Back in Vegas with No. 99

LAS VEGAS -- We're back in the glitziest town in the U.S.A. for the Great One's Fantasy Camp.

Wayne Gretzky has again allowed NHL.com to go behind the scenes at his annual camp that gives regular house league heroes the opportunity to skate and play both with and against No. 99 and some of his buddies on the ice at a rink a short distance away from the famous Las Vegas Boulevard.

Talk about a welcome break from trade rumors.

The list of former players that are scheduled to attend is a who's who, including Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Grant Fuhr, Guy Carbonneau, Marty McSorley, Jeremy Roenick, Curtis Joseph, Rick Tocchet, Russ Courtnall and Geoff Courtnall. Bobby Hull and Mike Keenan are also on the list, though Keenan is scheduled to be a coach along with Cap Roeder.

The international group of "campers" here are from all walks of life. They're doctors, dentists, attorneys, businessmen, whatever -- but for a few brief days they pay to play against and party with some of their hockey heroes, including Gretzky himself.

Our own E.J. Hradek, who will be shooting segments for NHL Live from the Bellagio, is one of the guys that will get on the ice and test his skills against some of the best to ever lace 'em up in the NHL. I'll promise not to rip on E.J. too much in this blog before I depart Vegas on a red-eye flight late Friday night, but promises can be broken.

It's all on you to perform, E.J.

Really, though, this blog is here to serve you, the reader that is not here in Vegas.

What does Leetch think of the Rangers' chances to do what the New York Giants just did and what he did back in 1994, parade down the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan?

What does Brett Hull think of the job his old coach, Ken Hitchcock, is doing with the Blues this season?

Does Fuhr have some opinions on the game's best goaltenders?

What does Keenan have to say about the job John Tortorella is doing with the Rangers?

Does McSorley have an opinion on the best fighters and antagonists in the NHL today?

Do Tocchet and Carbonneau want to coach again?

And, most important of all, what does Gretzky think of all of the above and more?

The goal from now until that red-eye takes off is to have answers to all of those questions and more right here in this blog.

Stay tuned.

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl