Las Vegas Weekly

June 19, 2009 · 11:06 AM

Photo Gallery: Turnout of fans is unexpectedly large for NHL Awards

By Robin Leach

James Norris Memorial Trophy winner Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins; Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins; William M. Jennings Trophy winner Manny Fernandez of the Boston Bruins, who shared the trophy with Tim Thomas; and Jack Adams Trophy winner Claude Julien, coach of the Boston Bruins.

Photo: Las Vegas News Bureau

It was a royal red carpet turnout of stars and fans that looked as if it was the Oscars or the Grammys in Hollywood. But this was at the Palms in Las Vegas, and it was the annual NHL Awards.

As singer Michael Buble joked with me: “The only ice in this city is for drinks at the bar, and all those hockey stars are here to celebrate. This is a party town, and they are all here to party. Fortunately, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!”

Thousands of fans, and hundreds of media, gave up the frozen rinks and traveled into the desert from as far away as both coasts of Canada and Boston. The crowds were more than five deep on both sides of a red carpet that started in the Palms front arrivals area and snaked through the casino all the way to The Pearl.

Palms tycoon George Maloof told me: “I never expected to see this kind of a turnout. We knew fans would come in, but nowhere near these numbers. This is overwhelming. It’s great for our community and proves Vegas is the perfect place to host this NHL event and similar award shows.”

This is the first of three consecutive years that the NHL Awards will be held in Las Vegas. One highlight of the night was the second consecutive win of the Hart Trophy by left wing Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, awarded to the player judged to be the MVP of his team as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. As the new cover boy on the NHL2K10 video game, Alex was followed everywhere by two gorgeous showgirls holding up the new box.

Another highlight was defenseman Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins bringing his newly awarded Norris Trophy to dinner at Kerry Simon’s restaurant in Palms Place. He proudly displayed it on the table during his dinner with two NHL security guards watching over it from a discreet distance. They carried it back to the Palms on the resort’s Escalade cart!

NHL legend Mark Messier said: “This is a fantastic turnout. It is great so many people came to Vegas for the event. It’s wonderful to hold this in Las Vegas because it brings our league right onto an international stage. This might be the first time the NHL has been to Vegas, but this proves it won’t be the last. It’s going to make people think about Vegas being a possible city for an expansion team.”

Singers Robin Thicke and Chaka Khan opened the live telecast from The Pearl. My longtime pal, actor-writer Alan Thicke told me: “I produced, wrote and hosted the very first show 25 years ago. Back then, it was called Just a Hockey Shtick, but it worked. We said let’s make it an awards show, and it’s been going every year since. So for me to have been there and created this 25 years ago and to have Robin open this one is really a complete circle and an overwhelmingly satisfying experience. Back then we did it for my charity, diabetes, and I’m proud to say we’re still raising funds for it a quarter of a century later.”

Alan, best remembered for his long run on Growing Pains, is a regular Las Vegas visitor and plays hockey here in the private games organized by Hollywood mega producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who has long been rumored to want to own an NHL franchise team in Las Vegas.

Jerry spoke with me on the red carpet: “I’d very much like to see a professional sports team in Las Vegas. I love ice hockey, and if the opportunity exists, I would love to be involved. This is such a great city. We film CSI here, and we filmed Con Air here. It’s got the best resorts, the best restaurants, the best shows. It should have a sports team. I love coming here, and with our annual ice hockey weekend, we always have a great time, and we’ll keep on doing that.”

Michael Buble is such a fan of ice hockey, he even bought the Vancouver Giants team. “I swear if I hadn’t been a singer, I’d have wound up playing ice hockey. I’m nowhere near an athlete today like these hockey stars, but I still suit up and get on the ice. I’m not that good on the skates, but my hands are pretty fast. Fortunately, I’ve never had a puck in my mouth.”

Michael told me his next tour has a March 2010 date scheduled for a Las Vegas stop, and he’ll be back here next month for a corporate event.

Kevin Connolly, who was one of the trio of opening presenters, talked with me about his love of the sport: “It is such a fast, all-action sport. I grew up on Long Island in New York following the Islanders. I am a huge fan. Some people say they can’t follow the puck because it’s so fast, but I never had that problem. Once you understand the plays, you know where it’s going. These athletes are amazing, and I watch them because I could never play like them.”

George Maloof summed up after the awards show: “An incredible success! Great athletes and stars and a total sellout. It’s a wonderful new venture for Vegas to be involved with. They’re loving it, and we’re loving them, so we couldn’t be happier that we brought the NHL to town.”

The NHL also announced that Frozen Fury 12 will return to Las Vegas on Sept. 26 with the Los Angeles Kings and the Colorado Avalanche pre-season exhibition game at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Tickets will go on sale tomorrow. The Kings enter this year’s contest with an all-time record of 8-2-2 in 12 previous Frozen Fury matchups.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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