Werenski wins NHL Fountain Face-Off during All-Star Skills
Blue Jackets defenseman most accurate in event held at Fountains of Bellagio
The event, one of two additions to the skills competition along with the Las Vegas NHL 21 in '22, took place in the center of the Fountains of Bellagio on Thursday, and the Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman showed his shooting accuracy.
"It was awesome," Werenski said. "I've been to Vegas a few times and I feel like every time you come here you walk by them, you watch the fountains go off; and when I heard about [the event] originally before I knew I was doing it, I was kind of hoping that was the one I had to do. Just being out there, seeing the fountains up close, seeing the event they put on and just taking it all in. It was pretty unbelievable."
Werenski and the seven other participants -- Florida Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau, Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux, Seattle Kraken forward Jordan Eberle, Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi, Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki, Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone and former women's player Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson -- traveled by boat to a platform in the fountains.
"I was wondering how you get out there and I assumed it has to be by boat," Werenski said. "It was different. It's one of those things where you can skate fastest skater lap whenever, you can shoot pucks at targets whenever, but I'll never shoot pucks in the Bellagio Fountains again, so just to take that whole experience in … I thought they set it up really well. … it was awesome."
The players had to hit four of five targets of their choosing in the first round. Two were located close, one on the left and one on the right, but pucks could bounce out of those because they were smaller targets. Three targets were farther away, including a net straight away. The two players who hit four targets the fastest moved on to the final round.
"It was so cool. You come to Vegas to see the fountains, right?" Josi said. "It's one of the coolest things here, so to be out there and shooting pucks, that was very unique. I didn't even know until yesterday that I had to do that one, so I was really excited. That's very unique to Vegas and it probably will never happen again, so definitely glad to be a part of it."
Huberdeau went first and completed the targets in 39.915 seconds. Eberle went third and did it in 27.934 seconds.
"I think [Huberdeau] and I took our time and the guys behind us watched us and they were going a lot quicker, " Eberle said. "It was really cool. Kind of a cool setup with the fountains and having the pictures in the background. … We were quite cold. It was just unique. If I had to pick one thing if I had to do it over again, I would have tried to go a little quicker. I think I was taking my time."
Josi (11.855 seconds) and Werenski (15.163 seconds) seemed to get a rhythm and were the two with the fastest times.
"It was cold, but it was pretty cool, especially at the end where they had the fountains, the whole show going, " Josi said. "I was watching Zach and you can see the fountains. … You could [feel the water spray] at the end. And we were like out there for an hour by then probably, and we were kind of like saying we both went up and were kind of shaking, we were so cold. But it was a cool experience."
In the final, the fountains rose higher and the players had to hit all five targets. Werenski went first and put up an impressive time of 25.634 seconds. Josi struggled with one of the closer targets and finished in 47.454.
"That was awesome, " Werenski said. "I think that was the coolest part when the big fountains were going off and how loud they are. You could feel the mist from them a little bit. It was an awesome event they put on. It was better than I expected it to be. … When I was playing [Josi] in the finals, I was pretty focused, I wanted to win it. … But when he was going, I was taking it all in, looking around and just enjoying it. It was cool."
Stone, the Golden Knights captain and local favorite, tipped his cap to the crowd outside the fountains and got cheers but was unable to advance to the final.
"You know the hardest shot, you know the fastest skater, the shooting, but to do something unique like that is pretty coolm so it was fun to do and I hope the fans enjoyed it, " Eberle said.
RESULTS
First Round
Roman Josi, Nashville Predators, 11.855 seconds
Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets, 15.163 seconds
Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, 16.253 seconds
Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens, 22.155 seconds
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers, 22.688 seconds
Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights, 24.696 seconds
Jordan Eberle, Seattle Kraken, 27.934 seconds
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers, 39.915 seconds
Final round
Werenski, 25.634 seconds
Josi, 47.454 seconds
