayer said they were "looking to bring out the player personality" and "something that is going to be memorable" with the return of the player draft as part of an expanded 2024 All-Star Weekend in Toronto, according to Kristen Shilton of ESPN.com. The draft will be part of a new NHL All-Star Thursday added ahead of the usual Friday skills competition and Saturday All-Star Game. Mayer said, "The player personality comes out in an event like this. They're talking, they're either raising their hand to be picked or putting their hand down so they wouldn't get picked by certain teams. You've got all these great dynamics of a draft with former teammates, current teammates, friends from growing up." Mayer said that the NHL "solicited feedback from the players' association about how to upgrade the All-Star Weekend experience for players themselves," and "tapping back into the draft only made sense." Shilton noted the NHL had been "thinking about refreshing its All-Star Weekend for years." It has held three previous player drafts between 2011 and 2015 but in "recent years have iced more traditional division-based tournaments." The league will determine its four All-Star captains "based on their celebrity pairing," and together, the captains will "pick from the pool of available All-Stars until there are four left." A "special guest will then assign those players to their respective teams." The league will "announce its player and celebrity captains in January." The hope is to "enliven the whole event with some unpredictable and amusing partnerships" (ESPN.com, 11/27).
WELCOMED RETURN: THE ATHLETIC's Sean McIndoe wrote the fact that the player draft been "gone for nearly a decade because the legendarily tough stars of the NHL got their feeling hurt about it remains embarrassing." The league and players are "absolutely making the right call by figuring out a way to get it back." The decision to have the final four players in the draft assigned rather than picked is "obviously the way around the stigma of having somebody go last." But if this is the "idea they needed to get the players back on board, we can live with it." The use of celebrities on the surface is a "great way to add some crossover appeal." But the NHL has a "long history" of "struggling to find legitimate celebrities to pump its tires" (THE ATHLETIC, 11/27).
PROVIDING A PLATFORM: THE ATHLETIC's Hailey Salvian wrote the NHL will also feature a PWHL three-on-three showcase on Thursday of All-Star Weekend at Scotiabank Arena, a "massive platform for the league to showcase its players -- and market the league to potential new fans." By continuing to "include elite women’s players in tentpole events," the NHL has "consistently shown its support for the women’s game." Now, it appears the league will be "more involved in the women’s game than ever before with PWHL Minnesota sharing venues with the Wild and neutral site games expected to be played this season in NHL buildings" (THE ATHLETIC, 11/27). Mayer said that "giving the new PWHL a prime-time spot was important to the NHL." Mayer: “One of the things that they’ve always expressed an interest in doing is having some of their marquee events around our signature events" (CP, 11/27).
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT: ESPN.com's Shilton noted the NHL also will "spotlight Toronto's background" with a "ceremony acknowledging" the 1967 Maple Leafs. Every living member of that team -- the last to win a Stanley Cup in Toronto -- is "expected to be in attendance." Mayer expects an "'emotional' response from the crowd" (ESPN.com, 11/27). THE ATHLETIC's Sean McIndoe wrote the "whole tribute to the 1967 champions will be a rare chance for the hockey world to put a spotlight on the Maple Leafs" (THE ATHLETIC, 11/27).
