



TEAM'S SUPERHERO CHARACTER IMAGE AND DETAILS UNCOVERED

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (January 13, 2011) – The San Jose Sharks-Phoenix Coyotes rivalry continued online in the Guardian 30 Match-Up Facebook challenge, with Sharks fans casting the most votes to meet their team’s new superhero character, The Shark. The full unveiling of all 30 Guardian superhero characters within the Guardian Project will be held in a special presentation during the 2011 NHL® All-Star Game presented by Discover in Raleigh, N.C. on Sunday, January 30 (4 p.m. ET live broadcast on VERSUS in the U.S. and on CBC and RDS in Canada).The Shark is a contrarian. Normally he exhibits a low-key almost passive nature choosing to avoid conflict. Of all the Guardians, he is the least likely to be the lightning rod for any particular mission or cause. However, the Shark can change his demeanor at a moment’s notice and exhibit a more tenacious side. At these moments he cares only about his objective. Since San Jose is the capital of Silicon Valley, the Shark is the Guardian’s resident computer “geek” and a technopath who can mentally interface with any type of computer data or software. The Shark is a massive humanoid looking character with the sleek skin of a Great White, the head of a shark complete with rows of jagged teeth and like actual sharks, poor eyesight (in fact he’s almost blind). As a result, his other senses, especially smell and touch, have been heightened to superhuman levels.“We are very excited about the introduction of ‘The Shark’ as part of the NHL Guardians project,” said Sharks EVP Business Operations Malcolm Bordelon. “While a Shark is an obvious and perfect choice of a superhero to represent our team, Stan Lee and company have given him some unique characteristics to render him more intriguing and formidable. Along with our fans, we look forward to seeing him come to life later this month during the NHL All-Star Game.”“In the original concept, The Shark didn’t have the head of a shark because it seemed too obvious,” said Tony Chargin, EVP of GME Creative Affairs. “Turns out the most obvious choices are that way for a reason. Since Silicon Valley is the birthplace of computer technology, it just made sense for the Guardian to be the resident computer hacker.”With the highly anticipated unveiling of the 30 individual Guardians within the Guardian Project, the Guardian 30 Match-Up is a Facebook application that enables fans to determine the order in which each team’s Guardian will be unveiled. Launched on December 20, hockey fans determine which team wins each match-up, with team superhero character revealed daily.Created and developed by Stan Lee, Chargin, and Jake Shapiro, each Guardian has been derived from its corresponding NHL team, complete with special powers representative of each team and city.With an initial plan to reach an all-family audience and narrower target demo of tween boys, GME hopes to bring a new audience to the NHL, while engaging the existing, established hockey fan base through a compelling tale of good vs. evil.Fans can continue to vote for their favorites and learn about the Guardian Project and the individual Guardians, as they’re unveiled, at www.guardianproject30.com and by going to www.facebook.com/theguardianproject Guardian Media Entertainment (GME) is a partnership between the National Hockey League (NHL) and SLG Entertainment, LLC, led by Stan Lee (Chairman, POW! Entertainment, LLC).GME will serve as the company responsible for the creation, development and exploitation of The Guardian Project. The executive team includes Howard Baldwin, Chairman, Mark Terry, Chief Operating Officer; Adam Baratta, Chief Creative Officer; Tony Chargin, Executive Vice President of Creative Affairs; Aldo LaPietra, Executive Vice President, Production & Business Development; and Jennifer Sprague, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications.The National Hockey League, founded in 1917, is the second oldest of the four major professional team sports leagues in North America. Today, the NHL consists of 30 Member Clubs, each reflecting the League’s international makeup, with players from more than 20 countries represented on team rosters. According to a Simmons Market Research study, NHL fans are younger, more educated, more affluent, and access content through digital means more than any other sport. The NHL entertains more than 250 million fans each season in-arena and through its partners in national television (VERSUS, NBC, TSN, CBC, RDS, RIS, NASN, ASN and NHL Network™) and radio (NHL Radio™, Sirius XM Radio and XM Canada). Through the NHL Foundation, the League’s charitable arm, the NHL raises money and awareness for Hockey Fights Cancer™ and NHL Youth Development, and supports the charitable efforts of NHL players. For more information on the NHL, log on to NHL.com.Stan Lee, Founder, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of POW! Entertainment, LLC Stan Lee's famous co-creations include Spider-Man®, The Incredible Hulk®, X-Men®, The Fantastic Four® and Iron Man® among many others. Lee, known to millions as the man whose Super Heroes propelled Marvel® Comics to its preeminent position in the comic book industry, first became publisher of Marvel® Comics in 1972 and is presently the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel® Enterprises, Inc.Formed in 2008, SLG Entertainment, LLC is a company whose vision is to merge the worlds of entertainment and sports by creating, developing and exploiting original superhero content derived from the intellectual property owned or controlled by professional and amateur sports organizations. Its owners include Stan Lee and POW! Entertainment, award-winning producer Adam Baratta, Aldo LaPietra, Mark Terry, co-creators Tony Chargin and Jake Shapiro, and Academy Award nominated producer and former owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Howard Baldwin.POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment, LLC, an advanced media and entertainment company, was founded by world famous comic book and motion picture icon Stan Lee, together with award winning producer Gill Champion and intellectual property specialist Arthur Lieberman, Esq. POW! Entertainment’s principals have extensive backgrounds in the entertainment industry encompassing the creation, production and licensing of original intellectual properties including some of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time. POW! Entertainment, capitalizing on this combined expertise specializes in franchises for the entertainment industry, including animation and live-action feature films, plus television, DVDs, video games, merchandising, and related ancillary markets all of which contribute to global expansion.