2023 NHL All-Star Game chance for ESPN to tell players' stories
Messier, Chelios, Subban, Levy excited to see up-and-coming talent in Florida
Not everyone can attend the Truly Hard Seltzer NHL All-Star Beach Festival, the free fan festival at Ft. Lauderdale Beach Park from Feb. 2-4, let alone the main events.
The 2023 NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook will be at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Feb. 3 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS). The 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Game will be there Feb. 4 (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS).
"It's obviously great if you're in the building or in the city," ESPN announcer Steve Levy said Thursday. "I know the League does a great job with these free fan fests in all the areas surrounding the arena and the hotels. But in the arena, we want it to be great on television. That's our job, and I know our people behind the scenes are working really hard at that."
All-Star Weekend will feature established stars like Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl and Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.
But it will also showcase up-and-coming stars, including Seattle Kraken forward Matty Beniers, New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes, Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson and Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson.
"I find myself saying every year I don't think that the League has ever been as talented, and I say that again this year because of the emergence of players like Jack Hughes and Tage Thompson and Robertson," said Hockey Hall of Fame center Mark Messier, now an ESPN analyst. "You go down the list. Every team seems to have a young superstar that's just emerging or just about to emerge onto the scene and doing spectacular things."
Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios, also an ESPN analyst, said the players' creativity never ends.
"Just when you think you've seen everything, they come up with something else, some new move," he said. "We're in the entertainment business, and these guys aren't letting anybody down. It's great. It's a great product."
In the relaxed atmosphere of All-Star Weekend, players can loosen up on and off the ice in ways they can't during the regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"What ESPN does [better] than anyone else is tell stories, and there will be hundreds of small stories told over those few days, and I think that's what it's all about," said former NHL defenseman P.K. Subban, now an ESPN analyst. "For these players, a lot of times, they're buttoned into the game and focused on the ice. This is an opportunity for fans to get to know the players in a fun way, get to know them through their skill set and what they're able to do on the ice. I look forward to that."
Levy said ESPN will hold an internal conference call Friday to discuss the responsibilities for the coverage of NHL Skills, which will include three new events made for television.
In the Enterprise NHL Discover Splash Shot, players will shoot at targets and submerge opponents in a dunk tank on the beach. In the Chipotle NHL Pitch 'n Puck, players will play a par 4 golf hole featuring an island green, using hockey and golf shots. In the Discover NHL Tendy Tandem, goalies will go head to head in a shootout.
But the classics will be back: the Upper Deck NHL Fastest Skater, GEICO NHL Hardest Shot, Great Clips NHL Breakaway Challenge and Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting. The Fastest Skater will have two rounds, with the preliminary round determining which two players advance to the final.
"I think ESPN has worked really hard with the League to try to make the best even better and better for television, and an example of that is more of the Fastest Skater competition," Levy said.
The NHL All-Star Game will be a 3-on-3 tournament for the seventh time, freeing up the players to make more plays away from defense and physicality.
"You highlight fun and entertainment through the skills, and the 3-on-3 was a great concept," said Messier, who played in the NHL All-Star Game 15 times from 1982-2004, when the event was a 5-on-5 game. "It's exciting for the fans because you can see the skill."
Subban played in the NHL All-Star Game three times, each under this format, in 2016, 2017 and 2018. He said the competitiveness rises as the tournament goes on.
"I think every year the game is going to get better, because the game just gets more and more skilled," Subban said. "There are more skilled players in the game, and I think that's going to show. We want Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild) and McDavid and Jack Hughes skating around with no one touching them in the All-Star Game, because we know they're going to entertain us."
