JK2_0030

The ninth Winnipeg Jets Skills Competition, presented by Bell MTS, took place in front of excited fans at Canada Life Centre on Wednesday.
With the glass taken down on the sides of the ice surface, fans had plenty of time to get up close to their favourite players for autographs, photos, and new memories.
On the ice, the entertainment was just as thrilling.
WATCH ALL EVENTS

Teams:
Team White
Mark Scheifele
Karson Kuhlman
Michael Eyssimont
David Gustafsson
Adam Lowry
Sam Gagner
Dylan DeMelo
Kyle Capobianco
Dylan Samberg
David Rittich
Christmas Johnson (Balmoral Hall Blazers)
Team Blue
Pierre-Luc Dubois
Kyle Connor
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby
Kristian Reichel
Morgan Barron
Kevin Stenlund
Ville Heinola
Brenden Dillon
Neal Pionk
Connor Hellebuyck
Ron Cailo (St. Paul's Crusaders)
Fastest Skater
As there always seems to be in this event, the drama built right up until the final skater. With defending champion from 2019 - Nikolaj Ehlers - still nursing his injury as he works his way back into the line-up, the title of Fastest Skater was up for grabs. In the end, it was the final skater in Morgan Barron, who earned the point for Team Blue with a winning time of 13.43 seconds.
Team White
Karson Kuhlman 13.77
Michael Eyssimont 13.59
David Gustafsson 14.09

Team Blue
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby 13.65
Kristian Reichel 13.69
Morgan Barron 13.43
Accuracy Shooting
Adam Lowry didn't even consider himself a favourite in this event. In fact, after it was done, he told Jamie Thomas of 680 CJOB in the on-ice interview that very thing.
"I haven't scored in a while," he said. "I just tried to go top corner every time and ended up hitting all four targets!"
Lowry's sarcasm aside, his performance was epic. He hit four targets in four shots in under nine seconds to earn a point for Team White, tying up the overall competition at 1-1.
That next goal in Lowry's stats column is coming soon.
Team White
Mark Scheifele 17.985
Adam Lowry 8.563 (went 4-for-4)
Sam Gagner 19.844

Team Blue
Connor 13.860
Dubois 27.640
Kevin Stenlund 16.969
Skills Relay
This was an event comprised of four stations. The first player stickhandled in a straight line through tightly spaced pucks before spinning back and going through another section of pucks. Next was the saucer pass station, where players had to clear a barrier and put four passes into small miniature nets. Third, stickhandling through and around widely spaced pilons at sharp angles created a bit more agility work before the goaltenders tried to send a shot from one crease into the net at the far side. There was one point for winning a heat, and an extra point for the fastest overall time. Team White won the first heat, Team Blue took the second, but Team White's time of 52.6 seconds in the first heat was the fastest overall. After three events, it was 3-2 Team White.
Team White Heat 1
Gagner, Scheifele, Lowry, Rittich - 52.6
Team Blue Heat 1
Connor, Heinola, Dubois, Hellebuyck - 73.016
Team White Heat 2
Kuhlman, Gustafsson, Capobianco, Rittich - 86.391
Team Blue Heat 2
Stenlund, Pionk, Jonsson-Fjallby, Hellebuyck - 79.766
Hardest Shot
In 2019, no member of the Jets hit the 100 miles-per-hour threshold, but Dylan Samberg made sure someone did in 2022.
His blast of 102.1 mph earned him the bragging rights of the hardest shot on the Jets, and it also gave Team White another point, putting them up 4-2 going into the last event.

Team White
Demelo - 96.5, 96.4, 98.8
Samberg - 90.7, 94.9, 102.1
Capobianco - 97.6, 96.1, 96.8
Team Blue
Pionk - 67.4 (broken stick), 91.3, 90.6
Dillon - 95.7, 96.0, 95.1
Heinola - 89.5, 92.9, 96.2
Breakaway Challenge
With two Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy high school goaltenders
between the pipes - Ron Cailo of St. Paul's and Christmas Johnson of Balmoral Hall - the 2022 Skills Competition came down to a shootout.
And even then, it wasn't enough. Team Blue was able to close the gap an get into a 9-9 tie through the regular part of the breakaway challenge, with goals from Heinola, Jonsson-Fjallby, Reichel, Barron, Connor, and Dubois. Still, Connor Hellebuyck's dramatics were needed, and once again, he delivered. He scored two dramatic goals - one to force extra shooters, and another to extend the event - to keep Blue in contention.
The winner came off the stick of Ville Heinola in the 14th round, giving Team Blue an 11-10 victory.