2009 NHL Winter Classic

2009 NHL Winter Classic Hockey Game
 

 

December 2008

Click here for the write-up after the 2009 Winter Classic game.

 

Many of you long term hockey fans out there would have remembered the 2003 Heritage Classic. Or maybe you remember the 2008 AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic from early 2008. On January 1, 2009 Chicago, Illinois will be hosting yet another outdoor regular-season NHL game in Wrigley Field... the 2009 Winter Classic. Chicago Blackhawks go against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings making this the first Winter Classic to involve Original Six teams in their 701st game between each other in the NHL’s Central Division.

The Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings will wear vintage-style uniforms. The Red Wings will be wearing a version of the sweaters worn by Detroit Cougars in their first season, but with the logo of their current jerseys printed on their shoulders. The Blackhawks will be wearing a combination of their 1936-1937 sweaters and their 1937-1938 sweaters, with the design of their sweater from the 1936-1937 season and the chest crest from the 1937-1938 season sweater.

Tickets for this game will be sold just as they had been in the 2003 Heritage Classic. All season pass holders get to purchase their tickets before they’re on sale to the public. The remaining tickets will be distributed through another lottery allowing any legal Canadian to enter. This contest began Wednesday November 5th, 2008 and will continue on until Friday November 28th, 2008. Each person selected will be allowed a limit of two tickets to purchase. In celebration for amateur hockey in Illinois, a community ticket initiative will also be conducted in the form of a youth hockey drawing for a chance to purchase tickets for the event. In combination with the Blackhawks and the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois (AHAI), the NHL will make available a limited number of tickets along the baselines to AHAI members only.

If you end up being one of those unlucky fans who don’t score a ticket to this event, you can catch it all on television by NBC (United States), CBC (English Canadian), or RDS (French Canadian) as well as NHL Radio broadcasting the entire event throughout all of North America. The NHL Network and NHL.com will provide hockey fans with extensive coverage around the event.

Chicago and New York were the host finalists for the game. Chicago was chosen over New York. If the game was to be held in New York, it would’ve been held at Yankee Stadium, which is to be closing after hosting the New York Yankees from 1923-2008. Many concerns took New York out of the host finalists due to the fact that the stadium was to be demolished after the New York Yankee’s 2008 season. If the game was to be held there, it would’ve been the last event in the stadium. Although this wasn’t a problem for the Yankee’s organization, it greatly upset Yankee’s supporters in which believed the last game played in the stadium should loyally be a Yankee’s game.

Originally, once Chicago was ultimately chosen to host the 2009 Winter Classic, it was to be held at Solider Field. However, the Chicago Bears (Chicago’s football team) disagreed with them using the field, citing the potential to host an NFL playoff game the following long weekend. So, on July 6th, 2008, Minneapolis Star Tribute reported the game will be held at Wrigley Field. This was stricken as quite a big deal, seeing as there has never been a hockey game on Wrigley Field in the past.

Although the Red Wings are not the hosts of this event, they are extremely honoured to be apart of sports history. Nobody has played as many games against each other as the Red Wings and the Blackhawks, and them celebrating it in an outdoor NHL event is a great deal to them. Red Wings general manager Ken Holland speaks about this honour:

"We've been a candidate to play in this for a long time and everybody in our organization is excited about being a part of what is becoming an annual outdoor classic. It's a tremendous opportunity to promote our game, our league and our team and have a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the same time."

This event not only affects the Red Wings, but it’s a great opportunity for the Blackhawks as well. It gives them a chance to showcase their young talent in a nationwide event viewed by thousands, even millions, of hockey fans and players. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are just two of the most exciting young players in the league.

All in all, depending on the weather, the 2009 Winter Classic should be just as good a turn out as have been the past two outdoor NHL games.

 

Read all about the game results for the 2009 Winter Classic game.