Kenan Thompson's career is coming full circle.
After getting his start in "The Mighty Ducks" before eventually becoming a "Saturday Night Live" sensation, the actor-comedian will host the 2019 NHL Awards at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas this summer, the league announced Wednesday.
Emmy Award-winning actor Kenan Thompson will host the 2019 NHL Awards presented by Bridgestone from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on June 19 https://t.co/0tmffg2h4x
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) May 8, 2019
"My first movie role was in 'D2: The Mighty Ducks' so my connection to hockey dates back to my childhood," Thompson said in a statement. "I have a great deal of admiration for hockey players and the NHL, so I'm excited to be a part of the 2019 NHL Awards show and its celebration of the year's best performances."
To '90s kids, Thompson is most widely known for his roles on Nickelodeon's all-kid sketch comedy series, "All That," and the show's spinoff, "Kenan and Kel." The 40-year-old Emmy Award-winner, who previously served as grand marshal at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Feb. 2018, is now in his record 16th season as a cast member of "SNL" on NBC.
"We are thrilled to have Kenan as the host of the 2019 NHL Awards presented by Bridgestone," NHL chief content officer and executive vice president Steve Mayer said. "Twenty-five years after making his big screen debut in a hockey movie, we are psyched that he will return to his roots to host this year's event."
The event will be broadcast live on NBCSN and Sportsnet on June 19 at 8 p.m. ET.
NHL Awards finalists
— Selke Trophy (Patrice Bergeron, Ryan O'Reilly, Mark Stone)
— Lady Byng Trophy (Ryan O'Reilly, Aleksander Barkov, Sean Monahan)
— Masterson Trophy (Nick Foligno, Robin Lehner, Joe Thornton)
— Vezina Trophy (Ben Bishop, Andrei Vailevskiy, Robin Lehner)
— Norris Trophy (Mark Giordano, Brent Burns, Victor Hedman)
— King Clancy Memorial Trophy (Henrik Lundqvist, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jason Zucker)
— Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award (Mark Giordano, Wayne Simmonds, Justin Williams)
— Ted Lindsay Award (Patrick Kane, Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid)
— Jack Adams Award (Craig Berube, Jon Cooper, Barry Trotz)
— Calder Trophy (Jordan Binnington, Elias Petterson, Rasmus Dahlin)
— Hart Trophy (Sidney Crosby, Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid)