HftL Coverage of the 2010 NHL Awards in Las Vegas, Baby!!

THANKS to another one of our awesome readers, Stacie, we were able to get the lowdown on this year's NHL Awards along with some incredible pics too (she did just an all-around AWESOME JOB of recapping the show and her trip to Vegas!)!! 

My 2010 NHL Awards experience kicked off, very appropriately, at the Palms Hotel on Monday night. The entire hotel was decked out in honor of the awards with giant portraits of players at the valet area, the front desk, the casino, all the way out to the pools. From 5pm until noon the next day, all of the trophies to be given out at the awards show were on display in the lobby, with the Stanley Cup in the center. Fans gathered all night to take pictures with the awards, and one guy even convinced a security guard to pose as if he was trying to steal the Stanley Cup--a perfect mixture of awe and silliness.

The next night, I headed to Lavo night club at the Palazzo, where Alex Ovechkin and Jeremy Roenick hosted a pre-awards party on Tuesday night. They posed for pictures outside Lavo around 10, then left and came back at 11 when the club opened. Roenick showed up fairly early and took pictures with fans before the club got crowded. Ovechkin appeared shortly after, sporting his signature red t-shirt and jeans, followed by a bunch of friends and players. I didn't see anyone else talking with fans, but I left as soon as club security started clearing people away from the VIP area around 12:30.

The awards show on Wednesday night started off with a producer explaining that Snoop Dogg had taped his performance the night before, but that he wanted the audience to cheer and pretend it was actually live. I had hope for Jay Mohr, but leading with a "special people" joke was rather distasteful. The show went on pretty smoothly, with only two speeches getting cut off. Ovechkin stayed around to finish his, however, Duncan Keith not only got interrupted for a video, but someone actually took the microphone away from him!

I thought it was adorable that Sidney brought his parents to the show! I didn't see him at the pool party after the awards show, but plenty of players, fans and NHL supporters showed up for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. The Stanley Cup had a special place on an island in the middle of the pool so that everyone could admire it. Tons of people showed up for the party, from Miss Nevada to Sean Astin (a hockey fan, I suppose?) to our very own coach, Dan Bylsma, who very kindly chatted and took pictures with fans.

Overall, I had a great time attending the NHL Awards and the many celebrations surrounding it. I hope to be there again next year!