From NHL.com's Tom Gulitti:
The start of the NHL season is more than two months away, but it felt like it was right around the corner at Braemar Arena on Thursday.
Fans filled the rink for an evening of three 4-on-4 games in the inaugural season of Da Beauty League. Even with some players unavailable to play because of other commitments, the league's six teams featured 75 players from 16 NHL organizations, 14 minor league teams and seven NCAA teams. All of them are either from Minnesota or spend their summers there.
"It's funny to think it took this long to get something like this going with the amount of players that come back here," said New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh, who scored two goals to help Team Tradition rally for a 6-5 shootout win against RBC Wealth Management. "With the pros and colleges in the area and just the number of players who train here, it's been a great thing. I think all of us players didn't realize how big it was going to be and how many kids are having a blast just watching us."
Da Beauty League plays three games (two halves of 25 running minutes) a night here on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The competition concludes with the championship game on Aug. 10.
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