The NHL Awards have been in Las Vegas for years, but to my recollection, this was the largest collection of Vegas entertainers presenting awards. Or, at least, the most non-singing entertainers.
The NHL brought out a magician, a ventriloquist and the Golden Knights’ drumline. It got awkward.
I have to admit, having a magician come out and make Gary Bettman disappear was a pretty excellent way to start off the show. Turning him into Jacob Tremblay, the kid actor who was a highlight of last year’s show, was a nice touch. Tremblay has so much presence and had another fantastic moment later in the show when he interviewed Taylor Hall and grilled the Devils’ star about who he was wearing.
Getting Terry Fator, a singing ventriloquist, to hand out the Norris Trophy? Not so great. And the card magician botched his card trick presenting the Selke Trophy and got snubbed by Anze Kopitar.
Oh my god the magician screwed up and then got snubbed by Kopitar pic.twitter.com/gt8BGhFPus
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 21, 2018
It was an odd juxtaposition with the more serious tributes to the Humboldt Broncos and the tragic shootings in Stoneman Douglas High School and Las Vegas.
Thankfully, the King Clancy Award was presented in more respectful fashion. Colin Hanks and Andrew Ference presented the nominees, then announced that Daniel and Henrik Sedin were the 2018 winners.
The King Clancy Award is presented for leadership on and off the ice, and for making a significant humanitarian contribution to his community. If that sounds like an award tailor-made for the Sedin twins, you’re not wrong. Henrik Sedin previously won the award in 2016 and is actually the first two-time winner of the King Clancy Award. The twins are also the first duo to win the award.
As is typical for the Sedin twins, they showed supreme humility in accepting the award, with Daniel dedicating his initial words to someone else entirely.
“First of all, I want to congratulate Victor Hedman,” said Daniel. “He lives 500 metres away from me in our hometown and I think he learned his skating stride from the two us, it’s very impressive.”
Honestly, I don’t think anyone in attendance got the self-deprecating joke at the expense of his own skating abilities.
The Sedins then went on to thank the Aquilinis, the Canucks, Vancouver and the surrounding communities, their teammates, and opponents.
“For us, hockey has always been more than what you do on the ice,” said Henrik.
That has always been clear throughout the Sedins’ careers. The contributions the Sedins have made to their community are numerous. There’s the work they’ve done through the Canucks with the Canucks for Kids Fund, Canuck Place, the Canucks Autism Network, and the Canucks Family Education Centre.
The Sedins have been major contributors to BC Children’s Hospital, from the $1.5 million donation they made in 2010, to their work promoting Jeans Day. They also established their own charitable foundation, the Sedin Family Foundation to support children and families.
In other words, the award was well deserved and serves as a special capstone to their incredible careers.
A fantastic ending to unbelievable careers. #NHLAwards #ThankYouSedins pic.twitter.com/W8t73AUJap
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) June 21, 2018
