2020 NHL All-Star Skills Competition Preview and Rules

While Dougie Hamilton’s injury has cast a pretty dark cloud atop this weekend’s NHL All-Star festivities for the Carolina Hurricanes, they can feel some comfort in knowing that they will be well represented by his replacement and defensive partner Jaccob Slavin.

Slavin, in the midst of one of his best seasons in the NHL, will participate in his first NHL All-Star Skills competition this weekend. I’ve been petitioning to start a skills event that makes players break up an odd man rush, win a board battle, drag the puck out from behind their own net, skate around three opposing forecheckers, and cleanly exit the defensive zone - a competition that Slavin would win ten times out of ten.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get enough signatures in time, so the Canes’ cornerstone defenseman will be participating in the accuracy shooting competition instead.

It’s a big weekend for the NHL and its stars, of course, but it’s also a big weekend for the elite players that make up the world of women’s hockey. Twenty stars will be at the festivities this weekend and will participate in the “Elite Women’s 3-on-3” game.

It will be a fun, must-watch weekend, and it all starts Friday night at 8 on NBCSN. Here’s the rundown of events, rules (as per the NHL), and participants for the NHL All-Star Skills competition, which will see a $30,000 prize go to the winner(s) of each event.

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Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Fastest Skater

Eight players will compete in the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater. Each skater will be timed for one full lap around the rink. The skater may choose the direction of his lap and can be positioned a maximum of three feet behind the start line located on the penalty box side of the center red line. The skater must start on the referee’s whistle and the timing clock will start when the skater crosses the start line. In the event of a clock malfunction, the official time will be recorded by the referee’s stopwatch. The skater with the fastest time is the winner of the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater, and if there is a tie for the fastest time, the tied players will skate another lap to determine the winner.

Participants:

• Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
• Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
• Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
• Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
• Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
• Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
• Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
• Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

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Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Save Streak

A minimum of four goalies and all 36 skaters will participate in the Bud Light NHL Save Streak™, a shootout grouped by division where goalies compete to make the most consecutive saves. Each goalie will face one opposing division and a minimum of nine scoring attempts. Each scoring attempt is officiated in accordance with NHL shootout rules and begins on the referee’s whistle. Players from each division will shoot in numerical order, lowest to highest, with the divisional captain shooting ninth. A goalie’s round at the Bud Light NHL Save Streak™ cannot end with a save - if the divisional captain’s shot is saved, the goalie will continue to face shooters until a goal is scored. If the goalie makes a save on the divisional captain’s shot, the order of shooters to follow is the same as the original order. The goalie with the longest consecutive save streak during his time in net is the winner of the Bud Light NHL Save Streak ™. If at the completion of the event there is a tie for the longest “save streak” the winning goalie will be determined by the total number of saves made in their round. If two or more goalies remain tied based on the total number of saves made then the tied goalies will compete in a sudden death round of “Goalie Goals.”

Participants:

• David Rittich, Calgary Flames
• Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
• Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks
• Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
• Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

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James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Accuracy Shooting

Eight players will compete in the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting, a timed event where a shooter is positioned 25 feet from the goal line and shoots pucks at target images that appear on an LED screen placed on the goal line. Time will start at the referee’s whistle and each player will shoot pucks at the target images, which will disappear from the screen after being successfully hit. The clock stops when the player has successfully hit all target images. The player that hits all target images in the fastest time will be crowned the winner of the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting. If there is a tie for the fastest time, the tied players will compete again to determine the winner.

Participants:

• Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
• Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
• Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
• Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
• Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils
• Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
• Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
• Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets

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Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Elite Women’s 3-on-3

Two teams — American All-Stars and Canadian All-Stars — each comprised of nine skaters and one goalie, will go head-to-head in the Elite Women’s 3-on-3 presented by adidas. The 3-on-3 game will consist of two 10-minute periods, with a running clock. Teams will switch ends after the first period. All penalties will be “served” with a penalty shot being awarded to the player specifically fouled.

American All-Stars (player’s hometown):

• Alex Carpenter (Westfield, Mass.)
• Kendall Coyne Schofield (Palos Heights, Ill.)
• Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis.)
• Amanda Kessel (Madison, Wis.)
• Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho)
• Jocelyn Lamoureux-Davidson (Grand Forks, N.D.)
• Annie Pankowski (Laguna Hills, Calif.)
• Kacey Bellamy (Westfield, Mass.)
• Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn.)
• Alex Rigsby Cavallini (Delafield, Wis.)

Canadian All-Stars (player’s hometown):

• Meghan Agosta (Ruthven, Ont.)
• Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que.)
• Rebecca Johnston (Sudbury, Ont.)
• Sarah Nurse (Hamilton, Ont.)
• Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.)
• Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont.)
• Blayre Turnbull (Stellarton, N.S.)
• Renata Fast (Burlington, Ont.)
• Laura Fortino (Hamilton, Ont.)
• Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que.)

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Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images

Hardest Shot

A minimum of four players will compete in the Enterprise NHL Hardest Shot™. Each player will attempt two shots measured in miles per hour (mph), with the highest speed of their two shots recorded. For each attempt, a single puck is positioned on the ice 30 feet from the center of the goal. Starting no further than the nearest blue line, the shooter may skate towards the puck and shoot it from its positioned spot into the goal. Shots must be on goal to be calculated and all shots are recorded by radar in miles per hour. If a puck enters the goal uncalculated due to a malfunction of the radar equipment, the shooter will be allowed an additional attempt. If the player breaks his stick he will be given another attempt. The player who records the fastest speed is the winner of the Enterprise NHL Hardest Shot™. If there is a tie for the fastest speed, the tied players will shoot again to determine the winner.

Participants:

• Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
• Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
• Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
• Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
• John Carlson, Washington Capitals

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Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Shooting Stars

Ten players — eight NHL All-Stars, and one American Elite Women’s All-Star team member and one Canadian Elite Women’s All-Star team member — will compete in the Gatorade NHL Shooting Stars. Players from the American and Canadian Elite Women’s All-Star teams will be selected by social media vote. Players will be positioned on an elevated platform behind the goal, approximately 30 feet above the ice surface, where they will shoot pucks at a variety of targets located on the ice, with each target possessing different point values. One at a time, each player will attempt seven shots and earn points for each target hit.

• Pucks that do not hit a target will earn no points.

• Pucks that bounce, deflect, or otherwise ricochet onto or into a target will be counted for the highest scoring value they hit.

• A puck that hits the face of a target then falls into the center will be scored as if it went directly into the center.

• A puck that hits the center and bounces out will be scored the point value of the center.

• A puck that bounces off the ice then up onto or into a target will be awarded the corresponding value.

• A puck that hits the base of the target will not be awarded any points.

• Players may hit the same target multiple times.

All scoring denominations will be decided by the on-ice officials. If at the completion of the event there is a tie for the highest score, players will shoot three pucks each to determine a winner. If the players remain tied after the three pucks, a sudden death “score-off” will occur.

Participants:

• USA, CAN Elite All-Stars TBD
• David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
• Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames
• Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
• Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
• Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
• David Perron, St. Louis Blues
• Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
• Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs