Fastest Skater
The fastest skater is one that never leaves the rotation, and this year’s certainly had its fair share of surprises. Going into the event, you would have expected Dylan Larkin and Cale Makar to challenge for the win, and maybe even compete in the finals. But they put up the two worst times, with Makar wiping out at the last turn, and Larkin being the slowest of the remaining four.
Instead, it was Andrei Svechnikov and Kevin Fiala competing in the finals, with the Carolina Hurricanes forward taking it by almost half a second with a 13.699 time.
Splash Shot
Splash Shot was another new addition to the skills competition, which took on a Florida theme and hit the beach. Two teams faced off against each other, with one player firing pucks at six surfboards before finishing it off by hitting an NHL logo that sent one of the opposing team’s players into a dunk tank, and then vice versa to see who could do the job sooner.
In the semifinals, New York Rangers teammates Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin bested Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, while Colorado Avalanche teammates Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar beat the Cole Harbour duo of Sidney Crosby and fellow Avs teammate Nathan MacKinnon. If a Rangers vs. Avs final is a preview of this year’s Stanley Cup Finals, then it’s a repeat for Colorado, as Rantanen and Makar took it for the win.
Pitch ‘N Puck
Out of all the new additions to this year’s skills competition, this may have been the most interesting, as Pitch ‘N Puck blended hockey with golf. Johnny Gaudreau, Clayton Keller, Jason Robertson, and Nick Suzuki took turns moving a puck up the course and then were kindly given a golf ball to finish the job on the green.
It should be no surprise that the players were good at it considering that golfing is a frequent offseason pastime for most players, and even less surprising that the player on the NHL’s worst team last season in Suzuki took the extra golf time in the offseason to his advantage, and not only won the event but scored a birdie.
Accuracy Shooting
Accuracy Shooting is another timeless tradition at the Skills Competition, although it took on a new form with the addition of a semifinal and finals. Nazem Kadri, Connor McDavid, Brock Nelson, and Artemi Panarin moved on from the first round, although the most interesting moments were the struggles of Leon Draisaitl and Jack Hughes, going cold for stretches with Draisaitl trying a few tricks to break his slump.
But the biggest story may have been the semifinal matchup between McDavid and Kadri. McDavid was money in the competition, going 4-for-4 in the first round, and he did the exact same in the second round. But, there was one issue. McDavid got caught hotdogging the final shot, giving Kadri enough time to get all his targets done first, and winning the matchup. Kadri would go on to lose to Nelson in the finals, who completed it in 12.419 seconds.
