The very first time Steve Mayer functioned with the NHL, he and Brendan Shanahan produced a fantasy draft for the 2011 NHL All-Star Game. It was a novel principle, having players pick the teams for a 3-on-3 event and letting the fans view the process.Mayer was an executive at IMG that had actually done television programs like "The Globe's Strongest Man" and "Fight of the Network Stars." Shanahan was an executive at the NHL who had appeared in the NHL All-Star Video game 8 times throughout a 19-year Hockey Hall of Fame playing occupation." I had never ever met Brendan Shanahan before in my life, " Mayer said. "I, naturally, understood of Brendan Shanahan and believed he was one heck of a player. It was like, 'Hi Tyler Inamoto Jersey, Brendan, I'm Steve, ' and, 'Oh, hi, good to fulfill you.' And we simply beinged in an area and figured it out with each other." It's no coincidence the principle is returning with the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft on Feb. 1. Mayer is chief content officer at the NHL, and Shanahan is head of state of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend is at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto." I'll always be grateful for my first ever before experience at the NHL, and it was working hand in hand with Brendan, that currently remains in Toronto and was just one of the early advocates of bringing this draft back, " Mayer claimed. "His press definitely helped us obtain to where we are today." Shanahan won't take credit for the original draft or this set, but he enjoys the concept." I always believed that if it was done the proper way and the gamers enjoyed it, maybe a fun thing, " Shanahan said. "You're peeking in on exactly how they would construct the groups if it was left approximately them, even if it was just for a fun game of pickup." Take a look at the modifications to the All-Star festivities The NHL All-Star Game has had several different formats given that the initial authorities one at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto in 1947. The League was looking to improve the occasion in 2010-11, when Shanahan was vice head of state of hockey and company development.Shanahan bore in mind working with it with Rob Blake, a hockey procedures supervisor at the NHL at the time. Blake had actually shown up in the NHL All-Star Game 7 times throughout a 20-year Hockey Hall of Popularity playing occupation. He is now general manager of the Los Angeles Kings." I believe the concept might have even been Rob's, " Shanahan claimed. "It just kind of grew from there." They went back to the origins of clamber and street hockey, when youngsters throw sticks in a stack and select teams. The idea was the players would certainly become extra engaged and affordable Sean Tschigerl Jersey, that would highlight their individualities, and that would be enjoyable." The rest was really up to Steve, " Shanahan said. "We really did not understand how to place on a program. We didn't understand just how to fire it or any one of that. Really, for us, it was simply the principle of allowing the gamers select the teams, and we're used to doing that growing up." Shanahan chuckled." Most of us bear in mind the fun lower anxiousness of getting picked, " he said, "and in some cases that led to motivation to beat the man who didn't pick you." The All-Stars are Coming to Toronto|2024 NHL ASW The NHL made use of the fantasy draft 3 times-- at Carolina in 2011, Ottawa in 2012 and Columbus in 2015-- and it created many unforgettable minutes. Other organizations have actually copied the basic principle since.The issue with any kind of draft is that somebody must be selected last. Phil Kessel, after that a forward with the Maple Leafs, famously was the last choice in 2011. Yet gamers have actually received alleviation rewards like money for charity and Honda autos and trucks, and the NHL has modified the format to minimize the impact.This time, celebs will be paired with captains, who will select the 4 teams for the 3-on-3 event at the Rogers NHL All-Star Video Game on Feb. 3 from a swimming pool of gamers chosen by the NHL and its fans. The NHL has something funny planned for the last four picks.The draft will certainly belong to a new event, NHL All-Star Thursday, which will consist of a tribute to the 1967 Maple Leafs, Toronto's last Stanley Cup group, plus a Specialist Women's Hockey League 3-on-3 game.Tickets for NHL All-Star Thursday will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. ET on Dec. 5 via Ticketmaster. In Canada, the event will be televised on Sportsnet. In the USA, the player draft will certainly be on ESPN, the hinge on ESPN+. The Organization has been working with each other with the NHL Players' Organization, which presented executive supervisor Marty Walsh on March 13." Dealing with the new group at the NHLPA has actually been an incredible enjoyment, " Mayer said. "They are leaning into events such as this draft. They, like we do, see the value of revealing the players Bulat Shafigullin Jersey, having fun with the gamers." That's what it's all about." I do not recognize whether this will be a one-and-done year for us in Toronto, however it's really depending on what the gamers are comfortable with, and the more enjoyable they have with it, the better, " Shanahan claimed. "It's not indicated to shame anybody. It's meant to simply type of have some enjoyable."