Wyatt Russell to play in Breakaway Challenge at 2022 NHL All-Star Skills

Wyatt Russell is looking forward to getting back on the ice, seeing a former teammate and having some fun when the actor will be one of the goalies in the adidas NHL Breakaway Challenge, part of the 2022 NHL All-Star Skills presented by Draft Kings Sportsbook at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS).

Russell, the son of actor Kurt Russell and actress Goldie Hawn, did stop short of admitting the opportunity is a dream of a lifetime, however.

"I don't know if my dream was, 12 years after you're done playing hockey, get invited to literally face the best goal-scorers in the world in a breakaway competition where they get to do whatever they want for however long they want," Russell said, tongue in cheek. "But in terms of just going out and seeing everybody in real life in that kind of arena, it'll be a fun little rush.

"I'm looking at it like who am I just trying to survive against. I'm going to be in constant survival mode."

The 35-year-old said he's also looking forward to catching up with an old friend, Minnesota Wild goalie Cam Talbot. Russell and Talbot, who will play for the Central Division in the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS), were teammates for two seasons (2007-09) at the University of Alabama-Huntsville.

"We played against each other in junior hockey before we went to college," Russell said, "so it's just a weird twist of fate that in the first year [Talbot] makes the All-Star Game, they also invite me. It's going to be a blast, though. The NHL is making this competition as fun as possible."

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Russell and Talbot each played in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League from 2005-07, Russell with Brampton and Talbot with Hamilton.

Russell said he has been doing research and also keeping tabs on Anaheim Ducks center Trevor Zegras, who scored a lacrosse-style goal in a 5-4 win at the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 27. Russell and Zegras will be among those competing in the Breakaway Challenge, along with goalie Manon Rheaume, who became the first woman to play in an NHL game, with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992.

Russell and Rheaume will face Zegras, Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov, New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes, Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat and Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.

"What [Zegras] can do in the game, guys always tried to do in practice," Russell said. "The Michigan player (Mike Legg) was the only guy to score the lacrosse-style goal when I was playing and that was a total anomaly. Now with the internet and kids constantly looking at YouTube, these guys can do the same things with the puck.

"Then this kid Trevor Zegras was born and he's playing lacrosse out there. It's nuts. Whatever he does, it's going to be amazing."

Russell started playing hockey at the age of 4 when his family moved from Los Angeles to Vancouver. After college, he played professionally in Europe for Timmendorfer Strand in Germany (2008-09) and Groningen in the Dutch Elite League (2009-10) before a hip injury ended his hockey career. He has been a full-time actor ever since. He most recently landed a lead role as Captain America on the Disney+ and Marvel Studios series, "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier."

He grew up a huge Los Angeles Kings fan and his hockey idols included former NHL goalies Kelly Hrudey and Martin Brodeur.

"Everything Hrudey did I wanted to do," Russell said. "But as I got a little older, Martin Brodeur was sort of my hockey icon. I probably stood up more than I should have when I was playing but I think I always saw myself in [Brodeur] because he wasn't super traditional. He kind of did anything he could to stop the puck and his puck handling skills were so much fun to watch since I was a goalie."