2024 NHL All-Star Weekend to Feature Player Draft for 3-on-3 Tournament

The NHL will be introducing a new format for the 3-on-3 tournament this season.

Four All-Star captains will be paired with celebrities as they draft their teams live at Scotiabank Arena in front of fans. This is the league's first All-Star draft since 2015.

"We felt like that was something that was a really fun piece in past years," NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer said, per Nicholas Cotsonika of nhl.com. "We started to hear our fans, our players, ask, 'What about the draft?' And we've seen some other leagues doing after we did it first, and we were like, 'You know what? I think it's time for us to bring it back.'"

In regards to the celebrities picking alongside each captain that the league selects, the NHL is reportedly eyeing "passionate hockey fans" who may already have established relationships with certain players and teams (via ESPN's Kristen Shilton).

Each captain and their celebrity partner will draft All-Stars from the pool of available players until there are four left. At that point, a surprise guest will reportedly assign the final players to their teams.

The event will occur on Feb. 1 as the league is adding an extra day to the festivities. The format is expected to be unique compared to past drafts, with players dressing casually before they're picked.

"Not to give too much away, but our players will be in street clothes and skates," Mayer said, per Cotsonika. "They're not going to be wearing uniforms. They'll be dressed up. But we're going to have them put their skates on, and when they get picked, they'll skate over to their new team. So that's going to be fun."

The league is making a concerted effort to feature the personalities of the All-Stars, allowing fans to grow familiar with their favorite players on a deeper level than they usually would by simply watching the game.

"We're looking for humor in these events, we're looking to bring out the player personality, we're looking at something that is going to be memorable," said Mayer (via Shilton). "We've learned from doing it in the past."