Hockey went Hollywood! This year, the bright city of Los Angeles, California hosted the NHL All-Star festivities. For four days, past and present players, fans, celebrities, and team mascots got together to celebrate their favorite sport, hockey. Did you miss the Celebrity Shootout or the Mascot Showdown? No worries, these are the 17 best moments from the 2017 All-Star Weekend.
1. Hockey goes Hollywood.
If type this into facebook or twitter, you will not be disappointed. When the NHL announced that LA would host the All-Star game, the fans and the teams got pretty creative.
2. Rookie Auston Matthews participated in the All-Star game on Sunday.
Matthews is the 19-year-old hot shot that has brought new life to Toronto. In his 47 game career, he has earned 39 points. Matthews wowed us at the Skills Competition on Saturday and scored in the All-Star game proving that he is someone to watch out for.
3. The NHL All-Star Skills Competition added a new competition.
The Honda NHL Four Line Challenge. This challenge gave two shooters from each division a chance to score from each of the lines (near blue line, center ice, far blue line, goal line). The trick is that only a small portion of the net is open.
4. The Honda NHL Four Line Challenge created one of the most memorable scenes of the night.
Mike Smith, Goaltender for the Arizona Coyotes, scores from the opposite red line making it a 200 ft. shot.
5. During the All-Star Skills Competition, Connor McDavid showed us why he was chosen as an All-Star.
McDavid easily proved he was the fastest skater. Even though he failed to break the record, many argue that he was given an unfair start because last year's record breaker, Dylan Larkin, was given a slightly better start.
6. Shea Weber wins again!
No surprise here, but Shea Weber wins his third straight Oscar Meyer NHL Hardest Shot competition with 102.8mph over Alex Ovechkin. Moving on.
7. CM Punk hosted the Mascot Showdown
He brought a favorable bias towards Chicago Blackhawks' mascot, Tommy hawk, and a bit of a grudge towards LA Kings mascot, Bailey. Among these mascots was rookie Hunter of the Edmonton Oilers, the NHL's newest mascot that was revealed in September of 2016.
8. Having LA as a host came with its perks.
Musical talents like Carly Rae Jepson, Snoop Dog, and Nick Jonas were able to perform during the All-Star weekend. These stars targeted a demographic not reached by previous All-Star games.
9. LA also offered an amazing opportunity to have a celebrity game!
The NHL All-Star Celebrity Shootout featured an array of retired NHL members, two representatives for current NHL players, and a mixture of LA's hottest celebrities. Actors Steven R. McQueen, Cuba Gooding Jr, Michael Rosenbaum, and David Boreanaz were few of the many celebrities that played along side some of hockey's finest. What really made the game was the appearance of Justin Bieber. If you're a fan you can watch him score a goal if you're not a fan you can watch him get slammed into the boards, so really it's a win for everyone.
10. The 2017 All-Star Weekend is a truly memorable one because it fell on the NHL's 100-year anniversary.
On Friday night in honor of the centennial celebration, the NHL announced the 100 greatest players in the history of the organization. Big hockey names like Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Bobbie Orr, and Maurice Richard were listed as well as six active players, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, and Jaromir Jagr. The NHL 100 celebration was truly memorable.
For the full list of the NHL 100 Greatest Players, check it out: here
11. Wayne Gretzky gets additional honor.
He was not only honored as one of the 100 greatest players of all time, but he was also given the opportunity to coach the Metropolitan Division in Sunday's All-Star game. He was named the replacement coach after Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella could not coach due to personal reasons.
12. The 2017 All-Star game is really shaping up.
As if the naming of the 100 greatest players wasn't enough, they also participated in the puck drop on Sunday.
13. The 2017 NHL All-Star Game is set up in the same fashion as last year's with a 3-on-3 tournament style.
This was created to add excitement to the game. Unfortianelty that did not happen in game one with Central vs. Pacific. It was mostly just sad.
14. Arguably the toughest division, the Metropolitan team goes on to beat not only the Atlantic team, but also the Pacific team in game 3.
Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Metropolitan All-Stars win 1million dollars to be divided among them and title of 2017 All-Star Champs. However, it was Wayne Simmonds to walk away as MVP.
15. While I am not surprised the Metro team won, what is surprising is Cam Atkinson's performance.
Atkinson was added to the roster after Malkin was unable to attend. Atkinson had three goals, five points in the All-Star game making him a huge factor in the Metro's success.
16. What really captured everyone's attention was the, dare I say, friendship between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.
They were spotted together Friday night during the 100 Celebration, seen chatting it up Saturday during the skills competition, and then they were line mates during the All-Star game! They even have a name - Crosvechkin! As a die hard Caps fan, it physically hurt me cheering for them at the same time, but as a hockey fan, it was an incredible experience to see two of the greatest players of our time set skate together and even score together.
17. While Crosvechkin might be the biggest highlight, the most heartwarming highlight is Ryker Kesler, also known as #minikesboss.
Ryan Kesler, Center for the Anaheim Ducks, let his 5-year-old son shoot for him in the NHL All-Star Skills Competition Shootout. Little Ryker Kesler carries the puck down the ice and scores against Carey Price! It was absolutely adorable and a big moment that he will never forget.
