What to Expect for the Upcoming NHL All-Star Weekend

On February 3-4, the NHL will hold their All-Star Weekend at the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida.

On February 3, the NHL All-Star Skills competition takes place from 7-10 p.m. During the skills competition, players from each division face off against their peers in different competition-style games. Some of these competition-style games include: Upper Deck NHL Fastest Skater, Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting, GEICO NHL Hardest Shot, and Great Clips NHL Breakaway Challenge. The winners of each of these events get a cash prize.

This year there are three new events added to the skills competition that is specific to the state of Florida. The first event added is the Splash Shot. This competition will take place on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. There will be eight shooters, two on each divisional team. They will compete head-to-head and have to hit all of their targets before attempting to dunk their opponents.

The second event has to deal with goalies and it is called the Tendy Tandem. One goalie from each division will be the shooting goalie and the other one is the in-net goalie. The shooting goalie will take a shot from a designated mark at a net. There is a point system for this competition so three points will be earned if the shot goes in the hole, two points if the shot hits the in-net target, and no points if the shot misses the net. The in-net goalies from the opposing division will face three, two, or one player(s) depending on the points earned by the shooting goalie. If the in-net goalie makes a save, then they earn points.

The last new event added is the Pitch n’ Puck. This uses a combination of hockey and golf shots. Six players will play a par-4 course featuring an island green. The lowest score wins the competition.

Five women hockey players are joining the skills competitions. These women include: Hillary Knight and Alex Carpenter from the United States as well as Emily Clark, Rebecca Johnston, and Sarah Nurse from Canada. Former NHL goalie and Hockey Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo will participate as a celebrity goaltender in the Breakaway Challenge.

The NHL All-Star game takes place on February 4 from 3-6 p.m. The format of this game is different from a traditional hockey game. All-Star teams are divided by division for a total of four teams: Atlantic, Metropolitan, Pacific, and Central. The teams play three-on-three for two 10-minute halves. The two winners will square off in an All-Star Championship game and the winning team splits money and the MVP of the game also gets a car.

This year, the entire list of the 44 All-Stars has been revealed. There is one representative from each team along with 12 who are fan-voted.

The Atlantic Division includes: David Pastrnak (Bruins), Linus Ullmark (Bruins), Tage Thompson (Sabres), Dylan Larkin (Red Wings), Matthew Tkachuk (Panthers), Nick Suzuki (Canadiens), Brady Tkachuk (Senators), Nikita Kucherov (Lightning), Andrei Vasilevskiy (Lightning), Mitch Marner (Maple Leafs), and Auston Matthews (Maple Leafs). The coach of the Atlantic Division will be Jim Montgomery who is the current coach of the Boston Bruins.

The Metropolitan Division includes: Andrei Svechnikov (Hurricanes), Johnny Gaudreau (Blue Jackets), Jack Hughes (Devils), Brock Nelson (Islanders), Ilya Sorokin (Islanders), Adam Fox (Rangers), Artemi Panarin (Rangers), Igor Shesterkin (Rangers), Kevin Hayes (Flyers), Sidney Crosby (Penguins), and Alex Ovechkin (Capitals). Rod Brind’Amour, head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, will be the coach of this division.

The Central Division includes: Clayton Keller (Coyotes), Seth Jones (Blackhawks), Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche), Cale Makar (Avalanche), Mikko Rantanen (Avalanche), Jason Robertson (Stars), Kirill Kaprizov (Wild), Juuse Saros (Predators), Vladimir Tarasenko (Blues), Connor Hellebuyck (Jets), and Josh Morrissey (Jets). The Central Division head coach will be Peter DeBoer who is the current head coach of the Dallas Stars.

The Pacific Division includes: Troy Terry (Ducks), Nazem Kadri (Flames), Leon Draisaitl (Oilers), Connor McDavid (Oilers), Stuart Skinner (Oilers), Kevin Fiala (Kings), Erik Karlsson (Sharks), Matty Beniers (Kraken), Bo Horvat (Canucks), Elias Pettersson (Canucks), and Logan Thompson (Knights). Bruce Cassidy, head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, will be the coach of the Pacific Division.

The NHL recently announced the jersey for the 2023 All-Star game. They are modeled on the ones from the mid-1990s. They give a “Reverse Retro” makeover from Adidas. They have accents of blues and pinks “inspired by the vibrant sunsets and glowing neon of South Beach.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Very old school. It reminds me a little bit about when I first learned about NHL jerseys,” David Pastrnak said. “They’re great. I like the color choice.”

Photo by: NHL.com

There are many different events that fans can look forward to starting on Sunday, January 29. Events include things like the Truly Hard Seltzer NHL All-Star Beach Festival, All-Star Player Red Carpet, and the Meet the Mascot Breakfast.