NHL All-Star Skills Competition 2023: Schedule, Venue, Format, New Additions, Rosters & History

The NHL’s most thrilling weekend is quickly approaching. For All-Star Weekend, it’s time for the best of the best to compete on the ice. The first time was in 2003, making this the second year that the event will take place in South Florida. Before the competition becomes fierce and the race for the Stanley Cup heats up, league stars will get two days to show off their talents in exhibition games.

Before we travel to sunny South Florida for an exciting weekend, let’s look at what to anticipate:

The biggest stars and the ones who will eventually succeed them as the league’s standard bearers will both play in this year’s NHL All-Star Game.

Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals have each had a total of 11 previous appearances, but this will be their first meeting since 2017. Erik Karlsson, a defenceman with the San Jose Sharks, is making his eighth and most recent appearance.

Rising under-25 talents who are participating in the three-on-three competition include Jack Hughes of New Jersey, Jason Robertson of Dallas, Adam Fox of the New York Rangers, Andrei Svechnikov of Carolina, and Rasmus Dahlin of Buffalo.

When and where will the NHL All-Star Game weekend be held?

The Florida Panthers’ home arena, FLA LIVE Arena, will host the skills competition on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. On Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, the All-Star Game will take place. The last time All-Star weekend was held in Sunrise, Florida, was in 2003.

How can I watch the Game?

ESPN will broadcast the skills competition on Friday, while ABC will broadcast the game on Saturday.

How can I stream the Game?

ESPN and ABC are available on FuboTV, and you can stream on the ESPN app as well. ESPN+ will broadcast both events.

What new events have been added to the skills competition?

NHL Splash Shot: The event is held on a Fort Lauderdale beach. After hitting targets, players try to dunk their rivals in a dunk tank. The winner is the first person to dunk their opponent.

NHL Pitch ‘n Puck: Six NHL All-Stars will play a par 4 with an island green at a South Florida golf course using a combination of hockey and golf shots. The winner is the one who uses the fewest shots to put the puck or ball in the hole. The longest drive decides the winner if there is a tie.

NHL Tendy Tandem: Each division will have two goalies, one of which will serve as the in-net goaltender and the other as the shooting goalie. A shot will be taken from a predetermined mark by the division’s shooting goalie. If the shot finds the hole, it will score three points, if it finds the in-net target, it will score two points, and if it misses the net, it will score no points. Depending on the number of points the shooting goalie receives, the in-net goalie from the opposing division will face three, two, or one player. The shooters are Sarah Nurse, Rebecca Johnston, Emily Clark, Alex Carpenter, and Hilary Knight.

What other competitions are there in the skills category?

The well-liked fastest skater, hardest shot, and precision shooting competitions are all back. A panel judges shooters in the breakaway challenge based on how inventive their actions are. The famous goalie will be Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo.

What format will the Game use?

A second game between the Metropolitan and Atlantic divisions will follow the 20 minutes of three-on-three action in which the Pacific Division plays the Central Division. At the ten-minute mark, the teams switch goalies and sides. Shootouts will be used to determine ties in games. The semifinal winners will compete for the title. $1 million will be split among the winning team.

Who are on the All-Star teams?

All-Star appearance in parentheses, skills competition assignment included

ATLANTIC DIVISION

F Aleksander Barkov, Florida (2nd)*, accuracy

D Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo (2nd)**, hardest shot

F Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay (4th), accuracy

F Dylan Larkin, Detroit (3rd), fastest skater

F Mitch Marner, Toronto (2nd), breakaway challenge

F Nick Suzuki, Montreal (2nd), pitch ‘n puck

F Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa (3rd), breakaway challenge, splash shot

F Matthew Tkachuk, Florida (2nd), splash shot

G Linus Ullmark, Boston (1st), tendy tandem

G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay (5th), tendy tandem

Coach: Boston’s Jim Montgomery

*-replaces injured Toronto F Auston Matthews. **-replaces injured Buffalo F Tage Thompson

METROPOLITAN DIVISION

F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh (5th), splash shot, breakaway challenge (with Ovechkin)

F Johnny Gaudreau, Columbus (7th), pitch ‘n puck

F Kevin Hayes, Philadelphia (1st), accuracy

F Jack Hughes, New Jersey (2nd), accuracy

F Brock Nelson, N.Y. Islanders (1st), accuracy

F Alex Ovechkin, Washington (8th), hardest shot, breakaway challenge (with Crosby)

F Artemi Panarin, N.Y. Rangers (1st), accuracy

F Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina (1st), fastest skater

D Adam Fox, Rangers (1st), splash shot

G Igor Shesterkin, N.Y. Rangers (1st), tendy tandem, splash shot

G Ilya Sorokin, Islanders (1st), tendy tandem

Coach: Rod Brind’Amour, Carolina

CENTRAL DIVISION

F Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota (2nd), fastest skater

F Clayton Keller, Arizona (3rd), pitch ‘n puck

F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado (4th), splash shot

F Mikko Rantanen, Colorado (2nd), splash shot

F Jason Robertson, Dallas (1st), pitch ‘n puck

F Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis (4th), accuracy

D Seth Jones, Chicago (4th), hardest shot

D Cale Makar, Colorado (2nd), fastest skater, splash shot

D Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg (1st), hardest shot

G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg (3rd), tendy tandem

G Juuse Saros, Nashville (2nd), tendy tandem

Coach: Peter DeBoer, Dallas

PACIFIC DIVISION

Pacific Division skills assignments weren’t fully available as of 5 p.m. ET Thursday

F Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton (4th), accuracy

F Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles (1st), fastest skater

F Bo Horvat, Vancouver (2nd)*

F Nazem Kadri, Calgary (2nd), accuracy

F Connor McDavid, Edmonton (6th), accuracy

F Elias Pettersson, Vancouver (3rd), hardest shot

F Chandler Stephenson, Vegas (1st)**, fastest skater

F Troy Terry, Anaheim (2nd)

D Erik Karlsson, San Jose (7th)

G Stuart Skinner, Edmonton (1st), tendy tandem

G Logan Thompson, Vegas (1st), tendy tandem

Coach: Bruce Cassidy, Vegas

*-traded to the Islanders after being named. **-replaces injured Seattle F Matty Beniers

History & Top Records In NHL All Star Competition

At the NHL All-Star Game in Pittsburgh in 1990, the NHL All-Star Skills competition debuted. The exhibition was a huge hit right away, and fans gave it a tonne of support to keep returning.

The first competition featured four events: a relay for puck control, a race for quickest skater, a contest for hardest shot, and a contest for most precise shot.

The next year, in 1991, the Breakaway challenge was added. Since the introduction of those five competitions, only four are still in use, with the puck control relay being phased out. Let’s look at the records for each of the three main competition categories since the NHL All-Star Game Skills Competition is this weekend.

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1619019171852947495?s=20&t=HWs6vMR1P2rB3sQuQxu_HA 

Upper Deck NHL Fastest Skater

2022- Jordan Kyrou (13.55 Seconds)

Fast St. Louis Blues player Jordan Kyrou smashed Florida Panther Jonathan Drouin’s previous record of 13.105 seconds in 2022 by setting a new mark of 13.55. Cale Makar, who came in second in 2022, will have a chance to win the tournament on Friday night since Jordan Kyrou will not be participating.

GEICO NHL Hardest Shot

2012- Zdeno Chara (108.8 mph)

Zdano Chara of the Boston Bruins established a nearly unheard-of record of 108.8 mph during one of the most memorable moments in the competition’s history. Although Shea Weber recorded the hardest shot in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2020, Chara has the record for the shot with the most victories.

Last season, Victor Hedman won the competition with a 103.2 mph howitzer. He will also not return, so the only player who has won the competition before playing on Friday night will be Alex Ovechkin, who won it in 2018.

Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting

2011- Daniel Sedin (7.3 Seconds)

Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks is the undisputed champion as he scored four goals in a little more than seven seconds. With a timing of slightly over 10 seconds, Sebastian Aho, the most recent champion in 2022, is in second place. This year, there will be a brand-new Most Accurate Shot Champion, so he won’t be back.

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