NHL Power Player enjoys All-Star Weekend experience

Editor's note: NHL Power Players is an initiative that selects young hockey fans to help advise the League on hockey-related topics important to their generation and to grow the game among young fans and people. Today, Faith Harris, a 16-year-old from Brandywine, Maryland and a member of the 2022-23 Power Players class, writes about her experience covering the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend in Sunrise, Florida.

This year's All-Star Game was my second year attending as an NHL Power Player and getting to see some of the NHL's marketing ideas put into action. The Power Players have allowed me to explore different career actions in the NHL and take steps toward my dream job of being a journalist for the NHL. As a youth adviser for the League, we get the opportunity to work with NHL senior executive vice president & chief marketing officer Heidi Browning to promote the League's events and test new ideas, and this year's event brought all the life down to south Florida.

The All-Star festivities kicked in immediately as I stepped off the plane. I rushed to meet my program manager and some returning Power Players to film interviews for a highlight reel of our program. We got to talk about our passion for the sport and our future aspirations for its growth. As a writer, I'm usually the one taking notes behind the camera, so it was definitely nerve-wracking. But being able to talk about the sport that I love and knowing other people could find the same passion I have, made the experience much more exciting.

I spent the rest of the day exploring the beach fan festival with my board members, trying out the games, and exploring their different sites with hockey history. We even got interviewed by the TikTok account NHLonESPN. The interview was about women's opinions on sports. It was rewarding to be part of a video that highlights the thoughts of women in hockey and takes us seriously as fans. It also was great practice for what I may have to face as a reporter. I'll have to be ready to ask or answer questions quickly and on the spot and this was a fun chance to experience that.

Later that night at the beach fest, I went with a few other Power Players and stopped by the first mascot competition: dodgeball. We were scheduled to participate in the third and final mascot competition on Saturday and wanted to size up our competition early. The mascot showdown competitions were lighthearted and fun for the entire family. Each team's mascot has a unique personality that represented their cities perfectly, and it was enjoyable seeing all the characters together having fun. We weren't expecting to get invested but we ended up staying along the boards for the entire event, laughing with the mascots and hanging out with younger fans enjoying the experience. My board members and I teamed together as Maple Leafs and Capitals fans to talk to our shared rival's mascot, Blade from the Boston Bruins. We spent the game chirping him and his team but ended up becoming friends by the end of the tournament.

One of my biggest highlights from this weekend was getting to attend the Red Carpet Friday afternoon. We received VIP wristbands to be on the same side with all of the reporters for autographs. I also got to join the media section during the Metropolitan crew specifically to take pictures for my own blog's Instagram account. It was my first time ever officially being on a media side, and everyone was super welcoming to let me take video clips. The Power Players got to take over the red carpet at the end to take a group photo.

The red carpet gave the players an opportunity to show off their personal fashion styles to fans. Being on the red carpet and seeing players dress to themselves and getting to meet them made them feel more like real people and not just someone I see on my TV. My personal favorite pairing was Alex Ovechkin bringing his son, Sergei, along. The father-son duo wore matching white shirts and sweatpants on the red carpet, highlighting the strong bond they have. As a Capitals fan, I love seeing Ovi making his career personal and bringing his son to experience his highlights with him.

Ovechkin and Sergei once again stole the show later that night in the All-Star Skills, teaming up with Sidney Crosby for the Breakaway Challenge. It was already announced that Ovi and Sid would be working together on something special, but they shocked everyone when they brought Sergei into their moment and gave him the spotlight. Watching my home team captain and his son work with our rival team's captain to score a goal was so exciting. It showed that even with team rivalries, this League always comes together in the end to support each other.

When we weren't watching Sergei capture the hearts of the League with his skating abilities, we got to experience the rush of all the competition events and meet up with some of our biggest inspirations. I got to meet TNT analyst Anson Carter, who inspires me as a person of color who also wants to work in media.

Though the rain unfortunately canceled our Saturday plans of competing with the mascots at the beach fest, it didn't hold us back. We were lucky enough that the Stanley Cup was moved inside and got the honor to grab photos with it.

We headed straight from pictures to get to the All-Star Game for warmups and the game. Seeing division rivals brought together and able to have fun with their skills. It's fun seeing what the guys can really do when they have free ice. Getting to see duos like the Tkachuk brothers score together, along with Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson working together for one final goal as teammates, is always entertaining as a fan. This year's entertainment choice of Fall Out Boy was also one of my favorite NHL music performances ever. The arena was completely lit up with wristbands and the music really set the tone of the game!

Me and the rest of the the Power Players got the surprise of our lives when we saw NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman sitting in a box behind us for an interview. It was neat to wave back to him and see what he does during these major events. The All-Star final game kept us on the edge of our seats, with the Central scoring multiple goals against the Atlantic in the last minutes of the game to try and push to overtime. In the end, seeing the home city crowd celebrate their division's win was the best outcome I could have asked for.

This year's All-Star Weekend was enjoyable for me but bittersweet, as it's my last time attending as an official member of the Power Players board. The NHL has given me the opportunity at a young age to explore all my career options and make a difference in the game that I've loved since I was a child. I'm looking toward to returning to All-Star Weekend next year as an alumnus, and hopefully, an official reporter, to continue to help make a change in the sport that gave me a home.