Youth Hockey Shootout Winners Attend NHL All-Star Weekend

The winners from the 3rd Annual Youth Hockey Shootout Challenge presented by RWJBarnabas Health had quite an exciting weekend.

For those who may have missed it, in November, 33 pairs of youth hockey players participated in the annual shootout challenge. The top two pairs took to Prudential Center's main ice during the Devils home game on November 21 during the first intermission when the Devils hosted the Canadiens. In the competition, Matthew Zocks and Andrew Downey from Devils Youth came out with the victory and won the ultimate prize - a trip to the 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend in San Jose, California, where they participated in the NHL All-Star Shootout Challenge against pairs from other NHL cities who hosted the same local event.

RELATED: Devils host 3rd Annual Youth Hockey Shootout Challenge
The 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend has come and gone, and we caught up with Matthew and Andrew who shared their experience. They traveled and arrived in San Jose, California on Thursday, January 24. On Friday, they took part in their big event, the Mini 1-on-1 Finals that took part at the Solar4America Ice rink which is the Official Practice Facility of the San Jose Sharks.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Good luck to Matthew and Andrew from @DevilsYouth today. They���re representing New Jersey in the @NHL���s Mini 1-on-1 Skills Competition at @S4A_Ice. #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/YarJxmQfjn
The format was similar to the shootout that took place at Prudential Center in November, and although this time they didn't come out on top, they had fun competing against other youth hockey players from across North America.

"I was excited to compete against all of the other teams because there were a lot of talented kids there and I wanted to face the challenge," Devils Youth netminder Andrew said. "It was so much fun getting to go up against all the other hockey teams in San Jose, California. There were a lot of good teams which Matthew and I were up against and I liked seeing different moves that each Goalie and Shooter used."

"I felt confident going into the shootout," Devils Youth shooter Matthew said. "I knew what I needed to do to be successful and tried my best to take strong shots. It was very exciting to shoot on goalies from around the country. Most of the goalies had great skill."
After the event, the two attended the All-Star Red Carpet Arrivals to see the NHL players enter the arena prior to the Skills Competition Friday evening. They were able to get autographs from the top players in the league and even grabbed a photo with Devils forward and 2019 All-Star Kyle Palmieri.

The two then had some fun walking through the plaza where they were able to see the NHL Downtown Ice, which was the outdoor ice rink situated at the Circle of Palms in downtown San Jose for the All-Star Weekend. They also saw Pucks in the Plaza, which were oversized, three-dimensional NHL All-Star Player pucks which lined the path to SAP Center. Later that evening, the pair attended the Skills Competition where they watched the players they had met compete in the different events.
On Saturday, Matthew and Andrew attended the 2019 Fan Fair Presented by SAP at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. They had the opportunity to meet up with Devils alumni Bruce Driver and Bryce Salvador for part of the day.

Not only did they grab a photo with the former Devils, but Salvador and Driver walked the young players through multiple xHockeyProducts interactive games. The interactive games were a fun way to test the youth hockey players' skills.

After the Fan Fair, the two attended the All-Star Game where they watched the best players in the world face off against each other. Ultimately, Kyle Palmieri's team, the Metropolitan Division, came out on top.
Tweet from @NJDevils: 🎶 We are the champions 🎶#NHLAllStar | #JerseysBoy 🌴 pic.twitter.com/FEv1fgSYLu
As for their favorite part of the trip, Matthew said he liked the Red Carpet before the Skills Competition because he was able to see the best players in the world up close and was able to get his Devils Shootout jersey signed by many of them. For Andrew, he liked meeting Kyle Palmieri on the Red Carpet and getting his autograph and a photo with him. He also liked attending the All-Star Game because he got to see the best players show off their skills while playing against one another.

The Devils camera crew caught up with Palmieri on growing up playing hockey in New Jersey. They also talked with Andrew about his experience and seeing a New Jersey Youth Hockey player in the All-Star Game. This past week's 82 Game Odyssey presented by Investors Bank featured what they had to say.
Tweet from @NJDevils: .@kylepalmieri was mic'ed up and enjoying himself at the #NHLAllStar Weekend in San Jose. Watch the behind the scenes of his experience in this episode of #Devils82GO presented by @InvestorsBank. pic.twitter.com/DkNUm5CMYO
Andrew's mother, Beth Downey, and Matthew's father, Adam Zocks, both attended the trip with their sons.
"There were so many great moments it's hard to narrow it down to just one but watching Andrew proudly wearing his NJ Devils jersey with his name on it, being interviewed by the NJ Devils' Cameraman during the NHL All-Star Game was pretty special," Beth told us. "Andrew was so poised and calm when he spoke about how he was inspired by Kyle Palmieri, since Kyle also started his hockey career playing for the Devils Youth Hockey Club and is now playing at the All-Star Game. Seeing the happiness on Andrew's face while he experienced a trip of a lifetime was simply awesome."
"It was such a thrill to share this great experience with Matthew," Adam said of the trip. "He and Andrew earned their trip to San Jose and the opportunity to compete against such talented young player is something none of us will ever forget. We loved every minute of our time in San Jose. From the Mini 1-on1 to the Skills Competition, Fan Fair and the All-Star Game. Seeing the excitement on the boys faces made it even better."
As for what the future holds, the boys said they both just really love this sport and will both be working hard on the ice and continuing to practice in hopes of one day taking the ice in an NHL All-Star Game.
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