Shanahan, Mayer aid bring back gamer draft at 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend

The very first time Steve Mayer dealt with the NHL, he and Brendan Shanahan produced a fantasy draft for the 2011 NHL All-Star Game. It was an unique idea, having players pick the teams for a 3-on-3 event and letting the fans view the process. Mayer was an exec at IMG that had done television shows like "The Globe's Strongest Man" and "Fight of the Network Stars. " Shanahan was an executive at the NHL that had actually appeared in the NHL All-Star Game 8 times throughout a 19-year Hockey Hall of Fame playing occupation. " I had actually never ever met Brendan Shanahan before in my life," Mayer claimed. "I, certainly, knew of Brendan Shanahan and thought he was one heck of a gamer. It was like, 'Hi, Brendan, I'm Steve,' and, 'Oh, hi, good to fulfill you. ' And we just sat in a space and figured it out together . " It's no coincidence the concept is returning with the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft on Feb. 1. Mayer is chief content officer at the NHL, and Shanahan is head of state of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend goes to Scotiabank Field in Toronto. " I'll always be grateful for my very first experience at the NHL, and it was functioning together with Brendan, that currently remains in Toronto and was just one of the very early advocates of bringing this draft back," Mayer stated. "His push absolutely aided us obtain to where we are today. " Shanahan will not take credit report for the original draft or this, but he enjoys the idea. " I constantly assumed that if it was done the proper way and the gamers appreciated it, maybe a fun point," Shanahan claimed. "You're peeking know how they would build the groups if it was left approximately them, even if it was simply for a fun video game of pickup. " Look into the modifications to the All-Star celebrations The NHL All-Star Game has had several different formats because the very first authorities one at Maple Fallen leave Gardens in Toronto in 1947. The League was wanting to boost the occasion in 2010-11, when Shanahan was vice president of hockey and company development. Shanahan remembered dealing with it with Rob Blake, a hockey operations manager at the NHL at the time. Blake had actually appeared in the NHL All-Star Video game 7 times throughout a 20-year Hockey Hall of Fame playing career. He is currently general supervisor of the Los Angeles Kings. " I assume the concept may have also been Rob's," Shanahan claimed. "It simply kind of grew from there. " They returned to the origins of shinny and street hockey, when kids toss sticks in a stack and choose teams. The idea was the players would certainly end up being more engaged and competitive, that would certainly draw out their personalities, and that would certainly be entertaining. " The remainder was really as much as Steve," Shanahan claimed. "We didn't understand how to place on a show. We didn't understand how to shoot it or any of that. Actually, for us, it was just the idea of allowing the players select the teams, and we're used to doing that growing up. " Shanahan chuckled. " Most of us remember the fun slash stress and anxiety of obtaining picked," he stated, "and in some cases that resulted in motivation to defeat the man who didn't pick you . " The All-Stars are Involving Toronto|2024 NHL ASW The NHL used the fantasy draft 3 times-- at Carolina in 2011, Ottawa in 2012 and Columbus in 2015-- and it produced many unforgettable moments. Other leagues have copied the general principle since. The problem with any draft is that someone should be chosen last. Phil Kessel, after that a forward with the Maple Leafs, famously was the last pick in 2011. However gamers have obtained alleviation rewards like money for charity and Honda cars and trucks and trucks, and the NHL has modified the layout to reduce the impact. This time, stars will certainly be paired with captains, that will select the four groups for the 3-on-3 tournament at the Rogers NHL All-Star Video Game on Feb. 3 from a pool of players selected by the NHL and its followers. The NHL has something funny planned for the final 4 picks. The draft will be component of a brand-new event, NHL All-Star Thursday, which will include a tribute to the 1967 Maple Leafs, Toronto's last Stanley Mug team, plus a Specialist Women's Hockey League 3-on-3 game. Tickets for NHL All-Star Thursday will take place sale to the general public at 10 a. m. ET on Dec. 5 by means of Ticketmaster. In Canada, the occasion will certainly be telecasted on Sportsnet. In the USA, the player draft will be on ESPN, the hinge on ESPN+. The Organization has actually been functioning together with the NHL Gamers' Organization, which introduced executive director Marty Walsh on March 13. " Collaborating with the brand-new group at the NHLPA has actually been an unbelievable enjoyment," Mayer stated . "They are leaning right into events such as this draft. They, like we do, see the worth of exposing the players, having a good time with the gamers. " That's what it's everything about. " I do not understand whether this will be a one-and-done year for us in Toronto, but it's truly dependent on what the players are comfy with, and the even more fun they have with it, the far better," Shanahan stated. "It's not implied to embarrass anybody. It's suggested to just kind of have some enjoyable. "