3:23 PM
ckw
Wow.
I know All-Star/Pro Bowl games are typically considered to be excessive and wastes of time because they’re “not the real game,” but my experience of the NHL All-Star weekend has left me absolutely speechless. Those that know me know what a feat that is, and Raleigh and the NHL definitely accomplished it. I knew my fellow Caniacs and the Canes organization could hold their own, but I was still highly impressed. So much amazingess was packed in to this weekend, I broke it down into 3 entries following our Caniac Girl Trio’s adventures: Period 1 for the Thursday and Friday leading up to the main events, which include Canes Corner with Jeff Skinner and the Fantasy Draft; Period 2 for the unbelievable experience that was the red carpet event, complete with pictures; Period 3 for the Fan Fair and the day of the game itself. Enjoy!
Our Caniac Girl Quartet was reduced to Caniac Girl Trio (CGT) for All-Star Weekend, keeping our 4th (and the rest of our Facebook world) in the loop via updates from our smartphones. We started our All-Star madness by getting to Backyard Bistro across from the RBC Center 2 hours before Jeff Skinner would enter for his interview on 99.9 the Fan’s Canes Corner broadcast. (If you’d like to listen, click here) The support of the Caniacs (and females 13-18yo) was made abundantly clear by the packed house and scream fest that erupted at his entrance from just behind our table. You could see his face turn bright red as he passed.
Mike Maniscalco conducted a great interview, as always, and you could sense the young one getting more comfortable as the hour went on. Hearing about how his hometown supports him via a call from the mayor, how he got to where he is in hockey, his thoughts about the Caniacs and Canes org, and relationships with teammates, linemates and roommates was pretty awesome. Well, what we could hear of it anyway, with two 13-15yo girls standing right behind our seats saying how hot he was the whole time. My favorite part was re: Peters’s mustache: “Sometimes he’d sort of vent to me if he was having an off day and his confidence wasn’t real high on the mustache, but I guess that’s what roommates are for.” The main thing I took away from the experience (aside from the overwhelming mob) was that Skinner has the same humble, down-to-Earth personality and great sense of humor that seems to be a Canes standard across the roster. I really think he’s a perfect fit for this team and fan base, and hope he is here for years to come.
On Friday, the CGT ventured out to the streets of downtown Raleigh to peruse the outdoor ASG festivities, catch the fantasy draft, and end the night with the free concert courtesy of 3 Doors Down. We each had to work and knew we’d miss our opportunity to get the wristbands being randomly distributed inside the Fan Fair for seats at the fantasy draft, so we watched from a sports bar-like tent set up just outside the convention center. Personally, I loved the idea of team captains and alternates picking their guys kickball-style, because you saw their personalities coming out in their reactions quite a bit (ie: Toews looking shocked each time he didn’t get picked, Marc Staal giving his brother a big guilt trip…). Cam getting picked first overall was awesome, but his reaction— "I was the best player available, I guess” – was priceless. In the end, I think Caniac Nation was pretty happy that Staal managed to get all of our All-Stars playing for his team (and Marc and Sharpy, too), which set the weekend up to be that much more fun not having to divide our allegiance. On to Saturday in Period 2…
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