The ‘Stanley Pup’ special will premiere in the United States and Canada on Monday, June 8.
WASHINGTON — As the Vegas Golden Knights and the Carolina Hurricanes face off in the Stanley Cup Final, a group of 32 puppies, each representing a National Hockey League team, will have an icy competition of their own.
“The Stanley Pup” is back for a third year. It’s a spin on the Puppy Bowl competition that has aired on Super Bowl Sunday. This is basically the same thing, just with dogs playing hockey instead of football.
The 90-minute special will air in the United States and Canada next Monday night, June 8. It’s simulcast on TruTV and HBO Max, bringing the rescue dogs to both streaming and cable television at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. In Canada, the show will air on Sportsnet at 8 p.m. EDT. The show will then re-air on the NHL YouTube channel the following morning at 9 a.m. and then on the NHL Network on Wednesday night.
Many of the dogs in the Stanley Pup are up for adoption as the Brandywine Valley SPCA partnered with the NHL to make the competition happen.
Each puppy’s name resembles a popular NHL player, with Jack and Quinn Chews standing in for brothers Jack and Quinn Hughes on the New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild, respectively. Other hockey players being represented are New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer, whose dog avatar is Matthew Schaefurry, and Golden Knights center Jack Eichel, whose puppy equivalent is Jack Eichowl.
Schaefer and Washington Capitals legend Alex Ovechkin are among the real-life NHL players expected to appear in the TV special alongside color commentary from real NHL Media announcers, like Alexa Landestoy, who will be reporting rinkside.
The Stanley Pup is also attracting well-known figures from outside of hockey. Kenan Thompson of “Saturday Night Live,” rapper Flavor Flav and “Black-ish” star Anthony Anderson, all self-proclaimed dog lovers, will reportedly make appearances at the competition, as well as Jean Smart, Brooke Shields, Michael Strahan, Joel McHale and “The Dogist” Elias Weiss Friedman.
