NHL Celebrity Shootout & Mascot Challenge

By Emily Redenbach
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Updated: February 1, 2017

Celebrity Shootout/Mascot Challenge

It wasn’t just the players who came to entertain; before the Skills Competition celebrities joined some of the 100 Greats in an exhibition game, and before the Games themselves the 16 mascots did the same. Hockey loving celebs such as David Boreanaz, Taylor Kitsch, Justin Bieber, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Rosenbaum and Tim Robbins laced up next to a slew of pros, coached by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, to play two 25 minute periods. The pace was slower than your usual NHL game, but it was easy to see the hockey sense so ingrained in these legends still there. Obviously the highlight was Chris Pronger boarding Beiber with a look of complete glee on his face. Team Gretzky ultimately won the contest, in which each player skated with a jersey patch with the initials ‘RT,’ in honor of the late Robin Thicke, one of the biggest fans of the sport. “It’s been an incredible 48 hours,” said Gretzky after the game. “We were all privileged and happy to be a part of the top 100. We all had a wonderful time talking to one another and chatting and telling stories. And then today being a part of the game, we raised a lot of money today for charity. People love watching these guys play. Connor [McDavid] jumping in and Patrick Kane jumping in, giving it a little bit more credibility, it turned out to be a wonderful afternoon and I think everybody had a good time, we’re having a tremendous time.” All proceeds from the shootout (and auction of the game worn jerseys) went to Echoes of Hope, a nonprofit organization founded by Luc and Stacia Robitaille, which strives to inspire hope in the lives of at-risk and emancipated foster youth. “When I see any charity using the sport of hockey, I try to throw my celebrity behind it because I know it’s going to be with good people,”said Cuba Gooding Jr.

The mascot challenge wasn’t much of a skills competition so much as a lot of fun, each mascot playing it up for the crowd and having such a good time the rules were thrown out of the window. Wild Wing was actually quite spectacular in-goal for the Western Conference, but of course this being mascots, the goals were frequent and quite silly. There were no penalties called until the final 5 seconds, when CM Punk tripped our beloved Bailey and he was awarded a penalty shot. He missed, skated the puck behind the net and shot again to win the trophy for the Western Conference, and was awarded the MVM – Most Valuable Mascot. Congratulations Bailey and thanks for being such an amiable host!

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