NHL reveals Skills Competition lineup for first 6 events
The field is set for the first six events in Friday's NHL All-Star Skills Competition.
As expected, the 12 players taking part in this year's festivities each chose four events to compete in out of the six.
The top eight point-earners will move on to a seventh event (a one-on-one shootout against a goaltender of their choice), from which the top six will advance to the final event (an obstacle course in which the points are doubled).
Here's the lineup for the first half-dozen showdowns:
Fastest Skater
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Cale Makar | Colorado Avalanche |
| Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers |
| Mathew Barzal | New York Islanders |
| William Nylander | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Quinn Hughes | Vancouver Canucks |
Hardest Shot
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| David Pastrnak | Boston Bruins |
| Makar | Avalanche |
| Auston Matthews | Maple Leafs |
| J.T. Miller | Vancouver Canucks |
| Elias Pettersson | Canucks |
Stick-handling
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Pastrnak | Bruins |
| MacKinnon | Avalanche |
| Draisaitl | Oilers |
| McDavid | Oilers |
| Barzal | Islanders |
| Kucherov | Lightning |
| Nylander | Maple Leafs |
| Hughes | Canucks |
| Pettersson | Canucks |
One-timers
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Nathan MacKinnon | Avalanche |
| Pastrnak | Bruins |
| Miller | Canucks |
| Pettersson | Canucks |
| Barzal | Islanders |
| Leon Draisaitl | Oilers |
| Kucherov | Lightning |
| Matthews | Maple Leafs |
Passing Challenge
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| MacKinnon | Avalanche |
| Makar | Avalanche |
| Draisaitl | Oilers |
| McDavid | Oilers |
| Barzal | Islanders |
| Matthews | Maple Leafs |
| Nylander | Maple Leafs |
| Kucherov | Lightning |
| Hughes | Canucks |
| Miller | Canucks |
| Pettersson | Canucks |
Accuracy Shooting
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Pastrnak | Bruins |
| MacKinnon | Avalanche |
| Makar | Avalanche |
| Draisaitl | Oilers |
| McDavid | Oilers |
| Kucherov | Lightning |
| Matthews | Maple Leafs |
| Nylander | Maple Leafs |
| Hughes | Canucks |
| Miller | Canucks |
Meanwhile, here are the goaltenders who'll take part in the one-on-one event:
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Jeremy Swayman | Bruins |
| Alexandar Georgiev | Avalanche |
| Jake Oettinger | Dallas Stars |
| Sergei Bobrovsky | Florida Panthers |
| Cam Talbot | Los Angeles Kings |
| Igor Shesterkin | New York Rangers |
| Thatcher Demko | Canucks |
| Connor Hellebuyck | Winnipeg Jets |
The netminder with the most saves will win $100,000.
Here's the point system for the skaters:
| Place | Points |
|---|---|
| 1st | 5 |
| 2nd | 4 |
| 3rd | 3 |
| 4th | 2 |
| 5th | 1 |
| 6th-12th | 0 |
Barzal replaces New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes, who was originally one of the 12 players but won't take part due to injury.
The Skills Competition winner will take home $1 million. The league unveiled the new format and incentive in December, acknowledging it relied heavily on McDavid's feedback.
The NHL's All-Star Weekend begins Thursday in Toronto with the return of the player draft for the three-on-three tournament, which will take place Saturday.