Nashville to host 2023 NHL Awards and NHL Draft — all in the same week
The NHL's draft and annual awards show are heading to Nashville in 2023 — all in the same week.
Nashville was announced as the host for the 2023 NHL Awards and NHL draft on Thursday, with the awards show scheduled for June 26 and the two-day draft beginning June 28 at Bridgestone Arena — home of the Nashville Predators.
It marks the first time the draft and awards show have been held in the same city since 2006, when both were held in Vancouver.
Nashville has never hosted the NHL awards show and hasn't hosted the draft since 2003.
“Nashville [is] a special city that certainly knows how to throw a great party,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a news release. “From the 2003 NHL Draft to the 2016 NHL All-Star Weekend to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final to the 2022 NHL Stadium Series game, the city, the Predators organization and the Country Music community have overwhelmed the NHL with their welcome and support every time Nashville has hosted a League event."
Nashville emerged as a frontrunner to host the 2023 draft over the past month, with Butch Spyridon, CEO of Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp., telling The Tennessean in July that talks between the city and NHL were taking place.
Availability of hotels were a reported challenge, ESPN reported last month, but Spyridon said "room availability is not an issue."
That's good news for a city that will be at the center of the hockey universe next summer.
This story will be updated.
Chris Thomas is the South Region sports director of the USA Today Network. Contact him at cdthomas@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @bychristhomas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville to host 2023 NHL Awards and NHL Draft — all in the same week
