Move Over Connor McDavid: These Adorable Rescue Dogs Will Take the Ice for the First-Ever Stanley Pup!

Sixteen puppies — from Alex Ofetchkin to Nathan MacKibble — will face-off during the game, which showcases adoptable dogs ahead of the Stanley Cup Final

• The NHL is hosting the inaugural Stanley Pup to celebrate the upcoming Stanley Cup Final

• The adorable event will premiere on NHL Network and ESPN+ on Friday, June 7

• For the Stanley Pup game the teams will be made up of adoptable puppy players

It’s time to lace up those paws and watch out for ruff-ing calls, because 16 adorable, adoptable puppies are about to take the ice for the first-ever Stanley Pup competition!

Ahead of the NHL's Stanley Cup Final, the league is putting on a 90-minute competition in the rink to showcase just a few of the rescue puppies in need of homes across North America. 

Each of the 16 teams that made the 2024 NHL playoffs will be represented by a pup, from the Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Chews to the Washington Capitals’ Alex Ofetchkin. The two Stanley Cup Final teams — the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers — have their puppy versions of their star athletes: Connor McDoodle and Sergei Bobruffsky. 

The other teams in the league will get their own doggy representatives, too, most of whom will be available for adoption through a shelter or rescue group in partnership with Petco Love. 

Related: ‘Keeper of the Cup’ Howie Borrow Reveals the Drinks, Foods—and Babies!—That Have Been in the Stanley Cup (Exclusive)

Steve Mayer, NHL's Chief Content Officer, tells PEOPLE that the NHL was inspired by Animal Planet's popular Puppy Bowl to "celebrate our Stanley Cup Playoffs in another unique way and do something that would be rewarding."

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The idea for a professional hockey version of the famous canine competition had been floating around the NHL offices for a few years, but it all came together thanks to producer Michael Levitt. Levitt is a longtime Hollywood producer who left the celebrity world to spend a year as a dog rescuer. When Levitt returned to TV production, he wanted to focus on rescue dogs, so he created the American Rescue Dog Show and then pitched the Stanley Pup idea to the NHL. 

Related: Matthew Tkachuk on the Stanley Cup and Becoming the Face of the NHL: ‘I’m Just Being Myself’ (Exclusive)

"I could feel that we were aligned in our passion to help animals and to help shelter dogs," Levitt tells PEOPLE. "This whole experience has been just an incredible labor of love, working with the NHL and players who are also supporting this."

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Players including Kyle Burroughs from the San Jose Sharks, Anze Kopitar of the LA Kings, Nick Suzuki on the Montreal Canadiens, and Trevor van Riemsdyk and Tom Wilson from Washington Capitals, along with several more, will make appearances, along with celebrity dog lovers Kristin Chenoweth, Mickey Guyton, Miranda Lambert, Heather McMahan, Lisa Vanderpump and Trisha Yearwood. 

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With the help of plenty of "peanut butter and treats," Levitt says, plus a few "ruff-rees," as Mayer calls them, the 16 pups will compete on teams during the game. They'll also cut to adoption segments throughout "where players in each NHL city will showcase an available dog in those communities that people can go online, get more information about, and adopt through Petco Love," Levitt explains. 

"And then, of course, hilarity will ensue," he says. "How can it not with these gorgeous dogs doing their thing and trying to play hockey?"

Levitt, Mayer, and the team at Petco Love are thrilled to "give them a second chance," Levitt says, by showcasing the puppies and directing NHL fans to shelters and rescue organizations. 

"While we are celebrating puppies, we're also celebrating all rescue dogs and shelters because there are so many seniors and special needs dogs and dogs that are incredible. And puppies may not be for everybody — they are a lot of work," Levitt says. "And so we're hoping through our messaging that we can encourage people to consider all kinds of dogs when they're going to adopt their next family member."

"Isn't it amazing to know that we are going to find all these puppies a home?" Mayer adds. "That's when you realize you are doing something that makes a difference."

Stanley Pup will premiere on NHL Network and ESPN+ on Friday, June 7, at 8 p.m. ET.

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