Let Them Eat Cake

The NHL has celebrated many birthdays over the years, and there's always a major celebration for big anniversary years. There have been cakes at a number of the events that help to kick off the festivities surrounding these events, but rarely do we ever see a cake being made for a player or personality in the NHL. And very rarely do we see a genius of the cake world step to the forefront of this effort. Tomorrow, however, we'll get to see the NHL and the Cake Boss cross paths as TLC brings us a very special episode of Cake Boss where Buddy and his team are asked to make a cake for the 2013 National Hockey League Draft!

I was actually a little surprised that Cake Boss is showing this episode now instead of back in the summer when it was actually filmed. While I know that the episodes are prerecorded, this episode may feel a little dated. The 2013 NHL Entry Draft took place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on June 30, 2013, so this episode is seven months old! However, I won't hold that against Buddy Valastro. That's a TLC thing, and you know my view of their "reality programming". The Learning Channel? Hardly.

Back to the episode, though, as it appears Buddy and the Carlo's Bakery gang are in Newark for the NHL Entry Draft. Buddy and the crew hit the ice to skate alongside then-potential first-overall pick Nathan MacKinnon as they try to match skills on the ice with the young star! After having a little fun on the ice, they head to the bakery to do some icing as they work to prepare a life-size goalie cake! The guys get everything prepared, but they run into trouble with the delivery truck! Will the cake get to the event? Will it make it to the Prudential Center without any marks or flaws?

In a rather cool segment, Buddy is asked by TSN Sportscaster James Duthie to make a special treat for his hockey insider Darren Dreger with a twist: because Dreger is a prankster, Duthie wants the same from the cake being made for Dreger! There are lots of pranks that can go into a cake, but Duthie wants something impressive to reflect Dreger's renowned pranking abilities. What prank will Buddy and Duthie pull off? Gotta tune in to find out!

In doing some research for this piece, I was actually quite surprised to find out that Buddy Valastro and his bakery have crossed paths with the NHL as often as they have. I know Buddy and his shop are based in Hoboken, New Jersey, but they've actually done a number of videos with the NHL to show their involvement. Let's take a look at a few of these.

Here's Buddy on the ice in Newark with some of the draftees.

Buddy shows how to decorate a cake to Ottawa's Paul MacLean and his daughter, Erin. Paul MacLean might have a fall-back job if he's every relieved of his coaching duties by the Senators!

CBC's Hockey Night in Canada celebrates its 60th anniversary with a Buddy-made cake! It's pretty awesome!

Islanders forward Michael Grabner visits the Cake Boss to pick up a cake for his son as Aiden celebrates his first birthday! And Buddy got himself a jersey!

And finally, we have that life-size goalie cake. It's cool!

If you want to see the effort that went into making this cake and check out the prank cake made for TSN personality Darren Dreger, tune in to Cake Boss tomorrow on TLC at 9pm ET (check your local listings)! This might be one of those times where fans can truly appreciate everything that happens during an "icing"!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!