As top draft choice for the fourth annual EDPA Hockey Extravaganza, Corey Johnson isn’t expecting much of a signing bonus and he’s still negotiating a long-term contract to play for the East squad. He’s aiming for a few incentives, like free beer.
Johnson is comfortably at home on the ice, having played hockey while growing up in Waseca, Minn., but in all reality, he understands that being the No. 1 draft pick was simply luck of the draw. Players were chosen at random in a livestream draft.
The EDPA Hockey Extravaganza takes place Wednesday, May 20, at City National Arena in Las Vegas, practice facility for the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. It starts at 5 p.m. with a public skating session and mingling over pizza and beverages. The puck drops at 8 p.m., with the Eddie Cup on the line. The East leads the series, 2-1.
The event benefits the Experiential Design and Producers Association, and was organized in 2023 by chapter leaders Bill Hinchliff, Angie Johnson and Gayle Wright.
Corey Johnson, Angie’s husband, is playing in his first EDPA Hockey Extravaganza. At center and left wing forward, he’s got speed and good hand-eye coordination, being a left-handed shooter. He was recruited to play in hockey leagues when he moved to Las Vegas.
“I got my first pair of hockey skates at eight years old,” says Johnson, outbound specialist in the warehouse for Steelhead Productions. “Pickup games were played on outdoor hockey rinks and when the ice was not frozen outside, you would find us taking over the local tennis courts to play pickup roller hockey games in the summer.”
On the West side is Sean Clarke, founder and chief executive officer of CVS Studios, headquartered in Toronto with offices in Orlando, Fla., and Las Vegas. He scored last year in his fourth EDPA hockey game.
Clarke played junior hockey in Canada and comes from a hockey family; his brother played professionally in Sweden. He’s got pictures of himself as a 2-year-old in “cheese cutters,” two parallel blades that were attached to each of a child’s boots. “Walking and skating for me kind of happened about the same time,” he says.
At age 63, Clarke still plays a couple times a week with his old junior hockey buddies in Toronto.
“When I can’t play hockey, you can take me out behind the barn and put me out of my misery,” he says on the phone from Toronto. “I used to play center and forward, but I’ve got a couple of minor injuries, so I’m going to play defense. It’s a little more laid-back in a game like this.”
Clarke boards the plane from Toronto to Las Vegas with great alacrity, hauling his equipment for a single hockey game.
“I know it’s for a good cause, and that makes it special,” he describes of the event benefitting EDPA members in need. “The guys I work with, I see at association meetings, I talk business with, and then you get to play with them. That’s special. It speaks a lot to the industry. I just love being a part of it.”
Paul Kahler, a recruit from Hinchliff’s IPME company, has been a dominant force in the game, scoring two goals for the West in last year’s victory. “I think it’s cool,” Kahler says about the EDPA event. “Hockey’s such a neat sport. People come out and they just want to play.”
Clarke is certainly happy to have Kahler on his side. “He’s a young guy and he’s a pain in the ass because he’s young and he’s in great shape. I think he’s a surfer.”
Other impact players from past EDPA games include Matt Farrell, Ryan Land, Cameron Marino and Norm Friedrich. The teams feature opposite husband-and-wife pairings of Angie and Corey Johnson, and Cindy and Bill Hinchliff.
Corey Johnson sees the EDPA Hockey Extravaganza as a unique tradeshow industry event, not only for players, but for spectators as well.
“The fans come out in support of their favorite team and players and the energy is electric,” he says. “The interest in this event has grown tremendously since the first year and only looks to be getting bigger.”
For registration information, visit https://www.edpalv.com/hockey-extravaganza.
