NEW YORK -- Singer-songwriter Role Model will headline the entertainment for the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic®, the historic outdoor game featuring the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers hosting the New York Rangers at loanDepot park in Miami on Jan. 2, 2026, the National Hockey League (NHL) today announced. The event will be televised live on TNT and HBO Max in the U.S., and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada, at 8 p.m. ET.
Role Model will lead the first intermission presented by Ticketmaster with a performance from his hit sophomore album, “Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye).” Before his performance inside loanDepot park, the rising alt-pop star will open NHL on TNT’s live on-site coverage with a performance on the Verizon Stage at the 2026 Enterprise NHL PreGame, the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic game day fan festival open to NHL Winter Classic ticket holders. NHL on TNT’s pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with hockey icons Wayne Gretzky, Paul Bissonnette, Anson Carter, and Liam McHugh.
A limited number of tickets to the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic are still available, on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. Fans can purchase tickets here via Ticketmaster, the official ticketing partner of the NHL. Ticketmaster is the only official marketplace of the NHL, providing fans with the peace of mind in knowing the seats they buy on Ticketmaster.com and the Ticketmaster app are the seats they’ll get. All of the 16 previous NHL Winter Classics have been sellouts.
The 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic continues the tradition the National Hockey League (NHL) established in 2008 of hosting a regular-season outdoor game at the onset of the new year, with the 2026 edition marking the 18-year anniversary of the first NHL Winter Classic.
This year’s NHL Winter Classic will be a historic first—the inaugural NHL outdoor game played in the State of Florida—and the kickoff of an outdoor hockey celebration in the Sunshine State, which will also include the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series™ less than a month later, February 1 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, when the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Boston Bruins.
About Role Model
Role Model (Tucker Pillsbury) first made waves with his 2022 debut album “Rx,” a confessional and genre-blurring pop record that introduced him as a bold new voice in alternative music. With his sophomore album “Kansas Anymore,” Role Model showcases his evolution as a songwriter and performer with 13 folk-tinged, lyrically driven tracks. Working alongside Noah Conrad, Ian Fitchuk, Scott Harris, and Jonah Shy, he crafted standout pieces including the viral hit “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” which he performed on “Saturday Night Live.” Following the success of his No Place Like Tour, which sold over 90,000 tickets worldwide, he released a deluxe edition, “Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye),” featuring four new songs that expand the emotional and sonic scope of the original album. In addition to his musical accomplishments, Pillsbury is stepping into the world of acting with his debut role in “Good Sex,” the upcoming Netflix film from Lena Dunham, starring opposite Natalie Portman and Mark Ruffalo.
