- The Shoulder Check Showcase airs live on NHL Network for the first time Thursday
- 26 players are split between Team Prentiss and Team Shattenkirk at Sacred Heart University
- Read below for the full roster, the video of founder Rob Thorsen telling the story, and what Trevor Zegras said about the game
A summer charity game in Connecticut has grown into one of the biggest offseason gatherings of NHL players anywhere, and Thursday it goes national.
The fourth annual Shoulder Check Showcase comes from Martire Family Arena at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, with 26 players on the ice. NHL Network picks up the broadcast at 6 p.m. ET and puck drop follows a half hour later.
Trainer Ben Prentiss, whose Stamford gym works with a lot of these players and lends its name to one of the two rosters, joined Matt Moulson on NHL Tonight to set it up:
Rob Thorsen started the event and the HT40 Foundation after losing his son Hayden to suicide in May 2022. Hayden was the kid who checked on everybody, usually with a hand on the shoulder, and that gesture became the mission.
Thorsen told NHL.com that a TV broadcast was a joke back when this thing was four guys and an idea:
“We joked this first year, what if this is on TV? What if we took this to an arena? And here we are, just a couple of years later.”
Rob Thorsen
Catch Thorsen telling the story himself in this video:
Trevor Zegras came up in the same Mid Fairfield youth program as Hayden and has played in the game since the first one. Asked why he keeps rounding up teammates for it, the Flyers center pointed at how small the ask really is.
“You never know what somebody’s going through on a day-to-day basis, and maybe your phone call or your text is the reason why maybe they turn the corner for whatever reason. It’s a pretty inspiring game, and I’m lucky that I got a lot of buddies that come and play in it.”
Trevor Zegras
Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, Brett Pesce, Spencer Knight, Shayne Gostisbehere, Matt Rempe, Shane Pinto, Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, Mason McTavish and Cutter Gauthier are all in. Tony DeAngelo, Liam McLinskey and PWHL forwards Jules Constantinople and Madison Samoskevich got added Wednesday.
Thirteen NHL teams are represented, the most in the event’s history. Here are the two rosters:
Five Hockey Hall of Fame trophies make the trip too: the Hart, Calder, Vezina, Norris and Lady Byng. Gritty is booked and the Zambonis are playing live music.
Before the puck drops, the players circle up and each one puts a hand on the shoulder of the guy beside him to take the pledge. Reach out. Check in. Make contact.
Hockey has gotten louder about this stuff lately, from Mitch Marner opening up about his dark times in Toronto to a room full of NHL players giving up a July night in Fairfield.
