NHL All-Star Skills Competition: Preview & Predictions
By Ryan Ritchie
NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday Night
NHL All-Star Skills Competition will take place on Saturday night in Nashville. There’s a lot of buzz around this year’s All-Star weekend, largely focused around John Scott. The NHL “honored fan voting” to include him, even though it was a select group of people abusing the voting process.
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Fans are about to get what they deserve with this embarrassment. The league itself will get it even worse, followed by fans taking it on the chin once again after all is said and done.
You know there’s something wrong with the All-Star weekend when Gordie Howe leads the NHL in All-Star appearances with 23, while Sidney Crosby has attended a whopping ONE All-Star game.
Being picked for this event used to be an honor, much like representing your country. The players nowadays simply don’t care, and it shows. The NHL had to make a rule that any player that misses the All-Star game, is forced to sit out the next regular season game. That screams red flags. If the NHL wants fans to get interested again, the responsibility falls first upon the players themselves. Getting the selection process right helps too.
NHL Fastest Skater
One of the few original events that still exists, with a few slight tweaks over the years. Technically, Mike Gartner is considered the fastest at a time of 13.510 seconds in 1993. But, it’s worth noting that Jonathan Drouin shattered that time at 13.103 in 2015 as part of the Young Stars. Carl Hagelin did the same on the 2012 Young Stars team with a time of 13.218.
As for actual NHL All-Stars, the closest to dethroning Gartner has been Sergei Fedorov (13.525 in 1994), Peter Bondra (13.610 in 1997), Scott Niedermayer (13.560 in 1998), and Sami Kapanen (13.649 in 2000).
2016 Entries:
Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins
Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche
Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers
Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets
Top 3 Predictions: (1) Erik Karlsson, (2) Dylan Larkin, (3) Matt Duchene
NHL Breakaway Challenge
First initiated in 2008, the Breakaway Challenge is one of the newest regular events at the All-Star competition. Alex Ovechkin won a clean sweep the first three years (2008-2011), with Patrick Kane winning in 2012, and Ryan Johansen in 2015 when it was re-introduced.
The same format as past years, players will compete against one another, followed by a social media fan vote to determine the winner following the event.
This one’s been hit or miss since it’s introduction, yielding some entertaining moves at times. For the most part, players tend to do something silly (i.e. using another player/or child as a puppet, or putting on goofy sunglasses and trying to shoot with the non-blade side of the stick.) This one is for the fans, but there’s little amusement in watching these players make as much a mockery of the breakaway challenge as they do the All-Star game in general.
2016 Entries:
Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets
Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals
P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens
James Neal, Nashville Predators
Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche
Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks
GOALIES
Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils
Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
Top 3 Predictions: (1) P.K. Subban, (2) James Neal, (3) Brent Burns
NHL Accuracy Shooting
Another classic from NHL All-Star Competitions, the rules have only slightly changed over the years. Instead of seeing who can hit all four targets in the least amount of shots, they now record the time it takes to hit all four targets. Let’s be honest though, they mid as well call this the Ray Bourque Accuracy Shooting contest (8-time winner/co-winner).
They began recording times in 2011. Daniel Sedin took the throne in 2011 at 7.3 seconds, Jamie Benn in 2012 at 10.204 seconds, and Patrick Kane in 2015 at 13.529 seconds.
2016 Entries (shooters only):
John Tavares, New York Islanders
Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks
Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks
Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
Top 3 Predictions: (1) Patrick Kane, (2) Jamie Benn, (3) Evgeni Malkin
NHL Skills Challenge Relay
Another new event introduced back in 2011. It’s a multi-skilled challenge that consists of one timers, passing, puck control relay, stick handling, and accuracy shooting.
via NHL.com,
This timed relay event – involving 14 skaters and two goalies from each team – will consist of four relays with five challenges each: One Timers, with three shooters and one passer per team; Passing, with one passer per team; Puck Control, with one skater per team; Stick-Handling, with one skater per team; and Goalie Goals, with one goalie per team.
Each skill must be completed before moving on to the next challenge with the exception of one timers, passing and goalie goals in which a maximum of forty-five seconds will be allocated. The goal is to finish all five challenges faster than the opponent.
Points Available: 3 – The team with the fastest time in each heat scores one point; the team with the fastest overall time scores one bonus point.
2016 Entries:
One-timer right shooters:
Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks
One-timer left shooters:
Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers
Leo Komarov, Toronto Maple Leafs
Ryan O’Reilly, Buffalo Sabres
Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
James Neal, Nashville Predators
Vladimir Tarasenko, St.Louis Blues
One-timer passers:
Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers
Jaromir Jagr, Florida Panthers
Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche
Mini-net passers:
Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals
Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals
Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
Puck control relay:
Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins
Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
Stick Handling:
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Goalie Goals:
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning
Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild
NHL Hardest Shot
The last of three original classic events that date back to the early days of All-Star competitions. NHL’s hardest shot competition is arguably the most popular event of the entire competition.
There’s interesting history behind this event. NHL great Al MacInnis is a seven time winner of the event, staking Ray Bourque-like claims to ownership. He never managed to top three-time winner Al Iafrate, who owned the NHL’s hardest shot at 105.2 mph until Zdeno Chara stole the event from both players in 2009. Shea Weber was just 0.3 mph from tying Chara’s mark in 2015.
Zdeno Chara – (2009) 105.4 mph, (2011) 105.9 mph, (2012) 108.8 mph (current record)
2016 Entries:
Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens
Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
John Scott, Montreal Canadiens
Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
Top 3 Predictions: (1) Shea Weber, (2) Steven Stamkos, (3) P.K. Subban
NHL Shootout Competition
Another new event that continues to see tweaks as the NHL attempts to find what works best. It’s a simple shootout, nothing special.
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via NHL.com,
18 skaters and three goaltenders from each team will participate in the three-round shootout. During each two-minute round, six skaters and one goalie from each team will take the ice. Teams will alternate after each shot with each player having a maximum of 10 seconds to take a shot. Players one and three from each team will be designated Discover puck players, each goal scored by these players will count as two points. NHL shootout rules apply to each scoring attempt.
Shooutout Round 1:
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jaromir Jagr, Florida Panthers
P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens
Ryan O’Reilly, Buffalo Sabres
Leo Komarov, Toronto Maple Leafs
Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche
Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks
Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
Vladimir Tarasenko, St.Louis Blues
Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers
Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild
Shootout Round 2:
Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals
Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers
Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes
Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks
Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers
Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
James Neal, Nashville Predators
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
Shootout Round 3:
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
John Tavares, New York Islanders
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets
John Scott, Montreal Canadiens
Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils
Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
Next: John Scott Will Be an All-Star
Which event are you most looking forward to at this year’s NHL All-Star Skills Competition? Give us your predictions below. How will John Scott do in the hardest shot? Does the 260lbs Dustin Byfuglien have the wheels to surprise us in the fastest skater? Are you excited to see any particular player do a certain event? Any disappoint of a particular player’s exclusion from a certain event? Are you even planning on watching the NHL All-Star Skills Competition or Game this year?