Connor McDavid Won the NHL All-Star Skills Competition. He helped revive.
The reigning and three-time MVP brought home the $1 million prize, demonstrating once more why he is regarded as the best hockey player in the world. And he did it as a local hero at the arena where he grew up watching games, much to the joy of his hometown fans.
McDavid assisted the league and union in reshaping the skills competition, which he felt had become “a little gimmicky, a little out there.” With his assist, it was back to fundamentals for the Edmonton Oilers captain, who shone under the limelight.
“I thought it was entertaining,” McDavid explained. “I know from a competitive standpoint, it has obviously become cutthroat out there. I huffed and puffed. Guys worked hard to put up a nice spectacle. I believe we did it. I think we can be happy about it. Ultimately, it is up to the viewers, and I hope they appreciated it.”
McDavid won the fastest skater event for the fourth time in his career, followed by stick-handling and accuracy shooting, where he went 4 for 4.
“Obviously, he’s the epitome of competitiveness on a daily basis, so I’m not surprised,” Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl stated.
Three players from the Colorado Avalanche, their Western Conference rivals, also performed well. Nathan MacKinnon won the one-timer event, with Cale Makar firing the fastest shot at 102.56 mph. Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev won $100,000 by making nine stops on McDavid in a one-on-one.
“It’s a really fun challenge,” Georgiev explained. “I adore competing against Connor. Congratulations to him. He’s great and a lot of fun to watch.
The prize money was one of the new additions to the revamped skills competition, which featured only 12 participants and was intended to be streamlined and simplified.
Three players from the Western Conference’s rival Colorado Avalanche also performed well. Nathan MacKinnon won the one-timers competition, with Cale Makar firing the fastest shot at 102.56 mph. Alexandar Georgiev, the goaltender, won $100,000 after making nine stops on McDavid in a one-on-one.
“It’s a really fun challenge,” Georgiev stated. “I enjoy going up against Connor.” Congrats to him. He’s amazing and so much joy to watch.”
The prize money was one of the new twists at the revised skills competition, which featured only 12 competitors and was intended to be streamlined and simpler.
“I think guys like it,” Draisaitl stated. “I don’t know how it was received on TV, but I thought it was good.”
Fans celebrated Maple Leafs All-Stars Auston Matthews and William Nylander, but booed Nikita Kucherov several times for his lack of effort in the passing and stick-handling events. Kucherov even waved to the audience after placing dead last in the stick-handling race, more than 44 seconds behind McDavid’s winning time of 25.755 seconds and slower than David Pastrnak, who missed the net.
“You sit there for like three hours and then you get to go stick-handle,” Kucherov told me. “That was kind of tough.”
Unsurprisingly, Kucherov was one of four players ousted after the first six events. The Tampa Bay Lightning winger and 2019 MVP relished being booed.
They also congratulated McDavid, who grew up in Richmond Hill, a suburb of Toronto, and supported the Leafs.
“Toronto fans have always showed a lot of love to me when I’ve been in town, and it means a lot,” McDavid told the crowd. “The building is really important. The supporters have always been quite nice to me, and hearing their cheers means a lot.
Connor Bedard, the Chicago Blackhawks’ top draft pick and front-runner for NHL rookie of the year until fracturing his jaw on January 5, made a surprise cameo as a passer for the one-timer event, alongside Sidney Crosby, the player he grew up idolizing. Bedard was chosen to participate prior to the injury.
“You feel for him,” said McDavid, who was drafted first overall alongside Crosby, Bedard, and MacKinnon. “I’m sure he wishes he could participate in some of the activities. It was fantastic to see him on the ice, looking healthy and like he’s close to returning.”
Passers in accuracy shooting included Leafs veterans Doug Gilmour and Steve Thomas, as well as Toronto Professional Women’s Hockey League players and Canadian Olympians Sarah Nurse and Blayre Turnbull. Nurse and Turnbull were among those who competed in the PWHL 3-on-3 showcase Thursday night.
On Friday night, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly gave McDavid a hefty novelty check. He gets real money, and the humble 27-year-old admits he hasn’t given it much thought.
“I’m going to have some teammates back home that are going to be very interested in what I’m going to do with it, but I’m going to have to try to figure it out,” McDavid said on Monday.