DUBLIN – A change in sweaters didn’t slow Ethan Bear down. A year after winning the league’s Fastest Skater title as a member of the Madrid Royals, Bear won it again, this time representing Kosice. The fans in attendance were not that happy about it because their man – Erik Andersson – had to settle for second place.
Jack Eichel of Stockholm, who won the league scoring title last season, almost won two events in the Skills Competition. He placed second to Oslo’s Zach Werenski in the Hardest Shot competition but then – after the disgusting GM Swimsuit Competition – he won the Most Accurate Shooter title, edging out two-time defending champ Aaron Ekblad of Minsk.
Here are this year’s Skills Competition place winners:
Fastest Skater
- Ethan Bear, Kosice
- Erik Andersson, Dublin
- Clayton Keller, Munich
- Kendall Coyne of Stockholm, the first-ever female competitor, placed 14th
Hardest Shot
- Zach Werenski, Oslo
- Jack Eichel, Stockholm
- Auston Matthews, Copenhagen
Most Accurate
- Jack Eichel, Stockholm
- Aaron Ekblad, Minsk
- Adam Fox, Gothenburg
GM Swimsuit Competition
Mikko Mantykoski, general manager of the Madrid Royals, won the first-ever GM Swimsuit Competition. The Finn strided with confidence, displaying a body that must have been halfway decent at some point in his life. Eight women in the audience fainted and had to receive medical aid from Dublin’s ambulance corps, as did Roger Bowmoore, London GM, who was pelted with rotten potatoes and a fish while he tried to walk the runway.
