NHL All-Star Game Recap

By Grace Catanese, Staff Writer

The National Hockey League (NHL) just had its all-star game and it got many people, fans of hockey or not, to tune in and watch this year’s event. 

The NHL All-Star Game is essentially a midseason event where the league showcases its biggest stars for that season. It allows top players to play on a team together, and it brings in an audience of typical hockey viewers and fans of the celebrity coaches. 

Broadcasting alumni Ryan Boettcher shares why he believes this event is such a big deal for the NHL. 

“Bringing in current celebrities and artists will definitely increase viewership, with TikTok being a good source of content for younger kids. So, bringing in celebrities like Justin Bieber or Tate McRae is good for the NHL to create a huge event out of what was considered to be a dead event in the season,” Boettcher said. 

This year, the celebrity coaches were Justin Bieber, Tate McRae, Michael Buble and Will Arnett. Bieber was the coach of Team Matthews, with Auston Matthews as the captain, McRae was the coach of Team MacKinnon, where Nathan MacKinnon was the captain, Buble coached Team Hughes, with Jack and Quinn Hughes being the captains, and lastly, Arnett coached Team McDavid, with Connor McDavid being the captain. 

Senior business administration major Julianna Tag shared some thoughts about the games. 

“In my opinion, the team with the most popularity was Team Matthews because of Justin Bieber’s involvement with them,” Tag said. 

Each of the celebrities picked which players they wanted on their team and the event was set up in three games. 

What makes the All-Star Game so interesting is that many viewers of the event choose who they want to win based on a few different things, such as the players on each team, the celebrity coaches or the captains of the teams. 

Tag shares who she was rooting for to take home the win. 

“I personally wanted Team Matthews to win because I’m a huge Islanders fan and Mat Barzal was part of the team,” she said.

Boettcher agrees.

“I always root for the Islanders players so I was rooting for Team Matthews,” Boettcher added. 

Team McDavid beat MacKinnon in the semifinals with a final score of 4-3 in the first game. 

Next up was Team Matthews up against Team Hughes, and Team Matthews took the win with a score of 6-5. 

Finally, in the third game, the two finalists, Team Matthews and Team McDavid, went up against each other and Team Matthews took the win for the whole event with a score of 7-4. 

The scores throughout the event were neck and neck, which definitely kept fans on their toes and eager to see who would move on to the next round. 

Boettcher also shared his favorite part about the All-Star Game. 

“My favorite part of the NHL All-Star festivities has to be the 3 on 3 tournament style play for the all-star cup. Seeing teams be drafted by celebrities and then them playing each other brings a different vibe to other all-star games,” he said. 

Many fans loved seeing the celebrities interacting with their fans and the players. Hockey is something they all can connect with and it brought so many people who enjoy the sport of hockey together.

“To say Bieber didn’t bring good vibes would be an understatement,” Boettcher said. 

The next All-Star Game is going to be held on Long Island at UBS Arena in 2026. There is a lot of excitement among NHL fans to see what celebrities are going to be coaching and what players are going to be involved.