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Captains make picks for All-Star Skills Competition

Friday, 01.29.2016 / 3:58 PM / 2016 NHL All-Star Weekend

By Brian Compton - NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor

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Captains make picks for All-Star Skills Competition
All-Star Captains make picks for Skills Competition

NASHVILLE -- Pacific Division captain John Scott is embracing his role at the 2016 Honda NHL-All Star Game.

Along with Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (Central Division), Scott, the Pacific Division captain, helped select the Western Confernce players for the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports).

Scott put himself into the AMP Energy NHL Hardest Shot event, where he'll be joined by teammates Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg Jets, Central), Tyler Seguin (Dallas Stars, Central) and Shea Weber (Nashville Predators, Central). They'll go up against Aaron Ekblad (Florida Panthers, Atlantic), Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins, Metropolitan), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlantic) and P.K. Subban (Montreal Canadiens, Atlantic).

Weber won the event last year when his shot clocked in at 108.5 miles per hour.

How hard does Scott think he can shoot?

"Hopefully 102, 103 (mph)," Scott said. "That'd be nice. I didn't want to put Weber in there, but they were really pulling for him."

Scott wasn't done having fun; he chose Byfuglien (6-foot-5, 260 pounds) for the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater competition.

"I think he'll be excited," Scott said. "It's a good opportunity for him to show his speed. It'll be good."

New York Islanders captain John Tavares, a three-time All-Star, will lead the Metropolitan Division. He chose players alongside Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr, who selected competitors for the Atlantic.

Tavares, 25, was a newborn when Jagr made his NHL debut in the fall of 1990.

"It's different," Tavares said. "I remember watching him plenty of times, and it's funny how things end up the way they are today. He's still such a great player. It's special to still play against him and now to do something like this, it's pretty cool. We're trying to put everyone in good spots and make the event exciting and also not too demanding for anybody. It's putting a puzzle together."

Tavares will once again compete in the DraftKings NHL Accuracy Shooting competition, which Kane won in 2015.

"I'd like to do a little better than last year; I was just OK," Tavares said. "Hopefully I can put on a good show this year."

That certainly seems to be Scott's plan.

"That was fun," Scott said. "Usually I do this kind of in the summer with a video game machine, so it was neat to kind of do it here with [Kane] and kind of pick all the star players. It's cool."

Here is a look at the six events:

Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater

Four players from each team will test their speed, facing off against an opponent in a two-skater race. The race track for the head-to-head match-ups is the border of the rink split in half lengthways. Timing devices will record each skater to determine the winner of each match. If a race ends in a tie, each of the teams will be awarded one point. The skater with the fastest time in the head-to-head match-ups will skate a full lap of the outside border of the rink, in the direction of their choosing, in an attempt to break Mike Gartner's record (13.386). If, at the completion of the event, two skaters are tied for the fastest overall time, both skaters will skate a full lap of the rink in an attempt to break the historical best record.

Points Available: 6 – The winner of each match-up scores one point; the team with the fastest skater scores a bonus point; if the fastest skater is successful in breaking Mike Gartner's record an additional bonus point will be awarded.

Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings; Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets; Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators; Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins; Roman Josi, Nashville Predators; Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche; Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers; Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets

Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge

Fans will have two opportunities to exercise their vote in the Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge. While five spots will be determined by team captains, one guaranteed spot in this event will be determined by the fans, who will vote on Twitter as part of the Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge Fan Vote campaign.

The eligible candidates are forwards Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche, Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings and Brandon Saad of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Fans can vote via Twitter for their favorite eligible player by including his hashtag -- #NHLBreakawayDuchene, #NHLBreakawayLarkin or #NHLBreakawaySaad. Voting opened Tuesday and close Thursday at 5 p.m. ET.

Each team will provide one goalie to participate in this challenge. Each shooter will attempt two shots, and teams will alternate after each shot. Style, creativity, and flair are encouraged. NHL penalty shot rules do not apply.

As soon as the last competitor completes his routine, fans in-arena and watching on television in the U.S. and Canada will get another opportunity to make their case on Twitter by casting their vote using the hashtag that corresponds to the player of their choice. The shooter with the highest fan vote will be crowned the Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge winner and score one point for his team.

Points Available: 1 – The shooter with the highest percentage of fan votes scores one point.

Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets; Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals; P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens; Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils; James Neal, Nashville Predators; Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche; Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks; Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings

DraftKings NHL Accuracy Shooting

Four shooters from each team will participate, with two additional players serving as passers. This event will consist of four head-to-head match-ups, with one shooter from each team per round. The goal is to hit four 15-inch diameter targets located in each corner of the net. The teams will be situated at opposite ends of the rink, and will alternate attempts. The first shooter to hit all four targets wins.

Points Available: 5 – The winner of each match-up scores one point; the player who hits all four targets in the fastest time scores the bonus point.

John Tavares, New York Islanders; Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers; Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins; Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks; Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks; Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks, Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars

Passers: Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals; Jaromir Jagr, Florida Panthers; Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings; Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues

Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay

This timed relay event – involving 14 skaters and two goalies from each team – will consist of four relays with five challenges each: One Timers, with three shooters and one passer per team; Passing, with one passer per team; Puck Control, with one skater per team; Stick-Handling, with one skater per team; and Goalie Goals, with one goalie per team.

Each skill must be completed before moving on to the next challenge with the exception of one timers, passing and goalie goals in which a maximum of forty-five seconds will be allocated. The goal is to finish all five challenges faster than the opponent.

Points Available: 3 - The team with the fastest time in each heat scores one point; the team with the fastest overall time scores one bonus point.

One-timer right shooters: Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers; Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators; Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning; Shea Weber, Nashville Predators; Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings; Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks

One-timer passers: Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers

Mini-net passer: Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals; Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

Puck control relay: Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes; Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames

Stick Handling: Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers; Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

Goalie Goals: Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals; Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

One-timer left shooters: Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers; Leo Komarov, Toronto Maple Leafs; Ryan O'Reilly, Buffalo Sabres; Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames; James Neal, Nashville Predators; Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues

One-timer passer: Jaromir Jagr, Florida Panthers; Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche

Mini-net passer: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals; Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars

Puck Control relay: Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins; Roman Josi, Nashville Predators

Stick handling: Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings; Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars

Goalie Goals: Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning; Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild

AMP Energy NHL Hardest Shot

Four shooters from each team will test their slap shot skill in a head-to-head match-up. Each player will attempt two shots, with teams alternating after each player. One puck will be placed 30 feet from the center of the net. Each shot will be calculated in miles per hour (mph), with the highest speed of their two shots recorded.

Points Available: 5 – The winner of each match-up scores one point; the team with the player who has the fastest speed scores one bonus point.

Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers; Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins; Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning; P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens; Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets; Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars; John Scott; Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

Discover NHL Shootout

Eighteen skaters and three goaltenders from each team will participate in the three-round shootout. During each two-minute round, six skaters and one goalie from each team will take the ice. Teams will alternate after each shot with each player having a maximum of 10 seconds to take a shot. Players one and three from each team will be designated Discover puck players, each goal scored by these players will count as two points. NHL shootout rules apply to each scoring attempt.

Points Available: 1 point for every goal scored; 2 points for every goal scored with a Discover puck.

Shootout Round 1: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins; Jaromir Jagr, Florida Panthers; P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens; Ryan O'Reilly, Buffalo Sabres; Leo Komarov, Toronto Maple Leafs; Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers; Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers; Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks; Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche, Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks; Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames; Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues; Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks; Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild

Shootout Round 2: Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals; Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning; Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals; Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers; Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes; Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals; Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks; Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers; Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars; James Neal, Nashville Predators; Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames; Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets; John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks

Shootout Round 3: Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers; Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings; John Tavares, New York Islanders; Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins; Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators; Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets; Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils; John Scott; Shea Weber, Nashville Predators; Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars; Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks; Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings; Roman Josi, Nashville Predators; Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

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