MR. BIG SHOT
Second trip to all-star weekend more fun for Auston Matthews, skills night on deck,
TAMPA, FLA.— As the NHL’s all-stars leave their teams and descend upon this Florida city keen to prove itself as a hockey town, it sounds as if Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews is geared up for his second appearance.
As a rookie last year in Los Angeles, it might have been easy for Matthews to have felt overwhelmed. He was paired up against Sidney Crosby after all head-to-head in the skills competition and there were living legends walking around everywhere as the part of the league’s celebration of 100 seasons.
“I think your first year (at the allstar game) you’re just kind of nervous and you go in and you don’t really know anybody,” Matthews told the Star’s Dave Feschuk following the Leafs win over Dallas on Thursday. “Second year around, you’re probably a little more familiar. You know how it works and the stuff that comes along with it. I think this year I’ll be able to kind of enjoy it a little bit more. My parents are going. I’ll just kind of be able to kick back and relax with them and enjoy the weekend.”
This year, the celebration will be more muted: The all-star event is here to celebrate the Lightning’s 25th anniversary season. And Matthews knows better what to expect.
“Everybody’s a human being out there,” Matthews said. “So it’s not like you’re too star-struck. Obviously, a lot of guys you grow up watching, you get to know ’em, and it’s pretty cool. So it’s a pretty special weekend all in all.”
While Tampa’s all-star weekend will be less glitzy than Los Angeles, it will offer something unique: There will be pirates. The all-star weekend coincides with Tampa’s annual Gasparilla Pirate Fest — think Mardi Gras, but with parrots and eye patches. There were to be cross-over events all weekend. A lot of people walking around saying “Let’s Parrrrrrty.”
The all-star event rarely ever remains the same year to year. This year, again there are tweaks. The NHL has changed the format of Saturday’s skills competition, which had a convoluted scoring system as players gathered points for the division they were representing. This year, it will straight up determine: Who has the hardest shot. Who makes the best passes. Who is the fastest skater. Who is the most accurate shooter. Who has the best puck control. And who makes the most saves. The winner of each category earns $25,000 (all figures U.S.).
The division-vs-division three-onthree tournament — with $1 million (U.S.) divided among the winning division — was a hit last year and will be the main event again on Sunday.
The likes of Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Andrei Vasilevskiy had a massive presence at fan-fests around Amalie Arena as the Lightning try to use the event to appeal to a wider audience than their hardcore hockey base.
“What it really means is giving back to our fans and everything they’ve done to help transform our organization,” Lightning chief executive officer Steve Griggs said. “It solidifies Tampa as a hockey town.
“We know how to put on big events. For our fans especially, it’s a great celebration of hockey.”
While the fan-base is supposed to be energized locally, there is stuff happening behind the scenes at the business level. The league itself will be glad-handing sponsors and would-be sponsors who are interested in hockey. Pepsi, for example, just announced it extended its long-term agreement with the league and its outdoor series.
“It’s an unbelievable opportunity to host corporate clients and host people that are interested in the game and potentially being corporate clients,” Brian Cooper, president of MKTG Canada, said. “It is a big party and they’re showcasing their brand. It’s an opportunity to mix and mingle and develop business, on all levels, merchandising, licensing, corporate, broadcasters.”
The players get brought into that kind of stuff as well, often with their own sponsors and handlers. Matthews, for example, had a full afternoon of dealing with broadcast rights-holders and other sponsors.
“Sometimes what the players probably don’t like is the off-ice responsibility that comes with (going to allstar), though if you’re from Toronto you’re used to it,” said Leafs legend Wendel Clark, who participated in two all-star games. “But the game itself, and kibitzing with the other players, being the dressing room is still the dressing room, with just a new group of guys, that’s always fun.”