Thirty-six NHLers were in Chicago last week for the National Player Tour, an "annual event the NHL hosts so its many broadcast partners can shoot promos in one fell swoop to air throughout the season, which begins next month," according to Jimmy Greenfield of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The NHL "took over MB Ice Arena ... using both sheets of ice and the locker rooms." NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said of the tour's origin, "It was a decision made by both the league and the players association to get some significant players in the right place prior to the season where they can do interviews, photo shoots, a whole host of different things that you might not even get an opportunity to do during the course of the season." On how the NHL chooses players for the event, Daly said, "We have to do it with the players association, to determine a target list, and then do it with the club as to who they necessarily want to promote. So it's kind of a combination process. But obviously we encourage, and as time has gone on, we've gotten better and better players." Daly: "In essence they're here for a day and a half working for us and for the league and for the game, so you want to make it as comfortable for them as possible" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 9/7).
