There’s been a lot of debate about the NHL All-Star Game over the last few years. A lot of fans argue that the game is too boring, and the league has tried a few different things to spice things up.
Say what you will about the game-play, the All-Star Game has always been a place for new ideas to get tested. From new rules, to new technology, to new hockey jersey innovations, the All-Star Game is part circus, part World Fair, and that’s what I love about it.
So, this week I want to take a look at some of the many innovations that got their first look at the NHL All-Star Game.
1947 - plexiglass
The first official NHL All-Star Game was played at Maple Leaf Gardens way back in 1947 — there had been a few unofficial charity fundraising All-Star Games played in the 1930s, but the game didn’t become an annual part of the NHL schedule until 1947.
And it was at this very first NHL All-Star Game that plexiglass replaced the mesh wiring surrounding the rink at MLG. Fans complained that the body checks didn’t sound as gruesome with the new glass fixtures. But, those same fans probably came to love the glass shattering hits that have become a mainstay of highlight packs for the last 77 years.
1951 - touch icing
Back in the 40s and 50s, the All-Star Game was played before the start of the regular season, making it the perfect place to introduce a new rule. In 1951, hockey fans got their first look at a new rule — touch icing. Now a team who iced the puck could negate the call racing down the ice and touching the puck before the defending team.
The rule change made for some pretty exciting foot races — and a lot of injuries. To be fair, back in the 1950s doctors prescribed cigarettes, so we didn’t really understand the health problems associated with touch icing.
1969 - player names added to jerseys
Believe it or not, players didn’t always have names on the backs of their jerseys. Back in the 60s you had to know your favourite player’s number to know who you were looking at. But in 1969, the NHL added player names to the backs of the All-Star tarps. In 1977–78, nearly a decade later, and after a pretty ridiculous fight with Leafs owner Harold Ballard, the NHL adopted player names on jerseys league-wide.
1975 - first female sports reporters allowed in men's locker room
While women’s sports is certainly having a moment right now, back in the 1970s sports was decidedly a man’s world. That’s why it was such a big deal when two female sports reporters, Robin Herman and Marcelle St. Cyr was allowed access to the locker rooms at the 1975 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal.
It was not only an NHL first, but a first for North American professional sports.
1994 - sublimated jerseys
In the 1990s jersey mania was starting to rip through the whole hockey fandom. New logos, new colours, new designs — it was a veritable fashion renaissance. And hockey’s jersey-mad fanatics got their first look at a new jersey design called sublimation, in which the jersey design was infused right into the fabric of the bib.
The design technique would eventually be adopted by several teams for their regular and third jerseys, like the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, the LA Kings, the Dallas Stars, and that living nightmare for jersey customizers, the New York Islanders’ Fisherman jerseys.
1996- the foxtrax puck
The 1996 NHL All-Star Game in Boston was the testing ground for one of the most controversial technologies in hockey — the FoxTrax Puck.
The FoxTrax Puck was designed for television, making the puck glow blue and emit a red streak when sent at high speeds so that viewers could more easily follow the play.
The puck was not well received by fans, but Fox continued to use the technology for its NHL broadcasts until the end of the 1998 NHL Playoffs. It was a good idea in theory, but It made hockey games look like something out of Tron.
2003 - first nhl shootout
In the early 2000s, the NHL was in the grips of the dead puck era, and the league was looking for ways to eliminate ties. So, at the 2003 NHL All-Star Game, fans were treated to the first ever NHL shootout, with the Western Conference All-Stars prevailing in the tit-for-tat breakaway derby.
The NHL would begin using shootouts in regular season play beginning in the 2005–2006 season following the 2005 lockout, and fans have been locked in a civil war over it ever since.
2007 - reebok edge jerseys
Reebok introduced their Rbk Edge jersey system at the 2007 All-Star Game in Dallas. These hockey sweaters are more flexible, form-fitting, and less water absorbent, making them more comfortable for players, especially in the latter stages of a game. The jerseys were used league-wide the following season.
Maybe if players just stopped spitting, we wouldn’t need to use science to make their jerseys less wet.
2008 - first taste of 3-0n-3
In 2008, the NHL modified the Young Stars game, turning it into a 3-on-3 game of shinny. It was the first time we got to see 3-on-3 play at the NHL level, and the 3-on-3 model was adopted for NHL regular season overtime play in 2015.
I think 3-on-3 OT has been pretty decent, but maybe this year they try just the goalies going at it 1-on-1. Couldn’t hurt, right?
2010 - sublimated number designs
The 2010 All-Star Game featured a new jersey innovation — sublimated designs on numbers. Other teams have used the technique to add some personality to their get ups, like the Nashville Predators who have six sublimated guitar strings on their digits.
They should get tuning pegs on their helmets. Just a thought.
2019 - recycled jerseys and puck tracking tech
These days businesses are feeling the pressure to reduce their environmental footprint. So, at the 2019 All-Star Game in San Jose, the NHL introduced the Adidas “Parley” jersey, made from recycled ocean plastics. This was the basis for the PrimeGreen recycled jerseys that Adidas used for the rest of their NHL jerseys, and we expect that Fanatics will continue with the practice when they take over as the NHL’s jersey maker.
The 2019 classic was also the testing ground for player and puck tracking technology used for in depth stat tracking. That tech has become the foundation for the NHL EDGE stat tracking system now found in all NHL buildings.
I wonder if they track how many times Brad Marchand licks an opponent.
2020 - digital boards
what's next for hockey?
The NHL All-Star Game is like Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory — it’s a place to experiment, and try something that’s never been done before. Sometimes it produces something new and exciting. Other times the results are an abomination of nature. I’ll let you decide which innovations belong in which category.
Either way I’ll be watching the NHL All-Star Game this year to see what innovations we can expect in the coming years. Who knows what it’ll be. Digital jersey ads? Recycled ice? Robot reporters? Maybe they do a 180 and ban helmets. We’ll just have to wait and see.
If you liked this article, make sure you subscribe to my 4 Shots with Keener newsletter. Every Friday I mail out all my thoughts on hockey culture and hockey culture. It’s free, and it’s fun, so sign up now, and I’ll see you next week!
