Connor McDavid on Friday won the NHL All-Star Skills competition, taking home the US$1 million prize while showing once again why he is considered the best ice hockey player in the league.
The reigning and three-time Most Valuable Player dominated the competition which he had helped the league and the players’ union revive after thinking in previous years it had gotten “a little gimmicky, a little out there.”
With his assist, it went back to the basics and McDavid was dominant.
Photo: AFP
“I thought it was a fun event,” McDavid said.
The Edmonton Oilers captain finished first in the fastest skater race, winning that event for the fourth time in his career, and stick-handling and went four for four in accuracy shooting.
“Obviously he’s the epitome of competitiveness on a daily basis, so I’m not surprised,” Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl said.
Three players from Western Conference rivals the Colorado Avalanche also put on a show.
Nathan MacKinnon won the one-timers event, while Cale Makar had the hardest shot at 102.56mph (165.05kph).
Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev made nine saves in one-on-one to win US$100,000.
The prize money was one of the new wrinkles at the redesigned skills competition that featured just 12 players.
“I think guys like it,” Draisaitl said. “I don’t know how it was received on TV, but I thought it was good.”
Fans cheered Maple Leafs All-Stars Auston Matthews and William Nylander, and booed Nikita Kucherov multiple times when they did not appreciate his lack of effort in the passing and stick-handling events.
Kucherov even waved to the crowd after finishing dead last in the stick-handling race — in excess of 44 seconds, well behind McDavid’s winning time of 25.755 seconds and slower than David Pastrnak, who missed the net.
Unsurprisingly, Kucherov was one of four players eliminated after the first six events.
Connor Bedard, the top pick in the draft by the Chicago Blackhawks and the frontrunner for NHL rookie of the year before breaking his jaw on Jan. 5, made a surprise appearance as a passer for the one-timers event.
Bedard was picked to participate before the injury.
Leafs alumni Doug Gilmour and Steve Thomas, and Toronto Professional Women’s Hockey League players and Canadian Olympians Sarah Nurse and Blayre Turnbull served as passers in accuracy shooting.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early on Tuesday struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his MLB debut against the Oakland Athletics. “Pretty sick performance,” teammate Romy Gonzalez said. “It was fun to watch.” The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus the Milwaukee Brewers on July 26, 1977. “It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing
Mikel Merino on Sunday scored a hat-trick as a majestic Spain thumped Turkey 6-0 away in World Cup qualifying, while a brilliant Florian Wirtz free-kick helped Germany beat Northern Ireland 3-1 to get their bid up and running. European champions Spain were in unstoppable form in the central Turkish city of Konya, claiming their second biggest-ever away win in World Cup qualifying as Arsenal midfielder Merino scored his first professional hat-trick. Barcelona playmaker Pedri Gonzalez opened the scoring inside six minutes and later completed the scoring, with Ferran Torres netting the visitors’ other goal. The quality of Merino’s strikes was remarkable, with his
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
SWEDEN BEATEN: Goals in the first half by Elvis Rexhbecaj and Vedat Muriqi were enough to give Kosovo their second-ever win in World Cup qualifying Sandro Tonali’s last-gasp winner on Monday edged Italy to a 5-4 victory over Israel in FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifying, while Kosovo beat Sweden despite Alexander Isak making his first appearance of the season. After collapsing from leading 4-2 in the final two minutes to drawing 4-4, Tonali’s 91st-minute strike in the Hungarian city of Debrecen sent Italy above Israel and into the playoff spot in Group I. New coach Gennaro Gattuso’s side trail leaders Norway by three points and still have a chance of taking first place and the group’s sole direct qualifying spot as they seek to avoid missing out
RSS