The NHL’s regular season will pause from February 2nd to February 5th. When the world’s best players gather in South Florida for the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star weekend at FLA Live Arena. This midseason showcase includes the skills challenge and All -Star Game.
Last week the NHL announced that 32 players were named to the four divisional rosters for the NHL All Star weekend. As well as the launch of the fan vote that enables fans to help select the additional twelve players for each division. Here is what you need to know ahead of the events.
NHL All Star Weekend
There are many events included during this weekend. The All -Star skills competition is scheduled to take place on Friday and will be broadcasted on ESPN. This is a fan favorite event that shows off some of the best NHL talent. In addition, the All- Star Game is slated for Saturday broadcasting on ABC and streaming on ESPN+.
The Skills Challenge brings excitement to the events because it is a showcase of the best hockey talent. Fan favorites go toe-to-toe against each other in hockey related challenges. Some of the favorite events include the fastest skater, save streak and breakaway challenges. Also, the accuracy shooting, and hardest shot are fun to watch. There will be be other challenges added based on location which should be interesting.
The All -Sar Game will feature a three- game tournament played in a 3 -on-3 format. They are showcasing teams from each division and each of the four teams include nine skaters and two goalies. Also, the periods and games are much shorter than normal but still fun to watch.
Rosters and More
The initial rosters included a player from each division and there are big names on the list. Some standouts include forwards Dylan Larkin of the Sabres and Steven Stamkos of the Lightning. Along with Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark who has had a breakout season. Also, star defensemen Cale Makar from the Avalanche and Seth Jones from the Blackhawks. Forward Matt Tkachuk will represent the hometown, Panthers.
These are just a few of the players on initial roster. So the fan vote will be interesting to see who makes the cut because there are a lot of deserving players but only few spots left. The Bruins should get a couple more players in since they are doing so well. Also, it seems the Avalanche and Sabres are getting a bit of attention too.
Fans should tune into the All -Star Weekend events in couple of weeks. There is some much talent in the NHL that will be showcased. Stay tuned for more NHL news and stories.
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