Boeser wins accuracy shooting at Skills Competition

TAMPA -- Steady as a Brock? Not quite.
"I definitely had nerves coming into it," Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser said. "My hands were sweating a little bit."

There he was, a 20-year-old rookie, standing alone on the ice and on national television for the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting event at the 2018 GEICO NHL All-Star Skills Competition at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
RELATED: [All-Star Skills Competition Results | Complete 2018 NHL All-Star Game coverage]
He had a pile of pucks to his right. He had five light-up LED targets hanging in the net 25 feet away. And he had to hit each of them in less than 11.626 seconds, the standard that had been set by New Jersey Devils center Brian Boyle.
"First you have to get a puck from the pile, so you have to make sure you have a puck on your stick," Boeser said.
Would be embarrassing to whiff, wouldn't it?
"Then you've got to look up and react pretty quick," he said.

Each target stayed lit for only three seconds if it wasn't hit. But Boeser has a wicked release, a big reason he has scored 24 goals this season, seven more than any other rookie in the NHL and tied for seventh in the League.
"I just didn't want to think about it," Boeser said. "I just wanted to get up there and shoot the puck like I know how to and hopefully hit the targets as fast as I could.
"I was trying not to worry about the time. I just wanted to have a good showing and not be out there for a while."
Boeser was out there for only 11.136 seconds.
He won the contest against some pretty good company: Boyle, Vegas Golden Knights left wing James Neal (14.262), Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (15.851), Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (21.923), Winnipeg Jets right wing Blake Wheeler (22.531), Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (44.692) and Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (50.844).
Not only that, Boeser shot one puck so hard that he broke the top right target.
"Did I?" he asked.

During a delay to replace the target, Boeser took a knee on the ice next to Crosby, and the two talked hockey. Boeser asked about Crosby's time at Shattuck-St. Mary's, the prep hockey power in Faribault, Minnesota he attended in 2002-03. Boeser is from Burnsville, Minnesota, about 35 minutes north.
"It was really cool to meet him," Boeser said.
And more.
"It was a blast just getting to meet most of the guys," Boeser said. "I think I met almost everyone so far. There's a few more that I'd like to meet, but it's been fun."
Results
Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks, 11.136
Brian Boyle, New Jersey Devils, 11.626
James Neal, Vegas Golden Knights, 14.262
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, 15.851
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, 21.923
Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets, 22.531
Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins, 44.692
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings, 50.844