Matthews, Makar, Pastrnak among 1st 10 chosen for new-look All-Star Skills competition

The NHL has selected 10 of the most electric players in the League to compete in the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Feb. 2.

Now fans will get to pick two more.

The NHL announced Saturday the first 10 participants for the new-look Skills competition Saturday and it's a who's-who of NHL greatness.

Auston Matthews and William Nylander of the host Toronto Maple Leafs lead a group that is made of up Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar, Edmonton Oilers centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes, Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak and Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson.

The final two players already on the NHL All-Star Game roster to participate in Skills will be selected via the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills Fan Vote presented by MassMutual, which is now open online at NHL.com/vote and via X (formerly Twitter) and closes on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 11:59:59 p.m. EST. All X votes will be combined with online vote totals.

The NHL has reimagined the skills competition to showcase the best of the best, build drama throughout the night and crown an individual overall champion for the first time.

Twelve All-Stars each will compete in multiple events on Feb. 2 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS). They will earn points based on the order of finish in each event.

"We wanted to do something that the players would have fun with and want to participate in," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said on ESPN's "SportsCenter" last month, comparing the format to the decathlon. "… We'll crown an All-Star All-Star as the Skills champion, and that should be a lot of fun."

The winner will receive $1 million.

"These guys are great at what they do," NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer said Tuesday. "But not only are they going to have some fun out there on the ice, they are going to be ultracompetitive."

Instead of spreading out 44 All-Stars among events to make sure each NHL team is represented as in the past, the 12 selected players will compete for an overall skills championship.

Each will compete in four of the first six events: the Fastenal NHL Fastest Skater, Rogers NHL Hardest Shot, Upper Deck NHL Stick Handling, NHL One Timers, NHL Passing Challenge and Cheetos NHL Accuracy Shooting. First place will be worth five points, second place four points and so on.

The top eight will advance to the seventh event: the Honda NHL Shootout.

"The seventh event is so cool," Mayer said. "Eight players will line up on one blue line, eight goalies will line up on the other, and the players -- one by one, from eighth place to first place -- will pick the goalie he wants to go up against."

Who will pick whom? And how much will it level the standings? Again, first place will be worth five points, second place four points and so on.

"It'll end with the guy in first place getting the hardest goalie, at least the one that's left," Mayer said.

The top six will advance to the final event: the Pepsi NHL Obstacle Course. The event will include all the skills, and it will be worth double the points. First place will be worth 10 points, second place eight points and so on.

"Somebody who is in sixth place could easily jump up and win the $1 million in the end," Mayer said. "That's another piece of this that makes it an intriguing competition that we think will resonate with our fans."

All-Star Weekend, which runs from Feb. 1-3 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, will have a completely new look this year as well. The player draft will return as part of a new event: NHL All-Star Thursday.

Celebrities will be paired with captains for the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft (6 p.m. ET; SN, ESPN). They will pick the four teams of 11 players (nine skaters, two goalies) for the NHL All-Star Game.

The NHL Alumni Association will announce its Man of the Year in a tribute to the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs, their last team to win the Stanley Cup (SN). The Professional Women's Hockey League will also play a 3-on-3 game (SN, ESPN+).

After the Skills competition on Feb 2, the 2024 NHL All-Star Game will take place Feb. 3, and will be available on ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC and TVAS.

NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report