On Friday, January 24, the annual NHL skills competition was held. In this competition, the best players from all around the NHL compete in competitions based on some of their best skills. This year the competition was held in St. Louis and there were several new events including, for the first time ever, an elite women’s 3-on-3 game.

The first event was the fastest skater; in this event players have to skate one lap around the rink as fast as possible and whoever has the fastest time wins. This year Mathew Barzal won with a time of 13.175 seconds. This ended Connor McDavid’s three year reign, during this time McDavid set the world record for fastest lap around the rink with a time of 13.020 seconds. 

The second event was the save streak competition. In this competition the goalies face a series of shootout attempts and the goalie with the most saves wins. This year the winner was Jordan Binnington with 10 saves. 

The next event was the accuracy shooting competition. In this competition, the players shoot from 25 feet away and try to hit 5 targets in the net as quick as possible. This year the winner was Jacob Slavin with a time of 9.505 seconds.

Next up was the elite women’s 3-on-3 game. This game had two ten minute periods with running time. This is the first year this event was held and team Canada came out on top with a score of 2-1.

The hardest shot competition came next. Shea Weber won this competition with a shot of 106.5mph. Shea Weber’s personal best is 108.5mph and the world record is 108.8 held by Zdeno Chara.

The final event of the first day was the shooting stars competition. In this competition players would shoot 7 pucks from a raised platform and try to hit as many targets as possible. This is the first year this event has been held, and Patrick Kane won with a score of 22.

The NHL skills competition happens every year and although the players get money for winning the events, the competition as a whole is used to raise money for charity and to honor former NHL all stars.