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Weplay.com Partners With Four Of The NHL's Rising Hockey Stars

Tuesday 16 June 2009

(NEW YORK – June 16, 2009) — Weplay.com, the home for youth sports, has finalized agreements with four of the NHL’s rising hockey stars as equity partners and spokespeople.
   
The 2008 NHL Rookie of the Year and Chicago Blackhawks All-Star Patrick Kane; first overall draft pick and St. Louis Blues defensive star Erik Johnson; Chicago Blackhawks All-Star and the third youngest captain in NHL history Jonathan Toews; and L.A. Kings All-Star Anze Kopitar join LeBron James, Peyton Manning and Derek Jeter as the faces of Weplay.  Weplay’s newest athletes will immerse themselves in a variety of Weplay.com activities that will include sharing their favorite Skills & Drills with youth athletes, posting content to the Weplay youth hockey community (http://www.weplay.com/youth-hockey) and uploading original videos to their profiles, where they can have exclusive online conversations with Weplay members.

“Some of the biggest superstars from the major U.S. team sports have now partnered with Weplay.com,” Steve Hansen, Weplay.com’s chief executive officer said. “Patrick, Jonathan, Erik and Anze each grew up and honed their talents through youth hockey organizations, with Patrick and Erik developing through USA Hockey in particular, and we couldn’t be more excited to be helping them give back to youth sports in an authentic way.”    
   
Weplay.com offers the millions of children, coaches and parents involved in youth sports worldwide the opportunity to connect, create, share and stay organized.  Using the latest Internet technologies, users can create profiles; team sites and fan clubs; play games; "friend" pros like LeBron James, Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning; and connect with teammates. In addition, parents and coaches can use Weplay to organize their sports schedules, share pictures and videos, and communicate information such as practice dates and changes more effectively. Weplay.com is fully customizable to the needs of each member and encourages children online to act and achieve offline.
 
More about the players
Erik Johnson (http://www.weplay.com/users/ErikJohnson) – Drafted first overall by the St. Louis Blues in 2006 after playing for the National Team Development Program, Johnson is one of the NHL’s best Defensemen.  With an array of awards that include two IIHF World U18 Championships, the 2006 Bob Johnson Award for Best American Player, and the 2007 IIHF World U20 Championship Best Defenseman Directorate Award, Johnson was also an All Star Team elect, played for the WCHA All-Rookie team, and was selected to play in the 2007/2008 NHL Youngstars Game. 

Patrick Kane (http://www.weplay.com/users/PatrickKane) – The 20-year-old Right Winger for the Chicago Blackhawks was drafted first overall in the 2007 Draft.  Kane had a breakout rookie season and was named the NHL Rookie of the Month in October and later received the coveted Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s Rookie of the Year. 

Anze Kopitar (http://www.weplay.com/users/AnzeKopitar) – This 21-year-old Center was drafted 11th overall in the 2005 Draft by the LA Kings and has already made history as the first Slovenian to ever play in the NHL.  A natural born leader, Kopitar has made an impact on the hockey world at large, playing for his home country in Slovenia, moving to Sweden to develop his game as an adolescent, coming to North America to play in the Canadian Major Junior Leagues, and finally making it to the United States to play for the NHL.  Kopitar had an incredible start to his NHL career, scoring two goals in his debut game against the Anaheim Ducks, ultimately finishing his rookie season as the number three rookie scorer in the league.  Due to his success, this youngster was selected to play in the 56th NHL All-Star Game in 2007. 

Jonathan Toews (http://www.weplay.com/users/JonathanToews) – The 21-year-old Chicago Blackhawks Center is the third youngest team captain in the history of the NHL, named captain at 20-years-old.  He quickly rose to leadership status, after being named an Alternate Captain in his rookie season.  Toews was elected to the starting line-up in the 2009 NHL All-Star game and has led his team to an extended season in the playoffs, taking the Blackhawks to the Conference Finals.

About Weplay.com
Weplay.com (http://www.weplay.com) is the ultimate destination for the youth sports community. Its mission is to enable and enhance the joy of sports for kids, families, coaches and fans both online and on the field. On Weplay, parents, coaches and kids can set up team sites, create profiles, view comprehensive libraries of Skills and Drills, get answers to their questions and connect to the larger sports community. Weplay.com’s partners include CAA Sports, a division of Creative Artists Agency; Major League Baseball Advanced Media; FirstMark Capital; and iconic athletes Derek Jeter, LeBron James, Peyton Manning, Tony Parker, Shaun Alexander, Ryan Howard, Jennie Finch, Brandi Chastain, Summer Sanders and Sheryl Swoopes.

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