2022 NHL All-Star Skills participants announced for Las Vegas
Huberdeau of Panthers, Giroux of Flyers among competitors in debut of Fountain Face-Off
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NHL.com @NHLdotcom
The Fountain Face-Off is one of seven events being held at T-Mobile Arena and classic locations in the city as part of the All-Star Skills (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS), which precedes the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Game at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS). The new event will take place in the famed Fountains of Bellagio and feature the participants being taken by boat to a "rink," where they will attempt to shoot pucks into five targets in the least amount of time.
"Vegas is the perfect place and backdrop to do something outside the venue as well as inside, and we did a fair amount of research," NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer said. "We settled on what we think is one of the most iconic spots in Vegas, and that's the Fountains of Bellagio for one event.
"Obviously it attracts millions of tourists every single year who come just to watch the water show. But imagine if suddenly that water transformed into a hockey rink."
Also taking part in the event are Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux, Seattle Kraken forward Jordan Eberle, Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi, Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki, Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone and former United States women's national team forward Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson. Huberdeau, a forward for the Florida Panthers, has scored 64 points (17 goals, 47 assists) in 47 games.
The fountains span more than 1,000 feet and spray water as high as 460 feet.
"I don't want to give away too much," Mayer said. "But we're going to sort of up the ante a little bit with making it a slightly more challenging situation for a player, and just think of the environment and the things that we could do to make it a bit more challenging."
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The other new event is the Las Vegas NHL 21 in '22, a twist on blackjack that will have five players standing on Las Vegas Boulevard and shooting at a deck of oversized cards on a rack. The goal will be to achieve a hand of 21 without going bust in the least amount of shots.
Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos and Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk will take part.
"It's accuracy shooting with strategy, because you're now shooting at 52 targets rather than four," Mayer said. "We're going to incorporate some other elements to throw guys off a little bit, to give them opportunities to maybe double down. We're going to use celebrities and I think Vegas personalities to kind of just enhance the experience."
The adidas Breakaway Challenge returns for the first time since the 2016 All-Star Skills.
Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov, Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras, New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes, Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat and Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will take part, with the players encouraged to be as creative as they can, including wearing costumes and using trick shots.
Manon Rheaume, the first woman to play goalie in an NHL game, and actor Wyatt Russell will be the goalies for the event. And a celebrity judging panel of actor Jon Hamm, Las Vegas ventriloquist Terry Fator and Hockey Hall of Famers Mark Messier and Paul Coffey will rate the attempts from 1-10.
The Breakaway Challenge will be one of five events held inside T-Mobile Arena, along with the Verizon NHL Fastest Skater, the Dunkin' NHL Save Streak, the EA SPORTS NHL Hardest Shot and the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting.
The Fastest Skater will feature New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider, Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe, Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor, Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov, St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin, Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid.
Best of Skills Competition: Fastest Skater
McDavid is a three-time winner of the event and was second to New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal at the 2020 NHL All-Star Skills in St. Louis.
Goalies Jack Campbell of the Maple Leafs, Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning, Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes, Tristan Jarry of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Cam Talbot of the Wild, Juuse Saros of the Predators, Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks and John Gibson of the Ducks will take part in the NHL Save Streak.
Taking part in the NHL Hardest Shot will be Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech, San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier, Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman and Capitals forward Tom Wilson.
The NHL Accuracy Shooting will feature Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho, Penguins forward Jake Guentzel, Ducks forward Troy Terry, Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau, Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron and Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault. Lamoureux-Davidson will be one of four passers setting up the shooters, who will try to hit targets set up in each corner of the goal in the least amount of time.
"We want to have fun," Mayer said. "It really is quite the showcase for our players to show off their personality, to smile, hang out with the other players.
"You want our guys to just kind of let their hair down a bit and do what shows how amazing they are, both in skill, because they're the greatest players in the world, but also in that they're more than just hockey players. They're fun-loving guys who love playing the game and love to kind of show off in a forum like this."
