NHL All-Star Skills competition, explained: Format, rules, scoring, past winners & more

The fastest skater, the hardest shot and a blend of golf and hockey. That’s what fans get to see at this year’s NHL All-Star Skills competition. 

The 2023 event is set to headline the action on the first night of All-Star Weekend. There are a number of different challenges that players get to try, including three new ones this year that are making their debut in South Florida. 

In addition to the stars selected for the game, five women’s hockey players and a celebrity goalie will be at the competition. Alex Carpenter and Hilary Knight from the United States and Emily Clark, Rebecca Johnston and Sarah Nurse from Canada will be competing in the event, as well as former NHL goalie Roberto Luongo in the breakaway challenge. 

The All-Stars aren’t just competing for entertainment. The winner of each event also goes home with a cash prize of $30,000. 

MORE: Watch the 2023 NHL All-Star Game on fubo TV: Sign up today!

The Sporting News has you covered on all the events at the skills competition and how each event is scored. 

NHL All-Star Skills format and scoring

In total, there are seven events in the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills competition. Four of these challenges have been around for years, which include the fastest skater, breakaway challenge, accuracy shooting and hardest shot. 

New this year are the splash shot, pitch ‘n puck and tendy tandem. 

Fastest Skater

If you like speed, then this event is for you. Players are timed on how fast they can complete one lap around the rink.

Whoever has the fastest time is declared the winner. 

Breakaway Challenge

The breakaway challenge is one of the most unique events at the skills competition. Players can get creative with their shootout attempts, using props, costumes and even special guests to help get the judge’s vote. 

A panel of judges votes on who had the best breakaway attempt and they determine the winner. 

Accuracy Shooting

In this event, players must put their shooting accuracy to the test. There are four targets in the net and each participant must hit all four targets as quickly as possible. 

Whoever takes the shortest amount of time to hit all four targets is the winner. 

Hardest Shot

Like the fastest skater, the hardest shot competition is simple to understand. Players take turns skating in and firing a slap shot into the net. 

The participant with the hardest registered shot is the winner. 

Splash Shot

One of the new events for 2023 is the splash shot, an outdoor event that will take place on the beach at Fort Lauderdale. 

Eight players are divided into four teams of two. Players are required to hit all the targets before attempting to dunk their opponents.

The winner is the one to dunk their opponents first. 

Pitch ‘n Puck

Six players will participate in the pitch ‘n puck, an event that mixes hockey with golf. Players must combine their skills on a par-4 golf to get the puck/ball in the hole. 

The player that takes the fewest shots to complete the course is the winner. If there’s a tiebreaker, a longest-drive competition will determine the victor. 

Tendy Tandem

The tendy tandem is another unique event that is getting its first try this year. The eight goalies at the competition will make up four teams, with each division pairing up its two goalies on one team. One goalie will shoot and the other will tend the goal. 

The shooting goalie will take a shot and try to get it into a designated hole. They will be awarded three points if the shot goes in the hole, two if it hits the in-net target and zero if it misses the net. 

The in-net goalie will face one, two or three players in a shootout. Players start from center ice and must shoot on the rush. Play continues until all pucks have been shot.

The goalie tandem with the most combined points from the two parts of the event wins. 

Previous NHL All-Star Skills winners

Here is a look at the previous winners of the events occurring again in 2023. 

Fastest Skater

Breakaway Challenge

Accuracy Shooting

Hardest Shot