NHL All Star Skills Competition Announced

All Star weekend in the National Hockey League is almost upon us once again. This year, they're trying this whole new 3-on-3 format for the game, which adds an interesting twist to the game and the weekend. One of the more popular events to take place during all star weekend every year is the skills competition the day before the game. The best players in the game get to really showcase their skills, and its usually the most fun and enjoyable part of the entire weekend. Here's what is going to happen during the Skills Competition, the story coming to us from nhl.com.

Fan-elected captains, Jaromir Jagr and Alex Ovechkin for the Eastern Conference, and Patrick Kane and John Scott for the Western Conference, will lead the team selection process to determine which players will participate in the six Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition events. Each of the 44 All-Stars will compete in at least one of the six rounds of skill-based contests.

· Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater
· Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge
· DraftKings NHL Accuracy Shooting
· Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay
· AMP Energy NHL Hardest Shot
· Discover NHL Shootout

Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater Four players from each team will test their speed, facing off against an opponent in a two-skater race. The race track for the head-to-head match-ups is the border of the rink split in half lengthways. Timing devices will record each skater to determine the winner of each match. If a race ends in a tie, each of the teams will be awarded one point. The skater with the fastest time in the head-to-head match-ups will skate a full lap of the outside border of the rink, in the direction of their choosing, in an attempt to break Mike Gartner's record (13.386). If, at the completion of the event, two skaters are tied for the fastest overall time, both skaters will skate a full lap of the rink in an attempt to break the historical best record.

Points Available: 6 – The winner of each match-up scores one point; the team with the fastest skater scores a bonus point; if the fastest skater is successful in breaking Mike Gartner's record an additional bonus point will be awarded.

Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge Fans will have two opportunities to exercise their vote in the Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge. While five spots will be determined by team captains, one guaranteed spot in this event will be determined by the fans, who will vote on Twitter as part of the Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge Fan Vote campaign.

The eligible candidates are forwards Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche, Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings and Brandon Saad of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Fans can vote via Twitter for their favorite eligible player by including his hashtag, such as #NHLBreakawayDuchene, #NHLBreakawayLarkin or #NHLBreakawaySaad. Voting will open on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 12 p.m. ET and close on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. ET. Each team will provide one goalie to participate in this challenge. Each shooter will attempt two shots, and teams will alternate after each shot. Style, creativity, and flair are encouraged. NHL penalty shot rules do not apply. As soon as the last competitor completes his routine, fans in-arena and watching on television in the U.S. and Canada will get another opportunity to make their case on Twitter by casting their vote using the hashtag that corresponds to the player of their choice. The shooter with the highest fan vote will be crowned the Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge winner and score one point for his team.

Points Available: 1 – The shooter with the highest percentage of fan votes scores one point.

DraftKings NHL Accuracy Shooting will see four shooters from each team will participate, with two additional players serving as passers. This event will consist of four head-to-head match-ups, with one shooter from each team per round. The goal is to hit four 15-inch diameter targets located in each corner of the net. The teams will be situated at opposite ends of the rink, and will alternate attempts. The first shooter to hit all four targets wins.

Points Available: 5 –The winner of each match-up scores one point; the player who hits all four targets in the fastest time scores the bonus point.

Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay is a timed relay event – involving 14 skaters and two goalies from each team – will consist of four relays with five challenges each: One Timers, with three shooters and one passer per team; Passing, with one passer per team; Puck Control, with one skater per team; Stick-Handling, with one skater per team; and Goalie Goals, with one goalie per team. Each skill must be completed before moving on to the next challenge with the exception of one timers, passing and goalie goals in which a maximum of forty-five seconds will be allocated. The goal is to finish all five challenges faster than the opponent.

Points Available: 3 - The team with the fastest time in each heat scores one point; the team with the fastest overall time scores one bonus point.

AMP Energy NHL Hardest Shot will see four shooters from each team will test their slap shot skill in a head-to-head match-up. Each player will attempt two shots, with teams alternating after each player. One puck will be placed 30 feet from the center of the net. Each shot will be calculated in miles per hour (mph), with the highest speed of their two shots recorded.

Points Available: 5 – The winner of each match-up scores one point; the team with the player who has the fastest speed scores one bonus point. 

Discover NHL Shootout there will be 18 skaters and three goaltenders from each team will participate in the three-round shootout. During each two-minute round, six skaters and one goalie from each team will take the ice. Teams will alternate after each shot with each player having a maximum of 10 seconds to take a shot. Players one and three from each team will be designated Discover puck players, each goal scored by these players will count as two points. NHL shootout rules apply to each scoring attempt.

Points Available: 1 point for every goal scored; 2 points for every goal scored with a Discover puck.

Here's the way I look at the Skills Competition. My favorite events were always fastest skater, accuracy shot and, my top favorite, the hardest shot. For those who remember these events in years past, the accuracy shot was a Ray Bourque staple. Since the event made its debut in 1990, Ray won outright or was co-winner eight times in his career, far and away better than any other player. Since then, only Jeremy Ronick won it in back to back years in 2003 and 2004, we haven't had a repeat winner in this event. Same thing too can be said about the hardest shot. Two names have re-written that record book since the first event in 1990. Al MacInnis won the title seven times. Then from 2007 to 2012 the title went to one man, Zdeno Chara, who, oh by the way, holds the record for hardest shot at 108.8 MPH (the shot he fired during the 2012 All Star Weekend).

All Star Weekend is always fun to watch and the Skills Competition makes it all the more enjoyable!