At the 2022 NHL Draft, Kevin Owens made a cameo appearance and met former coach Bruce Boudreau, who previously named Owens as one of his favorite wrestlers.
Jackie Redmond, who also works with WWE, was also part of the broadcast and she was the one who set things up for Owens.
Speaking to Spencer Love of Love Wrestling, Owens reflected on the meeting.
“Bruce was awesome. It’s funny because years ago, I watched this - I forget what it was called, NHL 24/7 or something like that. That show where they follow the teams leading up to the Winter Classic. I used to play hockey when I was a kid. Then, once I started wrestling, I kind of gave up any other sports, right? I stopped playing [and] stopped watching," he said. "But, over the pandemic, I kind of got back into hockey a little bit. Like I said, I'd already watched that show. The season I watched was the season where they followed Bruce's team. So, I got to know Bruce through that lens, and I got a huge kick out of them. Just [a] great, really lovable guy. [I] really enjoyed him, you know. I liked them a lot already. Somehow, through the grapevine, through Twitter and stuff like that, I caught wind of him being a huge wrestling fan. He would say his favorite wrestlers were Bret Hart, and currently, Kevin Owens. I took that as a huge compliment. Through various little incidents where he'd mention wrestling and stuff like that, I could see the guy was a really big fan.”
Owens continued, "I was in touch with Jackie Redmond, who works with him through the NHL network and stuff like that. She also worked with WWE. Eventually, it just kind of worked out. I ended up at the Draft because it was in Montreal. I was there with my dad and my brother. I took them there to see it because they're huge hockey fans. As I was in my suite with my brother and my dad waiting for the whole thing to start, I saw Jackie on the floor doing our show, so I texted her. She's like, 'Oh my god, Bruce is here! We have to get you guys together!' I'm like, 'Yeah, let's do it!' It just kind of worked out that way! We surprised Bruce. His reaction was so cool. He and I have become friends, [and] we're in touch since then. We were actually texting just this morning. It's great - it's just great to have made a new friend who loves wrestling, and I love hockey. We talk about that stuff, and it's just really cool it just worked out that way."
Bruce made a cameo appearance in a WWE digital exclusive ahead of WWE Night of Champions, giving Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens advice. You can watch the segment by clicking here.
Elsewhere during the interview, Owens discussed not wrestling at WWE Elimination Chamber in Montreal. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
The 2023 NHL Draft is on Wednesday, June 28. Sheamus made an appearance at the NHL Awards on Monday as a presenter.
Thanks to Spencer Love for sending in quotes.
