Team Blue Dominates 5th Annual Skills Competition

The Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club hosted their fifth annual Skills Competition on Fri., Dec. 16, with Team Blue winning the competition 44-17 over Team White.
Members of the Winnipeg Jets competed head-to-head in five events: Fastest Skater, Accuracy Shooting, Skills Relay, Hardest Shot and Breakaway Relay.
The winning members of Team Blue were Mark Scheifele, Mathieu Perreault, Nikolaj Ehlers, Paul Postma, Andrew Copp, Jacob Trouba, Drew Stafford, Dustin Byfuglien, Chris Thorburn, Mark Stuart, Shawn Matthias and Midget AAA goaltender Niklas Anderson of the Winnipeg Wild.

Ehlers started the event by winning the Fastest Skater competition with a time of 13.29, which set a Jets Skills Competition record. Team White's Patrik Laine followed that with a Jets Skills Competition record of his own, taking down the four targets in the Accuracy Shooting competition in 8.4 seconds.
Team Blue won both heats of the Skills Relay, with the foursome of Ehlers, Scheifele, Perreault and Hellebuyck having the best time of 1:08.4. Byfuglien, the 2011 Hardest Shot winner, reclaimed the title with a 101.3 MPH shot to beat Laine by 0.1 MPH. Team Blue won the Breakaway Relay competition by a score of 19-12. Anderson made 11 saves in the Breakaway Relay, which was one better than goaltender Zach Bennett of the Midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers.

The event was a great fan experience for the 12,898 Jets fans in attendance. With the glass removed from the sides of the rink, fans near ice level had an up-close look at their favourite Winnipeg Jets during the competition. There was also prize giveaways, including autographed memorabilia handed out throughout MTS Centre.

Proceeds from the Winnipeg Jets Skills Competition will benefit the Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation and the NHLPA Goals and Dreams Fund.