NHL All-Star Weekend - January 28-30, 2011

124 photos HERE at Flickr.




In 2001, Gary Bettman promised that within five years the NHL All-Star Game would come to Raleigh. A lack of hotel and convention space (due to the demolition of the old downtown convention center and construction of a new one) pushed that commitment back, and nearly a decade rolled by. Finally, at the RBC Center in April 2010, Bettman and the NHL announced that the 2011 All-Star Game was coming to Raleigh. Now, I can't say that I exactly find all-star events in any sport to be that exciting. But, this was about much more than the game itself. It was about a landmark moment for a still young NHL city; a moment in which the entire hockey world would descend upon it. Having hosted three Eastern Conference Finals, two Stanley Cup Finals, and the 2004 NHL Draft, this was the only feather remaining for Raleigh's cap after 14 years of the Hurricanes in North Carolina.



Even though I was no longer in town, there was no way I could miss this weekend. Also, a particularly brutal New Jersey winter was starting to get to me, so I was ready to head south for what was to be a gorgeous weekend weather wise.



As I headed south on Amtrak the snow slowly stopped and eventually there was no trace of it to be seen. I'm sure this was even more welcome for players, media, and visitors coming down from points further north.



I arrived in Raleigh Friday evening for a full weekend which was to include the Skills Competition, All-Star Game, and all of the activities going on downtown where a massive fan fest had been created.



One of the factors that would make Raleigh an incredible host for the weekend was that it is still a small city compared to nearly all other markets in the NHL. While in say New York or Los Angeles the league would have to share the spotlight with the endless amount of events going on at any given moment in those cities, in Raleigh it was as though the entire city paused for three days. Downtown was transformed into one giant hockey party.



The new convention center was an ideal spot for the fan fest event.



Spots all over town were decked out in these sorts of images to mark the occassion.



Local restaurants and businesses welcomed the chance to get involved as well.



This one was my favorite.



The entire weekend was marked by what happened Friday night. We went to Tobacco Road Sports Cafe in the Glenwood South neighborhood of downtown to watch the player draft that evening, and afterward the bar held a hockey trivia contest to win tickets to both events (which admittedly I had to be talked into participating in). I am confident that my knowledge on its own would have pushed us through to victory, but as it were we had help on a couple of questions from former NHL defenseman, head coach, USA Olympian, and Stanley Cup champion Ed Olczyk (who would be calling the game on Sunday as color commentator for NBC). Sitting alone and completely inconspicuous beside us in one of the lounge chairs the restaurant has set up along a wall of personal flat screen TVs, "Eddie O" quietly slipped the answers to a couple tricky questions our way before departing. Needless to say, we won. Suddenly I found myself upgraded from upper level to lower.



So marked the start of an awesome weekend.



Saturday we checked out the fan fest in the convention center, which was absurdly crowded.



Pretty much everything to do, such as seeing the Stanley Cup (been there done that), required waiting in a massive line, so we didn't do much.



The closest I will probably ever come to actually playing.



Most of the event was interactive booths with shooting and passing drills.



At the merchandise area, seemingly half the population of the city (shamelessly myself as well) picked up a Jeff Skinner shirt.



Speaking of... The rock star status that Jeff Skinner reached during that weekend was unlike anything I have ever seen from a Carolina player.



Winter seemed ages away on what was a beautiful day, which was very relieving as Caniacs had a much hyped tailgating tradition to uphold for those visiting.



We did our part.



The college football-esque tailgating atmosphere that Canes fans brought to the NHL is one of the team's most unique characteristics, and of course the word on everyone's lips from the visiting American and Canadian media was "barbecue".



As night fell, it was time to get the party started.



It was suggested after the weekend that Pierre McGuire should take a position at the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, as he could not stop gushing about the weekend, going on to call it (as did a number of other pundits) the best All-Star event ever.



Into the seating bowl.



Probably the most unique food offering inside RBC Center: barbecue pork nachos.



The big guns were pulled out for the pre-game player introductions.



The re-imagined format of the weekend gave new life to what had become a very stale event. The player draft on Friday night had been highly amusing, and "Team Staal" gave the hometown crowd a real vested interest in the outcome.



The most amusing part of Saturday night, if not the entire weekend, was the goalie race in the fastest skater competition, which saw Cam Ward beat Tim Thomas after Thomas wiped out making a turn. It was also the most completely terror inducing and heart stopping, as I don't think anyone found the idea of the franchise goaltender racing around the ice at top speed in full gear to be too comforting.



The Breakaway Challenge competition is always a bit of a dud to me, as no one seems to actually be able to pull off the tricks they attempt. Thankfully there are plenty of gimmicks to keep everyone entertained, such as PK Subban donning Jeff Skinner's jersey, which drove the fans absolutely wild.



Eric Staal's participation in the accuracy shooting competition also got the crowd going.



The giant shootout that concludes the event is good in that involves every single player. It is bad in that it has the potential to go on way too long, but thanks to some nice goalie play it did not this time.



This time Subban wore his own jersey.



I was not quite sure what to expect from attending the Skills Competition live. I was worried that it would turn out to be an event better suited for watching on television, but it was a blast, and constantly entertaining.



Sunday afternoon brought the main event.



The pre-game ceremony was met with mixed reactions; a group of kids took the ice and started taking turns selecting teammates, making the connection between the pond hockey days of many players' youth, and the selection process of Friday night's draft. If it was cringe inducing cheese to the viewers at home, it was goose bump inducing to Carolina fans inside the building, as Rod Brind'Amour and Ron Francis unexpectedly took the ice to roaring ovations.



It was great to witness in person what I watched on television every year as a kid (and adult), even if the illusion that these players actually cared about the outcome of this game had long been lifted from me.



After embarrassingly ranting and throwing an online temper tantrum eight months earlier about the off the board selection of Jeff Skinner with the seventh overall pick, it was downright surreal to see him participating in an All-Star Game as an 18 year old rookie.



The American and Canadian national anthems were sung, then it was time for the glorified pond hockey game to commence.



The first of many center ice faceoffs following many goals.



Team Staal was absolutely rolling just over six minutes in, and the biased crowd was loving every minute of it.



Others were not so pleased.



Jeff Skinner enjoying the only moment of his career where he can park in front of the net without getting completely abused.



Having mascots from all of the teams around was a constant source of amusement all weekend.



Team Staal's early outburst was short lived, as they found themselves down 7-5 in the third before scoring this goal.



It never fails that every year the last couple of minutes of these things actually looks like real hockey. For a brief moment, the inner hatred of losing comes out in both sides, and a competitive hockey game ensues.



The end result was disappointing for Team Staal, an 11-10 loss, but it was a great time all around.



The end of the game marked the end of what was a milestone weekend for the Hurricanes organization and the city of Raleigh. They had not only pulled off an event that impressed every visitor and player, but one that was frequently heralded over the next week as the saving of the All-Star Game. It was the kind of thing that 20 years earlier would have seemed about as likely in Raleigh as flying cars and self-tying shoes. Carolina fans constantly have a chip on their shoulder due to smug Canadians and so-called "traditionalists" repeatedly attacking their very right to have a team, but once again, just as in 2006 when Rod Brind'Amour lifted the Cup above his head, Raleigh evidenced that it is a passionate and unique NHL city where the fans have just as much love for the game as anyone in Toronto, Montreal, or Edmonton.

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Content copyright Jonathan Hawkins