NHL Skills Competition Tickets

The NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition is arguably the most difficult test of an individual player's power on the ice. The event finds its roots with the NHL All-Star Game and measures the individual technique of each player in direct competition with one another outside the structure of a game. Fans that are lucky enough to come in contact with a ticket to the always coveted event are treated to six separate events. Between tests that measure shot accuracy, and the faster skater, and the hardest shot, players also participate in a Puck Control Relay, and a Breakaway Challenge. The event is culminated with an Elimination Shootout.

In the same manner that is used to organize the All-Star Game team selection, both teams in the NHL SuperSkills Competition are determined by a division of world versus North America or the conference from which the player earned his ticket to compete against the best in the National Hockey League. The winning conference controls bragging rights based on the points that it has earned throughout the event. In the highly physical and intense world of the NHL, the grueling fire within a player and, ultimately, his team most definitely separate the best from the rest. The fierce determination of a player provides his ticket to All-Star hockey glory.

Each individual event in the NHL SuperSkills competition provides a forum for a player to demonstrate the exceptional abilities that were their ticket to the NHL All-Star Game that specific year. One lap around the entire ice rink by both the team and the individual determines the results of the Fastest Skater competition. When players attempt to hit four specific targets that are placed on all four corners of the goal, they are competing in the competition to find the player with the Most Accurate Shot. Only six players, including Mark Messier and Evgeni Malkin have hit all four targets with complete accuracy within a period of time that allows for seven shots.

After the 2006 break, the Breakaway Challenge re-established itself as a more dynamic showcase of the player's overall ability and creative finesse. The winner earns his ticket to the top of the NHL podium based on the number of votes received via "text message". The Puck Control Relay has a player showing the best puck control while in skating motion. It is both an individual and team event. In the next event, two points are awarded. The individual is measured by who has executed the Hardest Shot and the team is then awarded based on the sum total of each player.

At the end of the NHL All-Star SuperSkills cycle of events, the players participate in a nail-biting Elimination Shootout challenge. A goalie blocks shots against each player from the opposing team as they attempt to avoid earning a ticket out of the event by scoring the most goals.

With six combined team and individual events, the price of a ticket to see the NHL All-Star Shoot Out allows fans to witness the greatness that is only found in the National Hockey League.

Before the 1990 NHL All-Star game was played for the 41st time, tickets for the Skills Competition were announced and then introduced to the overwhelming delight of hockey fans. The desire to see legends in the making such as Pierre Turgeon, Rick Nash, and multi-year champion Paul Kariya, was more than enough to warrant the renewal of the event on an annual basis. Much to the chagrin of eager fans, there were no tickets placed on sale for the 2006 season as the Olympics to precedence over the Skills Competition.