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2023 Heritage Classic

2023 NHL Heritage Classic

1 2 3 Total Calgary Flames 1 1 0 2 Edmonton Oilers 3 0 2 5
Date	October 29, 2023
Venue	Commonwealth Stadium
City	Edmonton, Alberta
Attendance	55,411
← 2022

The 2023 NHL Heritage Classic (branded as the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic for sponsorship reasons) was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game. The seventh game in the Heritage Classic series took place on October 29, 2023, at Commonwealth StadiuminEdmonton, with the Edmonton Oilers hosting the Calgary Flames. It was the first outdoor game in the Battle of Alberta rivalry.^[1][2]

Background[edit]

During the "32 Thoughts" segment on the December 10, 2022, broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada, Elliotte Friedman initially reported that the NHL was planning a Heritage Classic game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames during the 2023–24 season, marking the 20th anniversary of the first Heritage Classic between the Montreal Canadiens and the Oilers at Commonwealth Stadium. While the 2003 game was held in November, Friedman stated that the league was aiming for October so the weather would be a little warmer;^[2] the 2003 contest had been held in temperatures of close to −18 °C (0 °F), with a wind chill of −30 °C (−22 °F).^[3] The league officially announced the game on December 31, 2022.^[4]

The 2023 Heritage Classic marked the first outdoor game in the Battle of Alberta rivalry and the third one for each team.^[4]

A moment of silence for former Pittsburgh Penguins player Adam Johnson was held prior to the game.^[5]

Panorama from the first period

Game summary[edit]

Number in parentheses represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the season

Team rosters[edit]

Calgary Flames # Player Position 8 Chris Tanev (A) D 10 Jonathan Huberdeau (A) C 11 Mikael Backlund (C) C 15 Dryden Hunt LW 16 Nikita Zadorov D 17 Yegor Sharangovich C 18 A.J. Greer LW 20 Blake Coleman C 25 Jacob Markstrom G 27 Matthew Coronato RW 28 Elias Lindholm C 29 Dillon Dube C 48 Dennis Gilbert D 52 Mackenzie Weegar D 55 Noah Hanifin D 71 Walker Duehr RW 80 Dan Vladar2 G 88 Andrew Mangiapane LW 91 Nazem Kadri C 98 Ilya Solovyov D Head coach: Ryan Huska

Edmonton Oilers # Player Position 2 Evan Bouchard D 5 Cody Ceci D 10 Derek Ryan C 14 Mattias Ekholm D 18 Zach Hyman LW 21 Adam Erne LW 25 Darnell Nurse D 27 Brett Kulak D 28 Connor Brown RW 29 Leon Draisaitl (A) C 36 Jack Campbell1 G 37 Warren Foegele LW 55 Dylan Holloway LW 71 Ryan McLeod C 73 Vincent Desharnais D 74 Stuart Skinner G 86 Philip Broberg D 91 Evander Kane LW 93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (A) C 97 Connor McDavid (C) C Head coach: Jay Woodcroft

^1 Jack Campbell dressed for the Edmonton Oilers as the back-up goalie and did not enter the game.
^2 Dan Vladar dressed for the Calgary Flames as the back-up goalie and did not enter the game.

Scratches[edit]

• Calgary Flames: Rasmus Andersson, Adam Ruzicka, Jordan Oesterle
• Edmonton Oilers: Mattias Janmark

Entertainment[edit]

Country singer and Alberta native Brett Kissel sang the Canadian national anthem, which marked his second time performing the anthem at the Heritage Classic, after doing so in 2016 alongside Doc Walker. Canadian indie rock band The Rural Alberta Advantage performed during team introductions (and also served as the house band at the game as well).^[6]

Following the anthem, the ceremonial face-off consisted of alumni players who played in the 2003 game at Commonwealth. For the Canadiens: Jose Theodore, Steve Begin, and Stephane Quintal and for the Oilers: Charlie Huddy, Ales Hemsky, and Jarret Stoll.

Rock group and Alberta natives Nickelback performed during the second intermission. The setlist included their version of "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" by Elton John and their chart topping songs "How You Remind Me" and "Rockstar".^[7]

Broadcasting[edit]

In Canada, the 2023 Heritage Classic was broadcast on Sportsnet. In the United States, the game was broadcast on TBS in lieu of TNT, due to the latter airing the second game of a women's international soccer friendly series between the United States and Colombia. The game marked TBS' first NHL regular season broadcast. The game was streamed on Sportsnet+ in Canada and on Max in the United States.^[8][9]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website