NHL

NHL Skills Competition Sadly Lacking In Competition

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There was once a time when I yearned for the Saturday Night NHL Skills Competition that lit up All-Star Weekend.

Al Iafrate‘s 105.2 mph rocket in 1993 was launched from a wooden stick (yes, they used wooden sticks). Raymond Bourque turned the shot accuracy competition into his own talent show. It was breaking news if Bourque failed to hit the target. The night would culminate with the league’s best going one-on-one with professional goalies. Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier going to work against Dominik Hasek, Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy.

Tonight, an analyst will praise a shooter like Zdeno Chara for eclipsing Iafrate’s record. While it is impressive that shots can be whistled into the mid-100s, present day players are using composite sticks. The lightness and additional flex in those sticks increases the velocity of the shot. In addition, players today are bigger and stronger than ever before.

All the while, no player can ever replicate Bourque’s mastery of the Accuracy and the Breakaway Competitions, once the glimmering light of All-Star Saturday, which has sunk into a bottomless pit. The competition aspect has faded as showmanship reigns supreme. Will Evgeni Malkin put a hat and sunglasses on Alex Ovechkin? Or will Marian Hossa coin Patrick Kane the next superman?

The NHL is falling into the same trap that sunk the NBA dunk contest. Players are now rewarded for their creativity rather than their execution. In basketball, rather than having two attempts, the player has a time limit and his score is not deducted if he does not convert right away. Similarly, in hockey, the result of the breakaway carries almost no weight when judging the score.

While showmanship is required, All-Star Saturday has evolved into a prolonged Go Pro commercial. The night is lacking competition, and as a result, the fans are cheated. The All-Star game is marketed to the public as an opportunity to see the game’s best go at it. Saturday Night should be no different.

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