“Recognizes achievements, innovation, creativity, results across League clubs
BOSTON — As each of the winners of the 2024 Stanley Awards were read off by the various presenters at Big Night Live on Tuesday, applause suffused the room.
But it took Anson Carter going off script to truly bring the house down.
As the former NHL forward and current TNT and Sportsnet analyst took the stage to hand out the award for Best Marketing Campaign, the final one of the night, he brought Jack Edwards back to the stage. The former Boston Bruins play-by-play announcer was forced to retire at the end of the 2023-24 season because of a puzzling speech complication that has not been explained by doctors.
He got a standing ovation.
It was a fitting end to the presentation as the NHL honored its best in business at the sixth Stanley Awards, an event that began in Las Vegas in 2018. The awards were held during the 2024 NHL Club Business Meetings presented by Ticketmaster in Boston, hosted by the Bruins, which recognized great achievements, innovation, creativity for fan engagement, and results across all NHL clubs during the 2023-24 season.
The show, which was hosted by Kathryn Tappen, included former Bruins defenseman and Hockey Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, PWHL Boston general manager Danielle Marmer and 2024 PWHL Draft pick Sydney Bard, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery and former Bruins player Andrew Ference, along with Carter and Edwards as presenters.
The winners were chosen from 134 entries by the 32 NHL clubs, picked by an external judging panel of leaders in the sports and entertainment industry.”
To read the full article on NHL.com, click HERE.
Watch the opening video for the stanleys.
This was the third year that Ben Orbach, CEO of The Ascendant Athlete, served as a judge for the awards. Orbach explained, “Each year, the submissions have gotten better and better — there is so much innovation and creativity. I love seeing how clubs’ social impact strategies have evolved, and the impact these leaders are having in their communities and with growing the game in a way that is bringing in new people.”