TORONTO—Connor McDavid, who assisted in its conception, naturally emerged victorious in the All-Star Skills Competition.
After winning four of the eight challenges on Friday night at Scotiabank Arena, including a strong performance in the final round, the obstacle course, with an astounding time of 40.606 seconds, McDavid was awarded the $1 million prize.
The NHL completely revamped the skills competition since the novelty events it was holding seemed to get stale.
McDavid was a major factor in the tournaments’ reorganization and their new format, which included 12 NHL players rather than all of the All-Stars.
McDavid triumphed in the stick-handling competition (25.755 seconds), the obstacle course (9.158 seconds), the accuracy shooting competition (9.158 seconds), and the fastest skater competition (13.408 seconds).
“Many guys contributed to it,” McDavid remarked, adding that he was unsure of what he would do with the winnings. “First and foremost, [NHL Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer] Steve Mayer. Everyone was somewhat involved. It was enjoyable, in my opinion. From a competitive standpoint, I am aware that things have become very competitive.
I started to puff and huff. Guys were putting forth a lot of effort to put on a good show, and I think we succeeded. We are quite pleased with it. The fans will decide in the end, and hopefully they had fun.
Igor Shesterkin was chosen by Islanders forward Mathew Barzal as his goalie for the one-on-one match, stating that he wanted to select his “New York counterpart.”
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