The NHL Winter Classic is inching closer and some Red Sox and Bruins fan-favorites and legends will be on hand to drop the puck.
Boston will host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Fenway Park on Jan. 2 for the annual event. The weather, as of Dec. 28, looks unseasonably warm with temperatures reaching close to 50 degrees. Plus with how the Bruins have started the 2022-23 season, those in attendance probably will be pretty pumped up.
And the fans will have plenty of reason to cheer before the game begins after the NHL announced some pregame festivities for the Winter Classic on Wednesday -- including who will drop the ceremonial puck.
Bruins legends Bobby Orr, Johnny Bucyk and Zdeno Chara will be joined by Boston Red Sox fan-favorites Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield to drop the puck. Orr was part of the 2010 pregame ceremonies when the Bruins took on the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park in the Winter Classic as the honorary captain along with Bobby Clarke.
It won't be your average puck drop, though.
"There's a baseball diamond uniquely made out of ice," NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer told reporters in attendance, per NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin. "We're going to get slightly unique with how we present the puck drop, or the first pitch, we'll do a little bit of a combination."
The 2023 Winter Classic is set for Jan. 2, with puck drop slated for 2 p.m. ET.
