Sergei Bobrovsky will participate in the one-on-one event but Sam Reinhart will not be competing for the $1 million prize
The NHL All-Star Skills Competition is upon us.
On Friday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the annual showcase of several player’s personal hockey talents will take place on the ice.
Representing the Florida Panthers will be Sam Reinhart and Sergei Bobrovsky, but unfortunately for Cats fans, it doesn’t sound like we’ll be seeing as much of them as many other all-stars.
That’s because this year the NHL, with help from players like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, have revamped the Skills Competition to make it more exciting for the players and a better viewing experience for the fans.
This year, there is a winner-take-all prize of $1 million to the sole victor of the Skills Competition, but only 12 of the 36 non-goalies will be competing for the prize.
Reinhart was not one of the 12 players selected. They are Connor McDavid, William Nylander, Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar, Matthew Barzel, Elias Pettersson, Nathan MacKinnin, Leon Draisaitl, Nikita Kucherov, J.T. Miller, Auston Matthews and David Pastrnak.
Each player will take part in four of the six events. Finishing in first place is worth five points, second place four points, third place three points, fourth place two points and fifth place one point.
Here is who will be participating in each event.
Fastest skater: McDavid, Nylander, Hughes, Makar, Barzel
One-timers: Pettersson, MacKinnon, Draisaitl, Kucherov, Miller, Matthews, Barzel, Pastrnak
Hardest shot: Matthews, Makar, Pastrnak, Miller, Pettersson
Stick handling: Hughes, McDavid, Pettersson, Kucherov, Draisaitl, MacKinnon, Pastrnak, Barzel, Nylander
Accuracy shooting: Kucherov, Makar, McDavid, Hughes, Miller, Pastrnak, MacKinnon, Nylander, Draisaitl, Matthews
After the initial round, the eight players will the most points will move on. That’s when the goaltenders come into play.
Each player, starting with the top points recipient from the opening round, will select the goaltender they want to shoot against in a one-on-one matchup.
The goalies are Bobrovsky, Connor Hellebuyck, Thatcher Demko, Igor Shesterkin, Cam Talbot, Jake Oettinger, Alexandar Georgiev and Jeremy Swayman.
Whichever goaltender comes up with the most saves during this round will pocket a cool $100,000.
The top six point getters from the battle with the tendies will go on to the final round, the obstacle course. Point totals will be doubled for the finals.
It should be a fun night for the fans and hopefully the players as well. All the action will begin at 7 p.m. from Scotiabank Arena and will air on ESPN and ESPN+.
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