‘Super cool’ memories await 1st-timers at 2024 NHL All-Star Game

Tyler Seguin hopes Jake Oettinger enjoys his first NHL All-Star Game experience as much as Seguin did when the Dallas Stars forward went as a rookie in 2012.

He also wants the Stars goalie to do something Seguin didn’t.

“My biggest regret was my first two times I didn't get a jersey signed by everybody or a stick signed by both games,” Seguin said. “That's usually where our [media relations] department will come in and go get signatures for you. I'm already on him to make sure he does that for his first All-Star Game.”

That first All-Star experience can be unforgettable. Those who have been there talked about the event, the connections made and the prizes won, and gave well wishes to players making their first appearance ahead of the 2024 Honda (U.S.)/Rogers (Canada) NHL All-Star Game, being held at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Feb. 3 (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS).

“I’ll be ready to go and just have to make sure I don’t get put in a blender in any shootouts or anything, and I should be fine,” Oettinger said. “Obviously it makes the break a little shorter, but [it’s] a good reason to put the pads back on. Thinking when I was first nominated, thinking of all the people who believed in me and the fact I can say I’m an NHL All-Star, and that’s something no one can take away from me.”

This year, All-Star Weekend is a three-day event, with the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft on Feb. 1 (6 p.m. ET; SN, ESPN) and the new-look NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook on Feb. 2 (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, ESPN, ESPN+).

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby said what stood out in his first appearance in 2007 was “just seeing all these guys that you look up to and being part of the game.” This will be his sixth All-Star Game.

“I remember, I think it was (former NHL forward) Yanic Perreault,” Crosby said. “He had a really bad shoulder but was basically playing through the injury to be a part of the All-Star Game and experience it. I think we lost the game 12-9. I didn't have a point, so I remember that too. But it was a pretty cool experience.”

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, who will make his seventh All-Star appearance this year, went for the first time in Los Angeles in 2017, which coincided with the 100 Greatest NHL Players being honored that weekend.

“It was super cool,” said McDavid, who, like Crosby, also appreciated getting to know some of the League’s best active players. “It was a really great experience. I loved every minute of it. It is still one of my favorite ones that I’ve ever been to.

“You don’t get that very much, especially the way the world has gone with best-on-best tournaments. So the only place to gather the best in the world is the All-Star Game.”

Indeed, one of the biggest things players said they enjoyed as first-time All-Stars was developing long-lasting friendships.

“I got close with a couple of guys through that, hanging out in the team lounge,” Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak said of his first appearance, in 2019. “(Oilers forward Leon) Draisaitl is my friend. We skated together a bunch of times in the summer, his dad is Czech, he coached in [Czechia], so it was nice to see him. We get to hang out in the season, which usually we never do.”

Others remember the winning, be it games or prizes. This year, 12 players will compete for a $1 million winner-take-all prize in the All-Star Skills.

Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg won a 2015 Honda Accord when he was one of the final two picks, with Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, in the 2015 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft.

“I actually sold it off to a guy in Milwaukee who needed a new car, so it was a good deal,” Forsberg said.

The All-Star Game is usually a family affair. Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, who went last year for the first time, said, “My biggest thrill was having my sons there with me. It was more of a personal moment to have them being around.”

Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart, who’s going for the first time this year, gets to follow in family footsteps.

“It’s something growing up where I knew my dad had been, so it was a dream of mine,” said Reinhart, whose father, defenseman Paul Reinhart, was a two-time All-Star (1985 with the Calgary Flames, 1989 with the Vancouver Canucks).

“I just want to enjoy the experience. I’m sure it’s changed over the years, but I’m expecting a couple of busy days. I’ll just try to soak it all in.”

It doesn’t matter how old you are when you make your first All-Star appearance. Johnny Gaudreau, who has been to seven All-Star seven games, said fellow Columbus Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner, 30, who’s going for the first time this year, will enjoy every minute.

“I got to go last year, and it was just as much fun as my first experience when I was here in Columbus (2015) and it doesn't really matter what city it is in,” Gaudreau said. “And obviously, it's his hometown (Jenner is from Dorchester, Ontario) so it will be a lot of fun for him there and a lot of good memories.

“For me as a first-timer as a rookie, it's more eye-opening seeing all the guys in the locker room. Boone’s been in the League for quite some time now, so he's been around these guys for a while now, so that's the only difference I really see.”

A whole lot of good times have been had at All-Star Weekend over the years. Those going for the first time are planning to having some, too.

“I look forward to chatting with goalies, kind of get to know some of them,” Colorado Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev said. “Get to see a couple guys that I got to play with, like (Anaheim Ducks forward Frank) Vatrano. I got to practice a bit with (Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher) Demko.

“It's going to be a great memory to look back on to my career, I feel, and say, ‘Yeah, I've been there and been a part of that event.’”

NHL.com staff writers Amalie Benjamin and Derek van Diest, and independent correspondents Taylor Baird, Ryan Boulding, Wes Crosby, Craig Merz and Robby Stanley contributed to this report