Toronto — Michael Bublé is no stranger to performing in front of crowds. Will Arnett is no stranger to acting on screen. The singer and actor is used to being around other celebrities.
But this was different.
Here they performed Thursday, alongside singers Justin Bieber and Tate McRae and 44 of the NHL's best players, in front of a crowd at Scotiabank Arena and on live TV across North America.
As celebrity captains, they will be drafted into the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft to select their teams for the 2024 Honda (USA)/Rogers (Canada) NHL All-Star Game 3-on-3 tournament to be held on Saturday (3rd) participated in. ET, ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS).
“This is like a childhood dream for any hockey-loving kid, right?” said Bublé, who is from the Vancouver area. “You're out there watching, with people screaming.”
Arnette, a Toronto native, said he had met Toronto Maple Leafs players before. But he never met Edmonton Oilers forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, for example.
“We were like kids there,” Arnett said. “Well, you meet a lot of people. You meet a lot of entertainers. But when I look at athletes, I look up to stars, and I grew up in Toronto, so when I look at hockey players, I look up to stars, for sure. .”
It was truly All-Star night. It was all about the stars.
The NHL returned to the format it used for the All-Star Games in Carolina in 2011, Ottawa in 2012 and Columbus in 2015, with player captains selecting teams similar to pond hockey.
The league also attracted attention by inviting four celebrity captains.
Buble teamed with New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, and Canucks center Elias Pettersson.
Arnett assisted McDavid and Draisaitl.
Bieber, a native of London, Ontario, hung out with Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and defenseman Morgan Rielly and spent much of the draft sitting, leaning back and relaxing.
McRae, a Calgary native, supported Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar.
The players are used to performing in front of a crowd, but obviously this was different for them as well. They weren't playing their sport. They played well and were good sports.
“It was fun to be a part of,” McDavid said. “It's not every day you get to draft a team from the best players in the world. Leon and I had a really good time with Will Arnett. He's a great guy and he made us have fun. He was a very interesting person and I enjoyed being on set.”
Jack Hughes came to Toronto to team up with his brother, but was sidelined with an upper-body injury and could have rested and rehabbed elsewhere.
“You never know when you're going to get a chance to do something like this again with Quinn, so it was definitely important to both of us for me to come out here and show up,” he said. “I think that's something we'll look back on. It's really fun. I wish I had played, but this is really cool and special.”
Player captains, for the most part, stuck to what they were familiar with and chose their teammates and allies. One by one, draft picks skated from the bench to the ice stage, exchanging their NHL team jerseys for All-Star jerseys.
Team Hughes took Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov with the No. 1 pick and added Canucks forwards Brock Boeser and JT Miller and Devils forward Jesper Bratt.