Dallas Stars Representing In NHL All-Star Skills Competition
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars will be well-represented in the NHL All-Star Skills Competition tonight in Nashville. Both Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin will be competing in two of the biggest events.
It’s finally here. The Dallas Stars fan base has survived four straight days without any hockey. But it’s finally back.
The NHL will kick off their annual All-Star Weekend in Nashville, Tennessee tonight with the All-Star Skills Competition. There have been some preliminary events involving players and mascots off the ice already, but the actual on-ice action begins in just a few hours. The skills competition is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. CST tonight. The 3-on-3 All-Star Tournament is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. CST on Sunday afternoon.
The two Dallas Stars players who were invited to the All-Star festivities will also be playing influential roles in tonight’s contests.
Last season, Tyler Seguin was the sole Star to be invited to the All-Star Game. During the skills competition, he took part in the Fastest Skater challenge (see picture above). Although he lost his race to Phil Kessel by a measly .035 seconds, it was still an obviously enjoyable night for him.
This season, Tyler Seguin has been selected to compete in the Hardest Shot competition. So basically if you want to watch Seguin intentionally attempt to tear a hole through the twine, you might want to tune in.
Seguin will be competing against Dustin Byfuglien, John Scott, and Shea Weber, who won the hardest shot competition last year with a 108.5 mph ripper.
That’s not all though. Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn will also be returning to the All-Star Game for his first appearance since 2012 and be looking to make some noise. Benn was selected to compete in the Accuracy Shooting Competition. Back in 2012, Benn actually finished first place with the most accurate shot, hitting all four targets with just five shots in 10.2 seconds.
Benn will face off against Patrick Kane, Corey Perry, and Joe Pavelski. Long story short, there is no shortage of accurate shooters in this game.
Both players will also aid in the Skills Challenge Relay, with Seguin serving in stick handling and Benn serving as the mini-net passer.
The players will also compete in a massive shootout, with each conference being broken up into groups to shoot. Here are the groups including Benn and Seguin, compliments of the stellar Mike Heika at SportsDayDFW.com:
Round 2: SHOOTERS: 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; GOALTENDER: John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
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Round 3: SHOOTERS: John Scott; Shea Weber, Nashville Predators; Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars; Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks; Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings; Roman Josi, Nashville Predators; GOALTENDER: Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
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While some of you may just be anxiously awaiting the glory that is the NHL’s new All-Star Game concept including 3-on-3 games between each division. It’s going to be an intense few days, that’s for sure. But for now, make sure to enjoy the fun that is the night before! It all kicks off at 6:00 p.m. CST on NBCSN. Make sure to tune in!