Canucks players Hughes and Miller will participate alongside Pettersson in the NHL All-Star Skills Competition.
The NHL chose Elias Pettersson to participate in the Skills Competition, while Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller were fan selections for the event.
Three Vancouver Canucks players are set to showcase their skills at the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills Competition. In the All-Star Game roster fan vote, Thatcher Demko, Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and Brock Boeser earned spots alongside Quinn Hughes in Toronto at the beginning of February.
However, the fan vote continued for the revamped Skills Competition, featuring 12 All-Stars in a series of events resembling a hockey decathlon. While the NHL selected ten All-Stars, including Elias Pettersson, the remaining two spots were determined by fan vote. Once again, Canucks fans made their presence felt, ensuring that Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller secured the last two positions in the competition, making it a trio of Canucks in the Skills Competition.
YOU DID IT AGAIN! 🤯
Thanks to your votes #Canucks fans, Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller will join Elias Pettersson at the 2024 #NHLAllStar Skills Competition! pic.twitter.com/myIy90DFLa
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 20, 2024
Canucks fans demonstrated an impressive presence, surpassing the entire NHL in votes to secure Hughes and Miller’s spots in the competition, which boasts a million-dollar prize.
However, not every participant will engage in all the events. Each player will partake in four of the initial six events: Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Passing Challenge, One Timers, Stick Handling, and Accuracy Shooting.
Points will be awarded based on performance in each event, leading to the top-eight players advancing to the seventh event: One-on-One. During this stage, each player will go head-to-head with a selected All-Star goalie, aiming to score goals with a designated number of pucks.
The One-on-One event will trim the field to six players, who will then compete in the Obstacle Course. This challenging course will assess various skills through a series of obstacles. Notably, point totals for the Obstacle Course event will be doubled, providing an opportunity for even the sixth-place player to make a comeback and contend for the victory.
This year is different. This year we find out who is the best all-around skills competitor with $1 Million on the line.
Check out the new format for 2024 #NHLAllStar Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook: https://t.co/lnkvGiiQrB pic.twitter.com/jv60JkzO5E
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 13, 2024
Pettersson is likely to be a strong contender in the competition, particularly as he is the reigning Hardest Shot champion, possesses a powerful and precise one-timer, has previous experience in the Fastest Skater event, showcases an accurate wrist shot, adeptly executes dekes, and excels as a high-end playmaker. Considering the array of skills required in the Skills Competition, Pettersson appears to have no discernible weaknesses.
Nevertheless, Hughes and Miller also boast well-rounded skill sets, and their performance in the event will depend on the specific events they choose from the initial six. The question remains: could a Canucks player secure the million-dollar prize?
