After winning their own team competitions, the EURO League’s fastest skaters, hardest shooters and most accurate snipers are ready to battle for top honors in the league. The annual All-Star Game Skills Competition will be held today.
Nazem Kadri of Geneva is the only player who will represent his team in all three competitions.
The Fastest Skater trophy is totally up for grabs with 14 players with 100 ratings and three more at 99.
Normally the realm of big defensemen like Dustin Byfuglien, Shea Weber and Tyler Myers, the Hardest Shot could be claimed by a forward this season. Chris Stewart of Munich, Chris Kreider of Madrid, Nathan Horton of Paris and Copenhagen rookie Auston Matthews all could be near the top when the dust settles.
Erik Karlsson has won the Accuracy Shooting event the last 2 years and 4 times in the 7 years of Skills Competitions. He also placed second three seasons ago.
Silky smooth hands will be on display in the Accuracy event with Jamie Benn of Edinburgh, Taylor Hall of London, Paris’ Alex Pietrangelo and Madrid’s Erik Karlsson expected to have a slight advantage over the rest of the field.
To come up with the competitors shown above, the commissioner took a player from each pro team roster for each of the 3 competitions. The player with the highest (SP) rating will be entered in the fastest skater contest; the player with the highest (ST+SHO) will vie for hardest shot; and the highest (SHO+PA+FI) will compete for most accurate shooter. Since chance is involved in any game, their totals will be multiplied by a random number between 95 and 100 to determine the outcomes. Winners get no money, but they do get glory and their names in the paper.
Last season’s winners were:
- Fastest Skater: Phil Kessel, Dublin
- Hardest Shot: Dustin Byfuglien, Geneva
- Accuracy: Erik Karlsson, Madrid
