Hockey Talk

All Star Competitions

The NHL released the All Star competitions and which players would be participating in each. 

Fastest Skater

Evgeny Kuznetzov, Chris Kreider, Adrian Kempe, Kyle Connor, Jordan Kyrou, Dylan Larkin, Cale Makar, Connor McDavid. 

The most recent person to beat the famous Connor McDavid was Mat Barzal with a 13.175 to McDavid's 13.215. But since Barzal did not make it in this year my bet is on MCDavid winning it. I think Kreider will come in a close second though as he came in just three seconds behind McDavid in 2020.  

Accuracy Shooting

Leon Draisaitl, Clayton Keller, Rasmus Dahlin, Sebastian Aho, Jake Guentzel, Troy, Terry, Johnny Gaudreau, Patrice Bergeron, Jonathan Marchessault. 

This list is hard. No other competition can be as easily predicted as the fastest skater and the hardest shot. And even the hardest shot is difficult. I am surprised to see that Auston Matthews is not on this list as he has one of the best shots in the entire league. I could go with a vet like Jonny Hockey or Bergeron or I could say someone like Rasmus Dahlin. I think the player to win this will be Leon Draisaitl. 

Fountain Face-Off 

Jonathan Huberdeau, Claude Giroux, Jordan Eberle, Jocelyn Lamourex-Davidson, Roman Josi, Nick Suzuki, Zach Werenski, Mark Stone. 

This is a new competition this year, one the NHL has never done.  The competition takes place on the iconic Bellagio Fountains. Players will travel by boat to the "rink" and have to successfully shoot pucks into five targets in the least amount of time. Qualifying players move to the head-to-head final. Fountain spray and the breeze off The Strip will add to the challenge of this one of a kind event. 

Since there isn't any type of record to go on from previous challenges I'm in the shadows with making a guess. There's other statistics I'll base my facts off though. For this challenge I think the winner will be Jonathan Huberdeau. My prediction is that he will go head to head with Mark Stone. 

Hardest Shot

Adam Pelech, Timo Meier, Victor Hedman, Tom Wilson. 

To say I am disappointed in the lack of two specific players would be an understatement. Shea Weber is on long term IR and Alex Ovechkin was recently placed in Covid Protocol and has been replaced my teammate Tom Wilson. With the lack of those to players I think the hardest shot will award will go to Victor Hedman as he has competed in this event in the past, losing to Shea Weber but still. 

Breakaway Challenge

Kirill Kaprizov, Trevor Zegras, Jack Hughes, Alex DeBrincat, Alex Pietrangelo.

The media has asked this question to the youngest player in the All Star Game this season: Jack Hughes. And the question has been. Will it be a bestie battle. Trevor Zegras vs Jack Hughes. Hughes laughed at the question and said no. The breakaway challenge is one of my personal favorites. Some of the best performances from Alex Ovechkin and Patrick Kane. But for this year I think Trevor Zegras is going to be the most creative and win the competition. 

Save Streak 

Jack Campbell, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Frederik Andersen, Tristan Jarry, Cam Talbot, Juuse Saros, Thatcher Demko, John Gibson. 

There is so many names that I want to say in this one. I want to debate between Saros, Vasilevskiy, and Andersen. But at the same time I want to flat out say Vasilevskiy just because of how good a goalie he truly is. There is also the what could be the underdog story and it be like Talbot or Campbell. Binnington was the last one to win the challenge but he is not a part of the skills this season. Overall I think that the winner of the save streak is going to be Andrei Vasilevskiy. 

21 In "22

Nazem Kadri, Auston Matthews, Brady Tkachuk, Joe Pavelski, Steven Stamkos. 

The 21 in "22 is also new this season.  Shutting down part of Las Vegas Boulevard to hang a full deck of oversized cards on a rack puts a new twist on  the term street hockey. 21 in '22 is a game of chance, strategy and skill. The object of the game is to achieve a hand of 21 without going bust, in the least number of shots of course. The player who wins two rounds is crowned Puck Shark. This is another one that I, of course, have no idea what to expect.  Based on the names above I expect Auston Matthews to win. But I wouldn't count anyone out of the running especially Pavelski who I could see winning it as well. 

This is one of the best weekends in hockey. It is one of my personal favorites, where for just 48 hours the team you play for simply doesn't matter as much. Whether you are from an east coast team or a beat coast team, have the greatest chance of winning the cup, or won't even make the playoffs, whether you have 29 goals this season or 7. None of it matters. It is a moment of fun and joy amongst the players and fans. And in 2022., we do it Vegas style.