LOS ANGELES — In most hockey games there are winners and losers. But in the Skate for LA Strong benefit hockey game, everybody truly was a winner.
The charity game was held at the Crypto.com Arena, highlighting the first responders and victims affected by the recent fires in Los Angeles. There was no shortage of support, either, from all the celebrities and former hockey players who came out to play on one of the four teams for the great cause.
For each of the four teams, there were two coaches who were on microphones giving their commentary of the matches to the crowd in the arena. Team black, included two fan favorites: rapper and personality Snoop Dogg, alongside comedian and well-known Kings fan Will Ferrell. The red bench was headed by actors Vince Vaughn and Cobie Smulders, and the white bench had former Los Angeles Ram Andrew Whitworth and internet personality Hannah Stocking.
Finally on the blue bench was actor and filmmaker Danny Devito, alongside sports commentator Al Michaels who celebrated the 45th anniversary of the most famous sports call of all time yesterday: the Miracle on Ice.
The Los Angeles Kings came out onto the ice before the game to support the charity event and a few gave their thoughts before the game when crossing the red carpet.
“Just being here, being able to show my support and all the celebrities that took time away too [to] come out and play it’s awesome and special,” center Quinton Byfield said. “It shows how much the LA community means to everyone.”
The event had nine first responders who participated in the game spread across the four teams. All the proceeds that were generated from the event went to the Red Cross, the LA Fire Foundation, the Cal Fire Foundation and the Eaton Canyon Fire Relief and Recovery Fund.
Kings head coach Jim Hiller talked about the event after the team's 5-3 win against the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday night.
“I think what happens is we all went through it in our own way, and then life happens, life goes on and everybody moves on to these other things,” Hiller said. “I think it’s great that we have the opportunity to go back, thank, respect, think back to what happened and how bad it was and at least just show in another way, show some support, raise some funds for sure… It’s going to be a great hockey day and obviously the funds that are going to be raised are going to the right people.”
Throughout the event, there were numerous videos shown on the jumbotron from different athletes showing their support. Of these people was the greatest hockey player of all time Wayne Gretzky, long-time New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady, current Kansas City Chief tight end Travis Kelce, current Ram Matthew Stafford and recent World Series Champion with the Los Angeles Dodgers Freddie Freeman.
Before the three games that were played, the celebrities that showed up kept emphasizing how awesome of an event this is, and how much it means to them to be a part of it. Included in this batch is NHL on TNT analyst and former Arizona Coyote Paul Bissonnette.
“It’s for the first responders and all the firefighters that are doing an incredible job here in LA,” Bissonnette said. “I always go back to the classiness of this organization… it’s all about family and community with [the Kings], and the fact they were to put this together so quickly just speaks volumes to who they are.”
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman also commented on how great the event is.
“We’ve always made it one of our values that if we can make a difference in the lives of the people that are in the communities in which we serve and have franchises, we should be doing that,” Bettman said.
The celebrities and athletes that competed in this event came in waves down the red carpet, all smiling and showing their support for the city that many have called home. Of these celebrities that played during the event were singer Justin Bieber, actor and comedian Steve Carell, actor Michael Rosenbaum, actor Taylor Kitsch, former MLB catcher and Minnesota Twin Joe Mauer and 2004 Heisman trophy winner at the University of Southern California Matt Leinart.
Team Red took home the victory winning both games of the event with goaltender Billy Blase putting up two shutouts for the team behind performances from many former Kings players including center Derek Armstrong, defenseman Dion Phaneuf, center Jeremy Roenick and winger Mike Donnelly. Many other former Kings were also in the lineup, notably defender Matt Greene, center Jarret Stoll, center Jeff Carter, defender Rob Blake, defender Sean O’Donnell, winger Daryl Evans and winger Tony Granato. Part of the NHL on ESPN crew joined as well with PK Subban and Mark Messier showing off some of their skills.
The event did exactly what it was supposed to: raise money for those affected by the fire and show everyone who was affected that they are supported. The crowd was entirely made up of firefighters, first responders and displaced families, which made the day extremely special for all involved.
As LA Kings President Luc Robitaille said: “[This is] a celebration of our city and an opportunity for us to continue to do all we can to bring some joy and light back into the lives of so many who have lost so much.”