Mario Lemieux, OC, CQ (/ˈmærioʊ ləˈmjuː/; French pronunciation: [maʁjo ləmjø]; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian American former professional ice hockey player and co-owner of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Pittsburgh Penguins and the American Hockey League's (AHL) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the best players of all time. He played 17 seasons as a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL between 1984 and 2006. A gifted playmaker and fast skater despite his large size, Lemieux often beat defensemen with fakes and dekes. He is currently the Penguins' principal owner and chairman of the board, having bought the team out of bankruptcy in 1999. He is the only person ever to win the Stanley Cup as both a player and an owner.

Lemieux led Pittsburgh to two Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992, won a Stanley Cup as a chairman in 2009 with the Penguins, led Canada to an Olympic gold medal in 2002, a championship at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, and a Canada Cup in 1987. He won three Hart Trophies as the NHL's most valuable player (MVP) during the regular season, six Art Ross Trophies as the league's leading scorer, and two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP. At the time of his retirement, he was the NHL's seventh-ranked all-time scorer with 690 goals and 1,033 assists. He ranks second in NHL history with a 0.754 goals-per game average for his career, behind only Islanders great Mike Bossy (0.762). In 2004, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.

Mario (マリオ, Mario^?) is a fictional character in the Mario video game franchise by Nintendo, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the eponymous protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation. Though originally only appearing in platform games, starting with Donkey Kong, Mario currently appears in varied video game genres such as racing, puzzle, party, role-playing, fighting, and sports.

Mario is depicted as a short, pudgy, Italian plumber who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom. He repeatedly rescues Princess Peach from the turtle-like villain Bowser and stops his numerous plans to destroy him and take over the kingdom. Mario also has other enemies and rivals, including Donkey Kong and Wario. Since 1995, he has been voiced by Charles Martinet.

As Nintendo's mascot, Mario is said to be the most famous character in video game history.Mario games, as a whole, have sold more than 210 million units, making the Mario franchise the best-selling video game franchise of all time. Outside of the Super Mario platform series, he has appeared in video games of other genres, including the Mario Kart racing series, sports games, such as the Mario Tennis and Mario Golf series, role-playing video games such as Paper Mario and Super Mario RPG, and educational games, such as Mario is Missing! and Mario's Time Machine. He has inspired television shows, film, comics, and a line of licensed merchandise.

Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC (/ˈɡrɛtski/; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "The Great One", he has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters, players, and the NHL itself. He is the leading point-scorer in NHL history, with more assists than any other player has points, and is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season – a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 40 regular-season records, 15 playoff records, and six All-Star records. In addition to being its greatest scorer, Gretzky was the most gentlemanly superstar in the modern history of the NHL. He won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and performance five times, and he often spoke out against fighting in hockey.

Sidney Patrick Crosby, ONS (born August 7, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Crosby was drafted first overall by the Penguins out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). During his two-year major junior career with the Rimouski Océanic, he earned back-to-back CHL Player of the Year awards and led his club to the 2005 Memorial Cup final. Nicknamed "The Next One", he was one of the most highly regarded draft picks in hockey history, leading many to refer to the 2005 Draft Lottery as the "Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes".

Kerry Fraser (born May 30, 1952 in Sarnia, Ontario) is a hockey analyst, spokesman for the CNIB, and former senior referee in the National Hockey League, having joined the National Hockey League Officials Association on September 1, 1973, and officiating his first game in the 1980–81 season. Kerry continues his involvement in the NHL community by participating in a TSN.ca blog named "C'Mon Ref!" where he applies his NHL referee experience to controversial calls in current NHL games. Fraser's father, Hilton "Hilt" Fraser, had him skating at 15 months old, chasing pucks at 11, and refereeing by age 15. At just 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) tall, Fraser says that his height contributed to his longevity in the league by forcing him to "develop techniques to ... avoid being hit" Fraser currently holds the record for most NHL regular season and playoff games refereed.

He has called over 1,900 regular season games and over 260 Stanley Cup playoff games since joining the league in 1980. Fraser also officiated the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, which was the first Olympic tournament to feature NHL participation.