A native Canadian and alumnus of the University of Ottawa, Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek made a surprise appearance at the 2020 NHL Draft to announce the first pick by the Ottawa Senators. Not only did Trebek make the pick, he delivered it in proper Jeopardy! style. The clip begins like a regular start to the Jeopardy! game with Trebek introducing the category of “NHL,” he the reveals the clue of “With the 3rd pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, the Ottawa Senators choose this player.” The correct response of course was “Who is Tim Stützle?” You can watch the clip for yourself in the player below.
A native of Viersen, Germany, Stützle comes to the NHL from Germany’s Adler Mannheim in the Deutsche Eishockey. In a statement, Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said: “We are thrilled to welcome Tim to the Senators, to Ottawa and to the National Hockey League. Tim’s acquisition represents yet another core piece in our quest to build momentum towards icing a consistent, elite-level team.”
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In a previous interview with NHL.com back in 2009, Trebek opened up about his love for hockey as a young boy, revealing he was a fan of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1950s, particularly because of star player Gordie Howe. “When Gordie left Detroit, my allegiances switched to the Montreal Canadiens,” Trebek said. “I didn’t have anybody to cheer for here and when he fully retired, I thought if I’m going to cheer for a team, I’ll cheer for Montreal. … It’s a pretty good team to cheer for.” Seems like his allegiance might have changed once again!
Who is Tim Stützle? #NHLDraft #Jeopardy pic.twitter.com/KfYKyEcqMj
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 6, 2020
Production on the new season of Jeopardy! began earlier this year with some modifications to the set to maintain social distancing and keep things safe for the contestants and Trebek. The set now includes a “split-level stage that now allows for more space between the three contestant lecterns which – along with Alex’s lectern – have all been newly redesigned.”
“I feel good, and I feel excited because once again Jeopardy! has demonstrated that it’s at the forefront of television programming,” Trebek said in a statement. “On a personal level, I’m excited because it gets me out of the house. It gives me something to do on a regular basis, and I was missing that.”
The new season will also see 74-time champion and recently crowned Jeopardy! G.O.A.T. Ken Jennings joining the show as a consulting producer, working on “various projects” and presenting special clues and categories for the series.
“Though I’ve played my last round of Jeopardy! as a contestant, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to remain involved with my favorite show,” Jennings said. “I’m still in on all the action, but I don’t have to worry about phrasing things in the form of a question anymore.”
New episodes of Jeopardy! are now airing.
(Cover photo by Eric McCandless via Getty Images)
