Toronto, Ontario (WGR 550) - Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid dazzled in front of a sold out crowd at Scotiabank Arena on Friday night at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, finishing on top of the 12-competitor field and winning $1 million in the process.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin did not participate in the All-Star Skills Competition under a new format introduced this season. Unlike past years, the league opted to use a winner-take-all format in which only select All-Stars took part in the eight events.
The Sabres defenseman was selected by McDavid for his team on Thursday night, part of the weekend’s opening night festivities. McDavid, his Edmonton teammate Leon Draisaitl, and actor Will Arnett selected Dahlin in the third round of selections.
Team McDavid will play Team MacKinnon, captained by Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, with the winner advancing to the final game of 3-on-3. They will play either Team Matthews or Team Hughes, who will face-off in the other game prior to the finals.
The Skills Competition participants were McDavid, Draisaitl, MacKinnon, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, Canucks forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, Toronto Maple Leafs forwards Auston Matthews and William Nylander, Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal, Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak, and Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov.
The participants selected four of the six opening round events to take part in.
McDavid won the first event of the night, the fastest skater competition with a time of 13.408 seconds. The Oilers captain’s lap around the ice just beat out Barzal to thrill the sold out crowd.
The second event of the competition involved one-timers. Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby helped the competitors as the passers for the event.
MacKinnon topped his opponents with 23 points in the one-timer event. Barzal was initially announced as the winner, but after a review, his score was updated and came up short.
Pettersson’s score of 25 points in the passing challenge round was the highest total for the win.
The skill event forced the competitors to try and hit targets in all three zones of the ice within a one-minute time limit. The targets were worth more based on the size. The smaller target was worth the highest point total, while the largest was worth the least.
The hardest shot competition was the next event.
Makar lit up the radar gun at 102.56 miles per-hour to win the event. He was one of just two competitors to register a shot of over 100 mph. Miller finished in second with a shot recorded at 102.34 mph.
McDavid won his second event of the night with the fastest time in the stick handling competition. His time of 25.755 seconds bested the other five contestants. The event was added to the program this year.
The Oilers captain won his second-straight event, and third overall by hitting all four targets in just four shots. McDavid’s time of 9.158 seconds was one of two players to complete the event in less than 10 seconds, and he was the only competitor to go 4-for-4 in the long-standing event.
Four participants were eliminated from the night’s festivities following the sixth event. McDavid led all skaters with 15 points through the first six events.
Nylander scored the most points in the 1-on-1 competition in Round 2. Each of the eight skaters were able to select the goalie to shoot on. He advanced to the final round by winning the second round.
The final event consisted of an obstacle course for the remaining six participants. Once again, McDavid won the event and finished with the lowest time among the competitors. His time of just over 40 seconds was about three seconds faster than Makar for the victory.
