Dierks Bentley talks hosting 2023 NHL Awards in Q&A with NHL.com

Dierks Bentley's love of hockey stretches back to when the country music singer/songwriter got to Nashville 30 years ago.

"I was at one of the very first games the [Nashville Predators] played," Bentley said. "That's how I got into hockey. I watched some of their games and then I went down to Centennial Sportsplex with some gear a friend had given me and started playing hockey."

Bentley will enjoy another foray into hockey when he hosts the 2023 NHL Awards at Bridgestone Arena on June 26 (8 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVAS).

"It's pretty incredible," he said of hosting. "We're a big hockey family. We have a 9-year-old who does travel hockey, been playing since he could walk. He just loves hockey and I'm a professional C-Team beer leaguer. We crushed the lower C team here in Nashville. IceHoles is our name. So, the whole family's into it.

"When the offer came in I was really excited. They said Knox, my son, can be part of it as well. We'll be there with all the best players in the League, celebrating individual milestones and the (NHL) Draft being at the same time, it's really pretty special for us, special for Nashville and obviously always a big deal for the NHL."

Bentley is starting the Gravel & Gold Tour, named for his latest album, with a show in Toronto on Thursday. Before that, he talked with NHL.com about hockey, the combination of the game and entertainment in Nashville and his upcoming tour.

How pumped is your son to be part of the NHL Awards show?

"He's so excited. Like a lot of 9-year-old kids, he's a huge Connor McDavid fan. You walk into his room and 97 is everywhere. He's also a big Leon Draisaitl fan. He loves the Preds, but I'd definitely say he's a big Oilers fan as well because of those guys. He loves being around the sport. If we're not watching on TV, he's playing it, he's (watching) YouTube clips, always watching highlights of this or that. Playing it on the bench right now. We're staying in a rental house, had to clean up some of the marks in the wall because he brought six pucks down. Running around this place with a wet rag and bleach getting the rubber marks off the wall. But he loves it. We've had some great experiences in games and meeting people, so this is going to be a pretty big deal for him."

What does it mean to see what hockey's become in Nashville?

"It's been amazing to watch the growth. It's just crazy how big it's gotten. Even in my beer league, I started in the C league and I'm still in the C league because there are just so many great players moving to town and families moving to town as the city grows. As far as the Predators go, just to watch the growth and the struggles and they got to the (Stanley Cup) Final in 2017, just seeing people come out of the woodwork, the games in Nashville, 80,000 people downtown wearing Predators gold and country singers.

"It's a really interesting town because you have so much entertainment here. You'll have Luke Bryan singing the national anthem, you'll have Kings of Leon up there waving the towels. It's like no other city can bring in the amount of (celebrities), not even bringing in, they're just here. They live in Nashville. So, it's a crazy combination of entertainment and sports in this one little town. To watch that playoff run was really special. In the years since then we've been struggling to get back to that level, but that was a really amazing run from when the team first came in 1998 to 2017, just to see the excitement. Even the guys in the NHL were saying it was the loudest arena in the country at that time because people were treating it like they were at a Tennessee [Volunteers] game. It was a loud, real collegiate vibe there for sure."

How was it being part of the 2022 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game between the Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning at Nissan Stadium?

"I'm a little biased, but I can't imagine it being better than Nashville. It was pretty fun. You have Miranda Lambert and I singing a song, we just drove in from our houses 10 minutes away. Everyone lives in the city and the game was great. The Lightning, they won the game there, but it was just great. I can't imagine another town that has the authentic music hub that we have. You combine that with hockey, it's just two of the best forms of entertainment colliding. It's pretty fun. It was a great game and great experience."

Speaking of the Predators, they're making some big changes with Barry Trotz taking over as general manager on July 1 and Andrew Brunette named coach on Wednesday. What do you think of the potential?

"I'm excited for the Preds. I think they're making all the right moves. I love all our coaches, I love all of our players, even the players who no longer play for us, playing for other teams, I'm still pulling for those guys. You get attached to those guys, but you have to keep making moves and bringing in the younger talent. It's just so hard to get to the Stanley Cup Final. It's just grueling. It takes so many different pieces and parts. You have to keep working on it.

"I love 'Trotzy,' I've known him from his first stint with the Predators. Great guy and I'm excited he's our new GM. He knows the team, knows the town and knows what it takes. I think there's a lot of trust there and I really trust him to do what's right for the team, and I think he will. I'm excited for next year."

You mentioned your beer-league play. What's your strength?

"I'd definitely say I'm a grinder. I'm digging the pucks out, definitely not a goal scorer. I'm there for the hustle, I'm there to get my workout on and I'm there to get a solid fourth-period beer. I'm trying to get back into it. With my son (playing on a travel team), we just got back from Detroit. I mean the schedule's relentless, the travel, so recently just needed to take a break from being around the rink. I'm there already every day of the week, sometimes three times a day, multiple rinks, it's crazy. But I love it, he loves it.

"It's a vibe. If you know, you know. People outside the sport have no idea what the [heck's] going on, why we do what we do and travel the way we do. But you live in the South, you have to make moves to play competitive teams and so there's a lot of travel, but we have a great team. Another team I play for is Possum. Great guys and I'm there for the hustle. That's what I bring."

You're heading on tour. What's the feeling when you first head out, including that first show?

"Toronto's a great city. I've had a chance to play (there), usually play surrounding areas like Hamilton, I've skated with the Bulldogs (of the Canadian Hockey League) before. This is the very first show on the tour, I've got a great bunch of guys on the road, a great band, great crew. Jordan Davis is opening the shows for us. In the Toronto show, Molly Tuttle, the great [bluegrass guitarist] will be going on before all of us.

"We put a lot of time into this stuff. It's really four years since I started working on the record and the tour comes from the album, so you can almost say it's a four-year process. Months of rehearsals, we even played a free show in Nashville as a final rehearsal for our friends and family. Everyone needs practice setting all this gear up, breaking the video walls down, the set list, flow. It feels good. We want that first show to feel like it's our 100th show. We want fans to feel like it's new and exciting but it's dialed."