• by Tanya Gazdik , December 11, 2016

The National Hockey League and the Los Angeles Kings are planning for an NHL Centennial-themed float to debut in the 128th Rose Parade.

The parade, presented by Honda, is planned for Jan. 2 in Pasadena and will include 40 floats. This is the NHL’s first time participating in the parade, according to a spokesperson. Since 2011, the NHL has had an NHL-Discover co-branded float in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.

NBC’s broadcast of the parade will lead into its live coverage of the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic outdoor game between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks.

Titled “A Century of Greatness (1917-2017),” the float helps kick off the official launch of the NHL’s year-long Centennial festivities, which begins on New Year’s Day. 

The NHL and the Kings — who will host the 2017 NHL All-Star Weekend at Staples Center as a highlight of their 50^th anniversary season — also announced last night that Kings President of Business Operations Luc Robitaille, longtime Kings broadcaster Bob Miller and team mascot Bailey will ride aboard the NHL Centennial float in the parade. The trio will be flanked by youth hockey players, including members of the Junior Kings program, wearing jerseys for all 30 NHL clubs. 

The float features a floral 55-foot long hockey rink with dual goal nets and lamps. From the front of the float to the back, the official logos of 30 NHL teams are detailed with flowers and floral material and represented in alphabetical order at the base of the floral gardens. 

The official NHL Centennial logo stands at mid float, covered in flowers, with the NHL Shield. The floral rink includes two NHL face-off circles, two 2017 NHL All-Star Game logos nestled in a floral garden, four oversized pucks and a base of oversized silver hockey sticks.