Barzal Calls All-Star Weekend a “Privilege” 

Mathew Barzal was planning on having a relaxing Friday night in Toronto, but when the NHL asked if he wanted to participate in the skills competition in place of New Jersey’s Jack Hughes, Barzal jumped at the chance.

Yes, part of that is the million-dollar prize for the skills competition winner, but for Barzal, a chance to take center stage with the NHL’s best and put on a show for the fans is motivation enough.

“You're among the NHL's best and really the best in the world,” Barzal said. “It's always a privilege to be here and I don't take it for granted.”

Barzal is going to participate in the fastest skater, the event he won in 2020, as well as passing, stickhandling and one-timer challenges on Friday night. It’s a small field, with 12 total skaters each participating in multiple events, so Barzal will be going head-to-head with the likes of Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Nathan MacKinnon and is excited for the challenge.

“It's a pretty good field out there, so my expectations are just to go out there do my best obviously try to put on a good show for the fans,” Barzal said. “I think it's going to be cool for all the fans to see so much talent on the ice. Look at some of the guys that are out there it's going to be a very star-studded event.”

One of Barzal’s competitors in the skills competition will be Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov, who Barzal said was one of the all-stars he was looking forward to getting to know better. Kucherov saw plenty of Barzal when the Islanders and Lightning played each other in the playoffs in 2020 and 2021 and has a lot of respect for Barzal’s game.

“When he's on the ice he likes to control the game and always have the puck on his tape,” Kucherov said. “He’s fun to watch and he's one of the guys I watch quite often, highlights and stuff.”

That was a common critique of Barzal’s game. Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny knows Barzal as both a divisional opponent and as a World Junior teammate and said other teams must take notice when Barzal hits the ice.

“You think have him in a spot right where you want him and he's contained and he'll find a way to make a play and make something out of nothing,” Konecny said. “It's been fun me and him are same age and we've kind of come up together and being able to watch him and what he's been able to do, it's been awesome.”

Barzal enjoys the camaraderie of All-Star Weekend. He doesn’t get to see former teammates like Konecny too often, so he enjoys the time to catch up.

“I was hanging out with Mitch Marner, who's a buddy of mine, and Travis Konecny,” Barzal said. “I talked to William Nylander a little bit about our buddy Leo Komarov. You get to chat with guys about certain things that you don't necessarily or normally get to talk about with.”

Barzal will see plenty of Marner and Nylander, as he was selected to Team Matthews during Thursday night’s draft. Barzal will also be teammates with Arizona’s Clayton Keller, Nashville’s Filip Forsberg and New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin, among others. The Islanders center will surely relish the whole weekend.

“Being around the league's best, it's cool to be in that atmosphere,” Barzal said. “I like to put on a good show, be in the game and I like to display some skill and there's a lot of skill there… I just like being there.”