What happens when two NHL players pretend to be NHL Store NYC employees?
A lot of fun, but not a whole lot of sales.
Ryan Strome and Radko Gudas of the Anaheim Ducks used the team's off day while on a recent road trip in New York to test their skills at sales. Strome, aka "Bryan," and Gudas, aka "Jim," had plenty of funny interactions with customers.
"I think I did pretty terrible," Strome said. "I deferred a few sales, but I got the Ducks merch all lined up which is pretty important. I think we sold a few shirts, which is good. So obviously, they were on the West Coast, we're far away, but a few people were loving it, and it was fun. It's just a good way to interact and make a fun video.”
Strome also had fun with the customers telling them everything is marked up 125 percent except Ducks stuff is 50 percent off.
"I'm actively losing fans," he says. "I don't know if that's the best sales pitch.”
When Strome went a lunch break, Gudas, the Ducks captain said, "I'm the captain here, this is not the way things work," sending Strome out front to try and get people inside, but not before Strome wiped his face with a Kings jersey instead of a napkin.
Gudas also put his Ducks jersey on and hopped in the window of the store. He also was unable to fool Panthers fans who realized it was one of their former players and said, "You're trying to trick us! That is Radko! You (the Ducks) play the Rangers on Saturday!"
Gudas also told some fans Vegas had a great arena.
"During the Stanley Cup Final (in 2023), when they played the Panthers, it was amazing. Amazing atmosphere. … I was there, 100 percent."
Gudas tried to sell some hats but was flabbergasted when a customer had never seen "The Mighty Ducks" movie.
"Really? Don't admit that," Gudas said.
Gudas also tried to get some new Ducks fans to hop on the bandwagon when he met a gentleman looking for Utah gear who lives on the West Coast.
"How about some Anaheim stuff?" Gudas asked, before saying, "You pick one on the West Coast and one on the East Coast. ... Early game at seven, later game at 10, you can switch the hats."
Gudas and Strome each enjoyed the day.
"I didn't know what to expect. I think we had fun with Ryan," Gudas said. "Hopefully the people had fun as well, as much as we had. The very first person I spoke with was Czech and he did not recognize me at the start. So that was pretty funny, but he got couple hints from the other guys."
Strome, who played for the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders, said some people knew who he was.
"There [were] a lot of people that recognized us," he said. "… It was a good experience. I mean, if I was a fan and I got to come to the NHL store and run into a player, I think it'd be pretty cool. So obviously, just trying to have some fun. And I think it was good."
When he retires, Strome could be a coach, an announcer, or... a sales expert?
"I don't know about the team store, we'll see, we'll see," he said. "I think I got my I got my toes wet today the team starts they'll never know what happens."
