NHL All-Star Skills Competition 2024: Most Exciting Players to Watch

The NHL All-Star Game skills competition has a different look to it for Friday's showcase in Toronto.

Twelve NHL stars will compete across a handful of events for a $1 million prize instead of having all of the All-Stars in one event each.

Connor McDavid leads the collection of 12 players who will compete in four of six events in the opening round of the skills competition.

The dozen stars got to choose between fastest skater, hardest shot, stick handling, one-timers, passing challenge and accuracy shooting to fill out their four required events.

The top eight skaters with the highest point totals from those events will then advance to a one-on-one event in which the top six point earners choose which goalies they want to shoot against.

The six players with the most points after the one-on-one event will participate in an obstacle course, which includes all of the skills from the entire competition and is worth double the point totals compared to the first seven events.

Connor McDavid

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EDMONTON, CANADA - JANUARY 23: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers skates with the puck behind the net of Elvis Merzlikins #90 of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the game at Rogers Place on January 23, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Connor McDavid made the fastest skater event his own throughout past All-Star Games.

The Edmonton Oilers star is a three-time champion in that discipline and he will be back in the event as part of the new format in 2024.

McDavid will participate in the fastest skater, passing challenge, stick handling and accuracy shooting events in the first portion of the skills competition.

He is expected to win at least one of the events in the opening round. The bare minimum expectation is for McDavid to reach the final eight.

McDavid is one of three 2024 skills competition participants to win an individual event in the past along with Mat Barzal and Elias Pettersson.

McDavid has not participated in all of the top skills challenge disciplines, but he at least knows what it takes to win one and that will put some expectations on him to win the whole thing.

Auston Matthews and William Nylander

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WINNIPEG, CANADA - JANUARY 27: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs looks on during a third period stoppage in play against the Winnipeg Jets at the Canada Life Centre on January 27, 2024 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Toronto Maple Leafs duo of Auston Matthews and William Nylander are under pressure to win inside their home arena.

Toronto has the second-highest number of All-Star selections and the weekend could be a celebration of the team's superstars, starting with Friday's skills competition.

Matthews will participate in the one-timers, hardest shot, accuracy shooting and passing challenge. Nylander entered into the fastest skater, passing challenge, stick handling and accuracy shooting.

Nylander could be viewed as the biggest threat to McDavid in the fastest skater event. He could have a slight advantage in that event because he will be on home ice.

Both of the Leafs stars will be expected to reach the final round and anything less will be viewed as a slight disappointment during Toronto's weekend to shine.

Elias Pettersson

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VANCOUVER, CANADA - JANUARY 20: Elias Pettersson #40 of the Vancouver Canucks celebrates after scoring a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period of their NHL game at Rogers Arena on January 20, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images)

Elias Pettersson should be the top sleeper to win the $1 million prize over McDavid, Matthews, Nylander and Nathan MacKinnon.

The Vancouver Canucks forward is the reigning champion in the hardest shot event. He will defend that title against Matthews, Cale Makar, David Pastrnak and J.T. Miller.

Pettersson will also compete in the one-timers event, a spot where he could have success because of his hardest shot crown. He is entered in the stick handling and passing challenge as well.

Wins in the shooting events could propel Pettersson to the top of the standings going into the final eight and final six. That could make him hard to catch in the final two events.