Las Vegas — The 2022 NHL Fan Fair was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center as a compliment to the NHL All-Star weekend at T-Mobile Arena. Thousands of fans from all over the country (and Canada) showed up to enjoy the fun and excitement.
One of the most popular attractions was the free fan photo with the Stanley Cup. There was a huge line that lasted about an hour long. The trophy is awarded to the winner of the NHL playoffs each hockey season.
Upper Deck trading cards had a cool activation at the Fan Fair. Attendees had the opportunity to get their photo taken and turn that into an actual trading card they could take home with them. Meanwhile, fans could make their own digital trading card at the Topps display.
“It’s great, a neat experience,” said hockey fans Cheri and Brent Kircher from Las Vegas. “We like the community coming together for something that is so much fun and positive. It’s a great city to be in with all of the things going on this weekend. It’s nice here and all of the fans are out enjoying the time. It’s good to see the little kids out here. That is what the sport should be about.”
Kids had the opportunity to practice their shooting skills and their goaltending skills as well. Discover credit card sponsored a giant air hockey table. It looked like a lot of fun!
There were also a bunch of player autograph sessions. Some of the former hockey players who signed autographs included Deryk Engelland of the Vegas Golden Knights, Chris Chelios of the Detroit Red Wings, Mark Messier of the Vancouver Canucks, Rick Tocchet of the Los Angeles Kings and Paul Coffey, among many others.
“It’s really cool, we got to take a picture with the Stanley Cup and now we’re checking out all of the trophies,” said hockey fans Joe and Rose Piurkowski from Las Vegas. “This area is really cool with all of the trophies from the hall of fame and just walking around and seeing people from other teams is fun. We had season tickets for the Vegas Golden Knights for the first few seasons. We like them all. Just take in the whole experience, definitely go to T-Mobile and have fun.”
The Hockey Hall of Fame area showed off several of the trophies that are awarded at the end of each hockey season. Among those was The Conn Smythe Trophy which is awarded to the MVP each year. Meanwhile, the Clarence Campbell Bowl is awarded to the winner of the NHL’s Western Conference team. The Vegas Golden Knights won it in their inaugural 2017-18 season.
There was a special display about the history of hockey in southern Nevada. It included the Las Vegas Thunder in 1993, Las Vegas Wranglers from 2003 to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017 and the new Henderson Silver Knights AHL team.
“So far what I’ve seen is great,” said hockey fan Bill Frazier from Las Vegas. “I’ve never seen any of this stuff and I’ve been a fan for a number of years. The Stanley Cup is my favorite of course. Karlsson is my favorite Golden Knights player. I grew up in Denver so also a Colorado Avalanche fan. I just have a problem when they play each other. It’s either yay or nay.”
Honda showed off its latest vehicle models including the Ridgeline pickup truck, Passport SUV, Civic compact car and their Indycar series race car.
Geico insurance company had an activation where you could spin a giant wheel to win a prize. Also, there was a great photo opportunity to pose on the bench behind the glass.
Navy Federal Credit Union sponsored a shooting contest. Fans were able to win prizes depending on where their puck ended up.
Dunkin’ Donuts offered free samples of its donuts and Iced coffee. Fans could play bubble hockey and enjoy music with a live DJ spinning the hits.
There was even a special trailer about the history of black hockey players. Among those were a wall of trading cards and a display about former player Willie O’Ree from the San Diego Gulls.
As for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game itself, the Central team faced off against the Metropolitan team. When all was said and done, the winner was the Metro division with 5 points over the Central division with 3 points.
Former Detroit Red Wings/Chicago Blackhawks player Chris Chelios (pictured left) 
Upper Deck bingo game for kids 
L.A. Kings mascot “Bailey” 
History of hockey in southern Nevada 
A hockey fan holds his baby above the Stanley Cup 
History of Black hockey player cards