Michael Levitt, producer of the hour-long show which will be broadcast on NHL Network and ESPN+ in the United States on Friday at 8 p.m. ET and on Sportsnet in Canada on Saturday at 6 p.m., sees hockey and animal rescue as a pairing as natural as two defensemen on the blue line.
“I’ll tell you, I’m really touched by the organic love and affection that hockey players have for dogs and helping rescue animals,” Levitt said. “So it just felt like a really good marriage because the players are already invested in helping these animals.”
That synergy was evident during filming as the two most common questions seemed to be, “Can I take a picture with the Cup?” and “Is that puppy available for adoption?”
Howie Borrow, who was chaperoning the Cup on behalf of the Hockey Hall of Fame, wasn’t surprised by those lines of inquiry.
“I think the puppies were the big attraction today,” Borrow said, “and so cute and small and cuddly. If you’re a sports fan, and maybe even if you’re not, the Stanley Cup is something that’s pretty special. And it was nice to see and have the two combined, and it’s for a great cause.”
