When the Buffalo Sabres host the Pittsburgh Penguins in front of more than 70,000 at Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium and millions more on television in the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day (1 p.m., ET, NBC, CBC, RDS, NHL Radio), a number of current NHL players will follow the action with first-hand experience playing in large-scale outdoor hockey games.

A total of 47 players on 22 NHL clubs suited up for the three previous contests: the 2003 Heritage Classic between the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, the NHL's first outdoor game; the 2001 Michigan-Michigan State 'Cold War' at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan; and the 2006 Wisconsin-Ohio State 'Frozen Tundra Classic' at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller and Penguins forward Adam Hall, who were Michigan State teammates in 2001, will be on opposing sides this time.

"The crowd is the biggest thing that I remember," Miller said Monday as both participated in a media conference call. "Being a young hockey player, walking out there, it was pretty overwhelming to have 75,000 people going crazy."

"I just remember the crowd noise, just the sheer number of people,” Hall said. “There's nothing quite like it."

Outdoor game alumni elsewhere in the League include Atlanta Thrashers forward Jim Slater, whose last-minute goal lifted Michigan State to a 3-3 tie and denied victory to their bitter rivals from the University of Michigan; the Los Angeles Kings' top scorer last season, Mike Cammalleri, who tallied a pair of goals for Michigan; Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jose Theodore, whose improvisational hat atop his goaltender mask while braving sub-zero temperatures in the Canadiens' net was the defining image of the Heritage Classic; and Philadelphia Flyers captain Jason Smith, who served in the same capacity for the Oilers in that game.

The Chicago Blackhawks will be more than 2,500 miles away in Los Angeles to face the Kings on Jan. 1, but the Winter Classic will be of particular interest to many of their players. Veteran center Yanic Perreault scored two goals in the 2003 Heritage Classic with Montreal, defenseman Duncan Keith appeared for Michigan State in 2001, rookies Adam Burish and Jake Dowell skated for the University of Wisconsin in 2006 and NHL rookie scoring leader Patrick Kane was born and raised in Buffalo.

The Florida Panthers have an off-day on Jan. 1, which will give forward Richard Zednik a chance to watch the game and recall his two-goal performance in the Heritage Classic. Zednik tallied the game-opening and game-winning goals for the Canadiens in their 4-3 victory over the Oilers, whose lineup included current Panthers teammate Radek Dvorak.

Following is a club-by-club list of players in previous outdoor games: 

Player	Current NHL Club	Outdoor Game Participation
Jim Slater	Atlanta Thrashers	Michigan State, 2001 'Cold War' vs. Michigan
Ryan Miller	Buffalo Sabres	Michigan State, 2001 'Cold War' vs. Michigan
Eric Nystrom	Calgary Flames	Univ. of Michigan, 2001 'Cold War' vs. Michigan State
David Moss	Calgary Flames	Univ. of Michigan, 2001 'Cold War' vs. Michigan State
Duncan Keith	Chicago Blackhawks	Michigan State, 2001 'Cold War' vs. Michigan
Adam Burish	Chicago Blackhawks	Univ. of Wisconsin, 2006 'Frozen Tundra Classic' vs. Ohio St.
Jake Dowell	Chicago Blackhawks	Univ. of Wisconsin, 2006 'Frozen Tundra Classic' vs. Ohio St.
Yanic Perreault	Chicago Blackhawks	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
John-Michael Liles	Colorado Avalanche	Michigan State, 2001 'Cold War' vs. Michigan
Ryan Smyth	Colorado Avalanche	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Jose Theodore	Colorado Avalanche	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Jason Chimera	Columbus Blue Jackets	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Mike Ribeiro	Dallas Stars	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Tom Gilbert	Edmonton Oilers	Univ. of Wisconsin, 2006 'Frozen Tundra Classic' vs. Ohio St.
Steve Staios	Edmonton Oilers	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Shawn Horcoff	Edmonton Oilers	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Raffi Torres	Edmonton Oilers	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Ethan Moreau	Edmonton Oilers	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Fernando Pisani	Edmonton Oilers	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Jarret Stoll	Edmonton Oilers	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Ales Hemsky	Edmonton Oilers	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Mathieu Garon	Edmonton Oilers	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Sheldon Souray	Edmonton Oilers	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Radek Dvorak	Florida Panthers	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Richard Zednik	Florida Panthers	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Mike Cammalleri	Los Angeles Kings	Univ. of Michigan, 2001 'Cold War' vs. Michigan State
Mike Komisarek	Montreal Canadiens	Univ. of Michigan, 2001 'Cold War' vs. Michigan State
Patrice Brisebois	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Francis Bouillon	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Andrei Markov	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Saku Koivu	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Steve Begin	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Michael Ryder	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Jed Ortmeyer	Nashville Predators	Univ. of Michigan, 2001 'Cold War' vs. Michigan State
Rod Pelley	New Jersey Devils	Ohio State, 2006 'Frozen Tundra Classic' vs. Wisconsin
Marc-Andre Bergeron	New York Islanders	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Steve Valiquette	New York Rangers	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Jason Smith	Philadelphia Flyers	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Mike York	Phoenix Coyotes	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Adam Hall	Pittsburgh Penguins	Michigan State, 2001 'Cold War' vs. Michigan
Ty Conklin	Pittsburgh Penguins	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Georges Laraque	Pittsburgh Penguins	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Joe Pavelski	San Jose Sharks	Univ. of Wisconsin, 2006 'Frozen Tundra Classic' vs. Ohio St.
Craig Rivet	San Jose Sharks	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Eric Brewer	St. Louis Blues	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal
Chad Kilger	Toronto Maple Leafs	Montreal Canadiens, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Edmonton
Brad Isbister	Vancouver Canucks	Edmonton Oilers, 2003 'NHL Heritage Classic' vs. Montreal