NASHVILLE -- There were more spills than goals, and a few puddles as well, but the countless smiles at the IntelliCentrics Ice Rink at Bridgestone Winter Park made it all worth it.

As part of the NHL's Learn to Play program, 14 Nashville youngsters hit the outdoor ice rink Saturday next to Bridgestone Arena – site of the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game (5 p.m., NBCSN, SN, TVAS) Sunday, continuing to learn the game of hockey and clearly having fun.

Learn to Play is a program aimed at removing access barriers for U.S. and Canadian youth by providing children ages 4-8 free head-to-toe equipment and at least six weeks of on-ice training at no charge. The Nashville Predators are part of a pilot program. On Saturday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the program will launch nationally later this year.

NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League (NHL®) today announced the selection of the Los Angeles Kings, STAPLES Center and the city of Los Angeles as hosts of the 2017 National Hockey League All-Star celebration. The League's mid-season showcase will take place Saturday, January 28 and Sunday, January 29 and will include the NHL All-Star Skills Competition™ and the NHL All-Star Game.

The 2017 NHL All-Star Game will be the third time the NHL All-Star activities will take place in Los Angeles. The Kings previously hosted the NHL All-Star Game in 1981 and 2002. Further details on the 2017 NHL All-Star celebration, including ticket information, special events and television broadcasting information will be released at a later date.

Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux experienced some local flavor Friday after arriving in Nashville for 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend.

Giroux and some friends visited the set of ABC's hit TV show "Nashville." Several stars of the show, including Chris Carmack, Hayden Panettiere and Jonathan Jackson, took a timeout between takes to meet with Giroux.

Giroux will take part in the DraftKings Accuracy Shooting competition, the Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay and the Discover NHL Shootout during the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports) and compete on the Metropolitan Division squad in the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Sunday (5 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

NASHVILLE -- When goaltender Roberto Luongo accepted a trade from the Vancouver Canucks to the Florida Panthers on March 4, 2014, a lot of people thought he was doing what many people do when they relocate to Florida: preparing to retire.

Less than two years later Luongo will play in the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports) with teammates Aaron Ekblad and Jaromir Jagr. His coach, Gerard Gallant, will be behind the bench of the Atlantic Division team, a reward for the Panthers entering the break in first place.

There was no intention on Luongo's part to go to Florida and wind down his career. The intent was to win.

NASHVILLE -- Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr can relate to John Scott.

Jagr played in his first NHL All-Star Game in 1992, when he was voted in by the fans at age 19 to start at forward for the Wales Conference alongside Pittsburgh Penguins teammates Mario Lemieux and Kevin Stevens.

However, back in Pittsburgh, Jagr, who was on the fourth line, almost never played with Lemieux that season.

So getting to start in the All-Star Game felt a bit strange for Jagr back then. Scott, who has five career goals, was voted by the fans to be captain of the Pacific Division team.

NASHVILLE -- The roots the Nashville Predators have grown during the past 18 years were perfectly evident Friday morning when approximately 350 members of the city's business community attended a breakfast event with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at the landmark Wild Horse Saloon.

The event, hosted by the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, was a celebration of the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend and what it means for the area's economy as well as what the Predators have meant for the identity of the city.

"Haven't the Nashville Predators become Nashville's team? Aren't they deep into the community?" Chamber of Commerce president Ralph Schultz asked the attendees, receiving shouts in the affirmative in response after each question. "Gary Bettman has been at the center of these things happening."

NASHVILLE-- Being an NHL All-Star and getting the chance to be in the Music City spotlight at 19 years old is as strange as Detroit Red Wings rookie Dylan Larkin expected it to be.

"I feel more nervous than I would for an actual game," Larkin said Friday. "I don't really know many guys and I don't really know what's going on."

Larkin was a fan until this season, another teenager dreaming of one day getting his chance but never expecting it to come this soon.

NASHVILLE -- John Scott didn't want to forget the signature moment of his 2016 Honda All-Star Weekend to date, so he turned the tables on the horde of media gathered around his riser during Media Day at Bridgestone Arena.

After finishing his question-and-answer session, Scott had some commands for the crowd of journalists.

"That it?" he asked after the last question of the 13-minute session. "All right, don't move!"

As the media members laughed, Scott pulled out his cell phone to take a picture of the crowd.

"Everyone smile now," he said, flashing a smile of his own as he clicked the shutter.

NASHVILLE -- Now that he has his honky-tonk pads with guitars that cross when he closes his five-hole, New Jersey Devils goalie Cory Schneider is excited about the possibilities of his flashy equipment.

He needed to be convinced it was a good idea when it was first brought up to him by Scott Hughes, his rep with Vaughn Hockey, the company that makes the pads.

"I was a little hesitant at first because I guess it's not my style," Schneider said. "They talked to the League and the League was all excited about it, and I just said, 'What the heck.' Now I can use them for charity or auction them off, do something productive with them. It's a win-win."

NASHVILLE -- Pacific Division captain John Scott is embracing his role at the 2016 Honda NHL-All Star Game.

Along with Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (Central Division), Scott, the Pacific Division captain, helped select the Western Confernce players for the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports).

Scott put himself into the AMP Energy NHL Hardest Shot event, where he'll be joined by teammates Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg Jets, Central), Tyler Seguin (Dallas Stars, Central) and Shea Weber (Nashville Predators, Central). They'll go up against Aaron Ekblad (Florida Panthers, Atlantic), Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins, Metropolitan), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlantic) and P.K. Subban (Montreal Canadiens, Atlantic).