The Great One, the honorary captain for the Pacific, talked about how far hockey had come here since the St. Louis Blues entered the NHL as an expansion team in 1967.
Five players from St. Louis were selected in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft. The Blues hosted the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Busch Stadium, won the Stanley Cup for the first time last season, then opened a four-sheet, $80 million practice facility and completed a three-stage, $120 million renovation of Enterprise Center before this season.
Now this.
"Everything's been incredible," said Gretzky, who played for the Blues at the end of the 1995-96 season. "Of course, winning the Stanley Cup was icing on the cake, and this weekend and festivities have been just tremendous here. Everybody's really enjoyed it. These players are such great athletes. It was a great show and a great weekend."
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It was the first NHL All-Star Game in St. Louis since 1988, and it was the first time since 1989, when Gretzky returned to Edmonton as a member of the Los Angeles Kings, that the defending Stanley Cup champion hosted the NHL All-Star Game.
Fans soaked it up from the 2020 NHL Fan Fair at Union Station, the historic train station that recently completed its own $187 million renovation, to the game itself.
"Being here for the Stanley Cup and then coming back for the All-Star Game, I can't tell you the energy that is infused in the city," said actress Jenna Fischer, who is from St. Louis and was the honorary captain for the Atlantic Division.
"I was down at Union Station today as part of the Fan Fair, and that was amazing. Having the Stanley Cup on display in our city for people to see, I mean, there was a line out the door."