Orr, Chara to take part in 'unique' puck drop at Winter Classic

BOSTON --Bobby Orr will be "throwing out" the first puck to kick off the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park on Monday, NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer revealed Wednesday morning. Orr will be joined by a host of other former Boston Bruins and Boston Red Sox as part of the festivities surrounding the annual Winter Classic outdoor game (2 p.m. ET; TNT, TVAS, SN).

The first puck throw will occur on a diamond-shaped auxiliary rink -- the "Ice Diamond" -- between the NHL-sized rink where the game will be played and the Green Monster. Participating in the first puck throw will be former Red Sox captain Jason Varitek, pitcher Tim Wakefield and former Bruins Zdeno Chara and Johnny Bucyk.
"There's a baseball diamond uniquely made out of ice," Mayer said, while standing at Fenway Park overlooking the rink. "We're going to get slightly unique with how we present the puck drop, or the first pitch, we'll do a little bit of a combination. There will be Red Sox alumni, Bruins alumni and we're going to feature Bobby Orr."
The Ice Diamond will also see youth hockey players, ages 7 to 11, playing shinny and baseball-themed games throughout the game. The players will come from local Boston organizations, including Acton-Boxboro Youth Hockey Association, Boston Jr. Eagles, Boston Jr. Eagles U10 Girls, East Coast Wizards U10, Hyde Park Youth Hockey, Nashoba Grizzlies, SCORE Boston and Westwood Mites.
Right now, Mayer said, the weather is looking good for the game Monday and he anticipates that weather will not be a factor. He said that because of where Fenway Park sits, sun and glare is not a problem at the 2 p.m. game time, and the forecast -- sunny and in the 50s -- works.

"We've seen it all," Mayer said. "The rain was tracking for game day and that worried us a bit. Rain is not our friend, especially when it gets to 50 or 60 degrees. But right now we're tracking really, really well.
"Now the day before is our practice day. There is some rain in the forecast for the morning, but right now -- and again, it changes by the minute -- it looks like it's heading out in the morning and that also will not be a factor for us."
It is the second time the Winter Classic is being held at Fenway Park, the first time the NHL has revisited a venue for its iconic event. The 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic was also at Fenway.
"When you walk into this venue, that's our goal, that every fan just says, 'Wow, this is cool,'" Mayer said. "We know this is on a bucket list for a lot of people, but we also know that there's going to be a lot of people here that were here 13 years ago. So, we've got to give them a unique and a new experience. I think we're going to do that."
Mayer said the NHL did significant research to determine that they wanted to shift the orientation of the NHL rink on the field, differing both from what it was in 2010 and what it has been for other Winter Classic events at baseball stadiums.
"The rink orientation is actually quite different. We really wanted to play into the Green Monster," Mayer said. "The rink normally in a baseball stadium goes from third base to first base. Here, we go from -- uniquely -- third base to second base, so we're parallel to the Wall.
"We're really playing into the Green Monster for television and for the fans. It actually gives great sightlines in a baseball stadium. I think it could be something that we'll look at in the future."
In addition to the appearances by former Boston athletes, the Winter Classic will feature performances by The Black Keys, Bell Biv DeVoe singing the U.S. national anthem, and the Boston Pops. The opening ceremony will include Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart introducing the two teams as the Boston Pops plays through the introductions, and will continue with other performances throughout the event.
"Admittedly, we're getting to a point where we're going to have to visit some of these incredible ballparks again," Mayer said. "This one was on the top of our list.
"The Bruins are right now playing incredible hockey. This is going to be a great game, the Bruins and the Penguins to start off the new year. Fenway Park. It doesn't get much better than this."