The pregame ceremony before the opening matchup of the 4 Nations Face-Off between Canada and Sweden was simply the best. A hockey legend from each of the participating countries was welcomed onto the ice at Bell Centre.

All four teams have played a game in the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-off, here are some random thoughts and impressions after the first bit of action is in the books. Really, you have to credit the NHL for essentially having not just one All-Star game this season,

I went to my first Penguins game when I was 7. My late mother and I had season tickets for the best part of a decade beginning in 1971. It was all I wanted to watch. It’s the team I supported as a boy.