TORONTO – Crowned by the victory of Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, the new formula of the competition of skills proved its worth in a festive atmosphere at the Scotiabank Arena on Friday evening in Toronto, on the eve of the All-Star Game of the National Hockey League.
McDavid, who heated up the show throughout the evening, once again dominated the closing event, which took the form of an obstacle course.
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Naturally, when jerseys from various NHL teams were visible in the crowd, a blue sea of Maple Leafs fans streamed into the amphitheater.
Two Leafs players, Auston Matthews and William Nylander, were among 12 athletes vying to be crowned the NHL's most complete player in terms of individual skill and win… $1 million. After a shootout round, both qualified for the grand final, which was reserved for the best six of the evening.
Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning was terrible in the passing game and in turn drew ridicule from some fans. And again for his lack of effort in the puck handling test, which McDavid won.
Six events comprised the first round, where McDavid also confirmed he was the fastest skater in the NHL and had the most accurate shot. Defenseman Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche recorded the fastest shot at 102.56 mph.
A top 8
Only the best eight players advanced to the next round based on the points they collected. Kucherov, Quinn Hughes (Canucks), David Pastrnak (Bruins) and Leon Draisaitl (Oilers) were cut, making way for McDavid, Makar, Matthews, Nylander, Mathew Barzal (Islanders), Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche), JT Miller ( Canucks) and Elias Pettersson (Canucks) for the rest of the evening.
- Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard, who is currently on the sidelines with a broken jaw, still participated Friday night in Toronto, dishing out one-timer passes.
Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard Photo Bruce Bennett/Getty Images via AFP