NHL Power Player experiences All-Star Weekend

Editor’s note: NHL Power Players is an initiative focused on selecting young hockey fans to help advise the League on hockey-related topics important to their generation. Here, Seth Hyde, a 15-year-old from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, writes about his experience at the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto on Feb. 1-3.

As an NHL Power Player, I recently got the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto. My excitement was building since Christmas, but deboarding the plane in Toronto and seeing a huge line for an All-Star branded game where you could win prizes made it all very real.

My first official event was attending the VIP Red Carpet at Hyundai NHL Fan Fair in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. This event allowed me and other Power Players to get front row access to the best NHL players and it was an experience that I will never forget. I got to meet my hockey heroes and see them up close, rather than through a TV screen. After the magic of the red carpet, we explored the rest of the Fan Fair. Picture NHL Fan Fair as the Disneyland for hockey fans, full of fun and inclusive games, great prizes, loads of giveaways and samples, current NHL players and alumni meet and greets, All-Star merchandise. The list goes on and on. To be surrounded by thousands of fellow hockey fans made for an electric environment and fantastic start to my All-Star weekend.

Friday morning, the excitement for the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook was building in the city. The Power Players got to release some of that bubbling energy by playing a game of ball hockey at Fan Fair with NHL Street. This new initiative enables kids and youth from North America to try hockey without the need for all the gear required for ice hockey. We had an absolute blast at the game and even got a chance to meet Andrew Ference, a Stanley Cup Champion!

By 6:30 p.m. we were in our seats at the Scotiabank Arena and anxiously awaiting the start of the Skills, and it was packed to the rafters! This event did not disappoint, and it kept our full attention from start to finish and left me wanting more. The new format worked well, and it flowed seamlessly from skill to entertainment to in-house contests and back again. It was amazing to see the best of the best up close as they battled it out for the million-dollar prize. I loved seeing the sea of jerseys throughout the arena as fans came from far and wide to see their heroes on the ice.

Saturday morning the Power Players were granted access to the Stanley Cup before the doors opened at Fan Fair. This allowed all of us the opportunity to take pictures together with the Cup and also include our family members. I was also delighted to meet the first ever female Keeper of the Cup, Miragh Bitove!

After several hours of exploring Fan Fair, we headed to the 2024 Honda (U.S.)/Rogers (Canada) NHL All-Star game. The buzz in the arena was palpable, like an NHL playoff game! This energy peaked every time Auston Matthews’ team took to the ice. The games were full of tension because they were so evenly matched and every game, except the final, came down to a shootout. The thrilling final game saw Team Matthews take home the victory over Team McDavid.

With this being our last official event of the weekend, the Power Players went out for a lovely supper. We all reminisced about our unbelievable weekend and realized how very lucky we were to share in such an incredible experience. As a boy from Newfoundland, an island with a population of approximately 521,000 people in the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of Canada, I never thought this could ever be possible. And to have the All-Star festivities held in Toronto, the home of hockey and my favorite NHL team, made it extra special.