The NHL All-Star Weekend is returning to its roots — and bringing back an old favorite.
When the showcase lands in Toronto this February, it’ll be as an expanded three-day event with “NHL All-Star Thursday” added ahead of the usual Friday Skills Competition and Saturday All-Star Game. The highlight of its Thursday festivities will be the league’s first All-Star Player Draft in nearly a decade, with four All-Star captains — and their celebrity captain partners — drafting teams for Saturday’s contest live in front of fans at Scotiabank Arena.
Following the draft, which begins at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 1, the NHL will hold a tribute ceremony honoring members of the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs and then stage a 3-on-3 event with the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
There is also a completely revamped skills format for Friday to come as well.
The NHL had been thinking about refreshing its All-Star Weekend for years. They have held three previous player drafts between 2011 and 2015 but in recent years have iced more traditional division-based tournaments.
This time around, the league’s host city of Toronto provided the perfect backdrop to finally roll out a few…
