Every epic moment from 2023 NHL Awards, including Dierks Bentley's Stanley Cup beer chug

There was WWE Superstar Sheamus, he of the trademark red hair and red beard, flexing for cameras on the red carpet Monday afternoon ahead of the NHL Awards show at Bridgestone Arena.

There was retiring Nashville Predators general manager David Poile and his wife Elizabeth, shaking hands and mugging for cameras on the same carpet. Following them was comedian Nate Bargatze, who grew up down the road in Old Hickory.

Then there was Pekka Rinne, there to present an award, wearing a blue suit and a smile. Country music star Dierks Bentley and his son 9-year-old son Knox were in Rinne's wake, wearing matching black suits.

Predators fans, all of them. All of them on hand to celebrate the city and some of hockey's biggest stars ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft, which begins Wednesday.

"We just saw (Florida Panthers forward) Matthew Tkachuk and he knew who I was, and that's pretty cool," said the the elder Bentley, who served as the host of the show. "I've been watching him on TV for a long time."

"I just saw Connor McDavid and he said, 'I know who you are,'" Knox interrupted, excitement pouring from his pores. Knox served as a special correspondent to his father, who for years played in beer leagues at Centennial Sportsplex and has been a Predators fan since the franchise came to Nashville in 1998.

McDavid, who Monday night became just the third player in league history to win the Most Outstanding Player award four times, happened to be trailing the Bentleys on the red carpet. McDavid also took home the Hart Trophy, given to the league's most valuable player.

Dierks Bentley, who drank beer from the Stanley Cup during the show, said having his son by his side for the experience only added to the excitement of the night.

"Him being out there learning how to read a teleprompter and how to do all the stuff to put on a show, it's pretty fun to watch," Bentley said.

Sheamus, who said he's a close friend of Predators forward Filip Forsberg, his favorite player, was on hand to be a presenter during the show.

"I didn't really think I'd find somewhere where I feel so comfortable as I do in Nashville," he said of moving here.

Bargatze, another lifelong Predators fan who attended some of the team's Stanley Cup Final games in 2017, had wide eyes as he shook hands and exchanged hellos with country stars and star hockey players. To be doing it at home made it even more special, he said.

"It's awesome to be home," he said. "There's nothing like it. I don't meet a lot of different people like this. This is a world that I don't know everybody, so it's fun that I get to meet some people here."

Who was Bargatze looking forward to meeting most?

McDavid, of course.

"I like that kind of greatness," he said.

Later, inside Bridgestone, Rinne received one of the loudest ovations of the night when he took the stage with country musician Dustin Lynch to present the Vezina Trophy, an award he won in 2018. Chants of "Pekka! Pekka! Pekka!" could be heard before the Boston Bruins' Linus Ullmark was announced as the winner.

When commissioner Gary Bettman took the stage to introduce Poile, a chorus of boos greeted him. "Thank you, Music City. Music to my ears," he said before a video tribute to Poile played on the big screen.

Poile then took the stage alongside The Covenant School director of enrollment Ben Gatlin to announce the winner of the King Clancy Award, given "to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."

The award was presented by Metro Nashville police officers Mike Collazo and Jeff Mathes, who helped take down the shooter that killed six people on March 27. After Gatlin introduced them, the crowd gave them a standing ovation.

When the pomp ended with the end of the awards show, the countdown to the circumstance began, with the NHL Draft just two days away.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 2023 NHL Awards best moments: Dierks Bentley drinking Stanley Cup beer