Wings fans, players enjoy Toast of Hockeytown at Little Caesars Arena

DETROIT -- It may have been the 18th annual Toast of Hockeytown but it was the first one at Little Caesars Arena so there was something new even for those who have attended before.
This year the VIP pre-party was held in the Players Club, which is just outside the Red Wings' dressing room.

"It was awesome," said Paula Gillis of Dearborn. "Having the VIP in the Players Club and having some of the old timers like Ted Lindsay and Mickey Redmond there, it was amazing."
Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, coach Jeff Blashill, Jimmy Howard, Danny DeKeyser and Luke Witkowski were among those meeting fans at the VIP pre-party.
"This is one of the nights that we look forward to," Zetterberg said. "It's fun for us to come here and spend some time on the ice in a little different atmosphere and just meet all the people that come here. Obviously we really appreciate all the people that come here."
Gillis' husband, Michael, said this year's event was better than ever.
"It was beyond expectations," Michael Gillis said. "We've done it for four years now and we've had fun every year and we look forward to it every year. We were excited when Mickey and Ted Lindsay came out. Great experience on top of it."
Cassi Bowman of Roseville, who wears her devotion to the Red Wings with winged wheel tattoos on her shoulders, has also been to the event several times.
"It's a fun experience," Bowman said. "It's a nice time to get out of the house and get a more personal view of the players in a more relaxed setting, hanging out instead of seeing them on the ice."

The ice at Little Caesars Arena was covered and decorated with tables with fine wines from Michigan and from around the world, liquor from metro Detroit distilleries, Michigan craft beer and food from local restaurants.
Fans had a chance to bid on some unbelievable items at the silent auction, which also allowed online bidding this year.
Among the available items were a Dylan Larkin Team USA autographed jersey, a team-autographed electric guitar, Red Wings tickets and locker room tour package, Detroit Tigers Opening Day ticket package, Detroit Pistons experience, Ultimate Detroit Lions fan package, Grand Traverse Resort getaway, Harry Styles concert tickets, Shinola men's watch, West Michigan beer tour certificates and gift baskets of favorite things of individual Red Wings players.
"They have a lot of great items in the silent auction and it's a great chance to mix and mingle with the players," Paula Gillis said. "We've actually gotten to know a few people that come to it every year so it's like a time to see them and have some great wines and food. It's great."
As always, the live auction was hosted by FOX Sports Detroit play-by-play broadcaster Ken Daniels and 971. The Ticket radio play-by-play broadcaster Ken Kal.
The live auction items included a complete set of Red Wings game-used hockey sticks, a trip to the NHL Awards in Las Vegas, a trip on Red Bird III to a game next season, a trip to the NHL Draft plus a meeting with executive vice president and general manager Ken Holland and assistant general manager Ryan Martin and an autographed Farewell to The Joe backdrop.
For the first time, the Red Wings raffled off an ultimate training camp experience which included a two-night stay at the team hotel in Traverse City, two weekend passes to attend training camp at Centre Ice Arena, dinner for two at the Apache Trout Grill, a Traverse City vineyard tour and a training camp chat with Wings hockey operations staff.
Only 100 raffle tickets were sold for the training camp experience.
Matt Delaere of Warren was attending the Toast of Hockeytown for the first time and said he would definitely like to come back.
"Very good, it's been a great experience," Delaere said. "Good food, the wine's good, I like the way they set it up where you have the players in pairs, you can get up and meet them and get autographs. It wasn't as hectic as I expected."
Although Delaere's favorite player is Zetterberg, he has a special bond with DeKeyser.
"We both went to (Warren) De La Salle. I told him how I tell all my friends," Delaere said. "That's what's nice about having the local guys on the team because there's connections besides saying 'hey, he's from Detroit' or 'he's from Michigan.' He went to my high school."
DeKeyser was having so much fun that he even offered to stick around past the time he was required to stay.
"I think this is a great event. This is actually my favorite event that we do as players," DeKeyser said. "It seems like fans really enjoy it, too, so that's always a bonus.
"There are a lot of people in here that I recognize just from around town or went to school with here and there. It's always fun to kind of congregate and just chat with people."
David Booth is another Detroit native who grew up a Red Wings fan and had a long NHL career before returning home to play for his hometown team.
"I think I had about four different people, actually five, (talk) about different high schools that I went to," Booth said. "'My sister went to high school with you, my cousin.' It's cool hearing that stuff. My dad's a dentist in the area and people are like, 'I go to your dad.' So that stuff's pretty cool."
As if on cue, a young man walked up to Booth at that moment and said, "Your dad's a great dentist!"
Michael Booth is still a dentist in metro Detroit.
"It's weird because if I was just still a local kid, I'd probably be doing the same thing that fans are doing here, going up and saying, 'Hey, I respect what you do, love what you guys do, love the hard work,' so it's cool that people come up and say the same thing to you," Booth said.
Luke Witkowski was born in Holland, Mich., and he was at the VIP pre-party and then at the main event at a table with Zetterberg.

"I feel pretty safe actually sitting there," Zetterberg joked. "You never know these days."
Having the Toast of Hockeytown at Little Caesars Arena meant fans could experience the new building in a different way.
"It's a little bit different feel, I think the sound's a little better here," Zetterberg said. "Everyone that I've met so far is enjoying themselves and I think also the locker room tour is a little different now than it was at The Joe."
Delaere was really impressed with the Wings' locker room.
"It was really cool. I like seeing the kind of historical players above the (lockers)," Delaere said. "Like above Howie (Howard) and (Petr) Mrazek, there was (Chris) Osgood and (Terry) Sawchuk and (Dominik) Hasek. They had corresponding pictures with the same position."
The Toast of Hockeytown is the signature event that the Wings hold every year to benefit the Red Wings Foundation.
The Red Wings Foundation has used the funds raised to support the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association's Try Hockey for Free program and the Red Wings sled hockey team, in addition to the many local youth hockey teams and local non-profits that participate in the 50/50 raffle at each home game.
"It's awesome," Booth said. "I always love and enjoy doing things like this. Making it a black tie event like this, people dress up and all obviously for something that's more important than hockey, I guess. Things like this really stand out throughout the year to why we do what we do."