2023 All-Star Skills Competition Open Thread

Feb 3, 2023 - 11:00 PM

The All-Star festivities kick off this evening at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida - and they’ll have a distinctly different, beachfront vibe to them.

When: Friday, February 3, 7:00 PM
Where: FLA Live Arena
How to Watch: ESPN, ESPN+, Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Players from each of the four divisions will take part in seven contests, consisting of four classics - Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Breakaway Challenge and Accuracy Shooting.

Joining those four, however, are three new South Florida specials (including two outdoors):

• Tendy Tandem: “Eight goaltenders will participate in this event, with one goalie from each division designated the shooting goalie and one the in-net goalie. The shooting goalies will earn points based on the accuracy of their shots at the net, and the in-net goalies will face rushes of three, two or one player(s), based on the number of points earned by the shooting goalie in their tandem.”
• Splash Shot: “Competition takes place on the beach in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The ocean spray, breeze and sand add to the challenge of this exceptional Skills event, as four pairs of players fire at targets to attempt to dunk their opponents.”
• Pitch ‘n Puck: “Using a combination of hockey and golf shots, four NHL All-Stars will play a par 4 featuring an island green. Lowest score wins.”

[Descriptions via NHL.com]

Alex Ovechkin will be participating in the Hardest Shot, an event he won the last time he attended the All-Star Game, and the Breakaway Challenge, delightfully teaming up with Sidney Crosby.

As has become a fabulous new tradition, some of the world’s best hockey players who just happen to be women will also be participating, with Alex Carpenter, Hilary Knight, Emily Clark, Rebecca Johnston and Sarah Nurse joining in the festivities. Also look for Roberto Luongo to step in and face the 8/87 duo.

Here are all of the participants by event:

Fastest Skater

• Kevin Fiala, LAK
• Dylan Larkin, DET
• Kirill Kaprizov, MIN
• Cale Makar, COL
• Chandler Stephenson, VGK
• Andrei Svechnikov, CAR

Breakaway Challenge

• Celebrity goaltender: Roberto Luongo
• Mitchell Marner, TOR
• Alex Ovechkin, WSH/Sidney Crosby, PIT (teaming up)
• David Pastrnak, BOS
• Matthew Tkachuk, FLA

Tendy Tandem

• Shooters: Alex Carpenter, Hilary Knight, Emily Clark, Rebecca Johnston, Sarah Nurse
• Connor Hellebuyck, WPG
• Juuse Saros, NSH
• Igor Shesterkin, NYR
• Stuart Skinner, EDM
• Ilya Sorokin, NYI
• Logan Thompson, VGK
• Linus Ullmark, BOS
• Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL

Splash Shot

• Sidney Crosby, PIT
• Nathan MacKinnon, COL
• Mikko Rantanen, COL
• Cale Makar, COL
• Igor Shesterkin, NYR
• Adam Fox, NYR
• Brady Tkachuk, OTT
• Matthew Tkachuk, FLA

Accuracy Shooting

• Aleksander Barkov, FLA
• Leon Draisaitl, EDM
• Kevin Hayes, PHI
• Jack Hughes, NJD
• Nazem Kadri, CGY
• Nikita Kucherov, TBL
• Connor McDavid, EDM
• Brock Nelson, NYI
• Artemi Panarin, NYR
• Vladimir Tarasenko, STL

Pitch ‘n Puck

• Johnny Gaudreau, CBJ
• Clayton Keller, ARI
• Jason Robertson, DAL
• Nick Suzuki, MTL

Hardest Shot

• Rasmus Dahlin, BUF
• Seth Jones, CHI
• Josh Morrissey, WPG
• Alex Ovechkin, WSH
• Elias Pettersson, VAN

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