The NHL All-Star Game skills competition will be held on Friday Feb. 3, 2023 before the All-Star Game.

This years’ All-Star skills competition will feature some of the typical events such as:

Fastest Skater- Which requires four players to skate a loop around the ice to determine which two players will move on to the final round. Then, the two players compete to see who is the fastest skater in the NHL. Last years’ winner was the St. Louis Blues’ Jordan Kyrou. Kyrou unexpectedly beat out Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid who had won the event three times prior. 

NHL Hardest Shot- Which requires four players to shoot the puck as hard as possible. Last year, Tampa Bay Lightning’s Victor Hedman took the title with 103.2 mph slapshot.

NHL Breakaway Challenge- Which requires four players and two goalies to compete in a trick-shot showdown. Competitors are rated on a 1-10 scale based on their creativity. Last year’s breakaway challenge winner was the Vegas Golden Knights’ Alex Pietrangelo.

NHL Accuracy Shooting- Four destructible targets are attached to the corners of the goal posts, and players and their passers work together to destroy all of the targets. The Carolina Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho came out on top in last year’s competition. Aho hit all four targets in 10.937 seconds. 

New this year are events such as:

Pitch n Puck- Similar to last year’s Fountain Faceoff event, players will be required to utilize a combination of hockey and golf shots to complete a par-four course.

Tendy Tandem- Similar to last year’s Save Streak, two goalies from each division will be the designated shooting goalie or in-net-goalie. The shooting goalie will attempt to earn points by either shooting the puck into the hole or one of the in-net targets. Then, the in-net-goalie will face 1-3 players depending on how many points were earned by their tandem shooting goalie.

Splash Shot- Two players from each division will attempt to hit all of the targets before they can dunk their opponents in a dunk tank.

All in all, this year’s All-Star Skills Competition should make for an exciting night of hockey. The All-Star Game will be played Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.

Sources:

Walsh, Erin. “NHL All-Star Skills Competition 2022: Results, Winners, Highlights and Reaction.” Bleacher Report, Bleacher Report, 5 Feb. 2022, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10025930-nhl-all-star-skills-competition-2022-results-winners-highlights-and-reaction.

Wyshynski, Greg. “NHL All-Star Skills Adds Dunk Tank, Golf Event to Competitions.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 24 Jan. 2023, https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/35519065/nhl-all-star-skills-adds-dunk-tank-golf-event.