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The NHL All-Star Game isn’t just a competition among hockey’s finest.
It’s a four-day test of their team mascots’ skills — on and off the ice. Sharkie, Wild Wing, Louie, Chance, Slapshot and the others may be pros at raising the noise level in the rink, posing for selfies and charming children, but how are they at playing broom ball and shaking booty?
Fans of all ages are invited to watch the antics during the 2019 Mascot Showdown, held inside the NHL Fan Fair at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.
Sharkie, naturally, is team captain for the 15 Western Conference mascots while last year’s Most Valuable Mascot, ThunderBug of the Tampa Bay Lightning, leads the 14 from the Eastern Conference. There’s even a rookie phenom in the mix: Gritty from the Philadelphia Flyers.
The competition kicked off Thursday night with a spirited scavenger hunt and a game of dodge ball. It was a split verdict, with the East winning the former and the West the latter.
At 7 p.m. Friday, the Playmobil All-Star Rink becomes a dance floor for the contest between the mascots. (However, we’re told that Sharkie will not be in attendance at this event. Is he a lousy dancer or does he have something better to do?)
Saturday is a three-contest day, with musical chairs (watch out for Chance in that one; remember, he has Vegas show experience!) and broom ball starting at noon. The real test, however, comes at 3 p.m. when the mascots actually play hockey. Their game — two 8-minute periods — will be live-streamed on NHL.com and on the NHL’s Facebook page.
By Sunday, the pros’ game will be over, but the mascots will still have more to prove. At 1 p.m. they will compete in relay races. Those will be followed at 2 p.m. by the presentation of the Most Valuable Mascot Award and the NHL Mascot Showdown Trophy.
You’ll save if you buy tickets to Fan Fair at the door. Admission there is $20 adults, $15 for youth, seniors, college students and members of the military. (If you order online via Ticketmaster, the fees push the adult ticket price to $25.)
Here are the teams and their mascots. Note that not all mascots will be in attendance at all contests. (On Friday, besides Sharkie, six other mascots will not appear: Blades, Carlton, Gritty, Moose, Nordy and Youppi. On Sunday, Bailey, Gritty, Iceburgh, Tommy Hawk and Chance will not be in attendance.)
Eastern Conference NHL Mascots
Blades from the Boston Bruins
Sabretooth from the Buffalo Sabres
Stormy from the Carolina Hurricanes
Stinger from the Columbus Blue Jackets
Stanley C. Panther from the Florida Panthers
Youppi from the Montreal Canadiens
NJ Devil from the New Jersey Devils
Sparky from the New York Islanders
SpartaCat from the Ottawa Senators
Gritty from the Philadelphia Flyers
Iceburgh from the Pittsburgh Penguins
ThunderBug from the Tampa Bay Lightning
Carlton from the Toronto Maple Leafs
Slapshot from the Washington Capitals
Western Conference NHL Mascots
Wild Wing from the Anaheim Ducks
Howler from the Arizona Coyotes
Harvey the Hound from the Calgary Flames
Tommy Hawk from the Chicago Blackhawks
Bernie from the Colorado Avalanche
Victor E. Green from the Dallas Stars
Hunter from the Edmonton Oilers
Bailey from the Los Angeles Kings
Nordy from the Minnesota Wild
Gnash from the Nashville Predators
S.J. Sharkie from the San Jose Sharks
Louie from the St. Louis Blues
Fin from the Vancouver Canucks
Chance from the Vegas Golden Knights
Moose from the Winnipeg Jets