The first thing I heard at the NHL-All Star Game SuperSkills Competition was a guy asking for extra tickets. Hey buddy, I don’t think you’re going to find extra tickets for a professional sports’ All-Star Game, even the skills competition.
And the jam-packed RBC Center in Raleigh was treated to a fantastic show Saturday night at Team Lidstrom was defeated by Team Staal 33-22. Each player participated in at least two events and was able to show off his individual skills. Here are some sights and sounds from the event that really caught my eye:
Hurricane P.K.?: The second event, the Blackberry NHL Breakaway Challenge, was probably the most entertaining. Especially when Team Staal rookie and Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban took to center ice wearing Hurricanes All-Star and Jeff Skinner’s jersey for all of his attempts. Skinner said afterwards that he was surprised by Subban’s request. “Five seconds before he shot,” the 18-year old Skinner said, “he just came up to me and said, ‘I need your jersey.’ I just took it off. He put on a good show.” Indeed Subban did. While he did not score, his three shots were all creative and require some skill. The pro-Carolina/Team Staal crowd went crazy when they saw the jersey. He placed second in the competition behind Team Staal teammate and Washington Capitals winger Alexander Ovechkin, who won for the third time in a row. For the rest of the night, whenever Subban’s name was mentioned, a louder-than-normal cheer arose from the crowd. Side note: Apparently it was San Jose Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle’s idea. Just another reason why I love Boyle.
Speaking of #8...: Before tonight, I had a very strong dislike for Alexander Ovechkin. Now, I kinda like the guy. He was definitely the most engaging personality of the players on ice. He tried some creative things for the Breakaway Challenge, including stick-handling with the handle instead of the blade halfway down the ice for his third and final attempt. After one of his Hardest Shot attempts, he went around the net and tripped over some camera wires, sliding several feet down the ice with a smile on his face. Unfortunately, he was stopped in the first round of the Elimination Shootout. Those things, coupled with his picture-taking of Phil Kessel as the last man standing in the Fantasy Draft last night really endears me to the guy. Co-MC John Forslund pointed out when Ovechkin was redoing his Hardest Shot attempt for the third time after a broken stick the first time and a malfunctioning speedometer the second time that the fans cheering for a redo were never on Ovi’s side except now. Ovechkin plays his games for the ‘Canes rival the Capitals and is a humongous agitator in the rivalry.
Tailgating Happens in Parking Lots?: On the way to the game, the guys on NHL Home Ice on XM Radio were talking about the tailgaters in the parking lot of the RBC Center. Afterwards, Shawn Lavigne of NHL Home Ice Tweeted, “#nhlallstar skills hilites...PK Subban wearing Skinner jersey, Thomas wiping out...Chara hardest shot...tailgate parties.” I’ll get to Thomas and Chara later, but I want to talk about the tailgate parties. Coming into the arena parking lot, I saw a lot of tailgating going on, but it wasn’t out-of-the-normal for me. Being from the south, it’s a part of how sports events go. But I love that people are talking about a Southern thing from hockey and it’s a Carolina Hurricanes thing. At one point in the night, I thought to myself, “There are a lot of Hurricanes fans here, encouraging to see. I bet the NHL can’t wait to come here again.” The surprise that players and media personalities are getting when coming down here is a wonderful one and bodes well for Raleigh’s future as a legitimate hockey city.
Goalies Skate Fast, Or Try To: Carolina’s Cam Ward and Boston’s Tim Thomas took part in the first-ever Fastest Skater competition for goalies. It was a great treat to watch, as hometown boy Ward came away with the victory. The two were about even until Thomas wiped out behind the first net he came to. This allowed Ward to an easy victory, although Timmy brought it close at the end. Great idea by the league. By the way, New York Islanders rookie forward Michael Grabner circumlocuted the ice surface in 14.2 seconds on skates. What the heck. It takes me 30 seconds to get out of bed in the morning.
Big Z Hits North of the Record Down South: So after that pitiful excuse of a heading, I need to use as many adjectives to describe Zdeno Chara’s competition-winning, record-setting slap shot (ok, I failed). He set the record two years ago in Montreal by hitting a hockey puck 105.4 miles per hour. I’m scared to go that fast on Need for Speed, yet he has no hesitation in hitting a helpless little hockey puck that speed. This year, he tops it with a 105.9 mile per hour slap shot. It was incredible, to say the least.
Fun is the Word of the Night: You may have noticed in the last couple points that I’ve loosened up my writing a little bit. It’s because I had fun. Take away the confusing 9-minute delay for door-opening and the forgettable “stay healthy and fit by playing hockey” message from the First Lady, and the entire night was “fun” in a word. Before the game, a video was played with a series of famous North Carolinians welcoming people to Raleigh and the All-Star Game. The celebrities included folk band The Avett Brothers, former NFL receiver Torry Holt (his status as a former NC State football player only added to the cheers), country music star Jason Michael Carroll and romance novel author Nicholas Sparks. The cheers for Hurricanes players were also incredible. Skinner, Ward, Staal and rookie Jamie McBain all received loud cheers whenever their names were announced. The noise for Skinner was especially loud. Skinner’s fame is growing in Raleigh and the surrounding areas. Speaking to NHL.com, Cam Ward said, “I’ve been joking with him that he’s like the Justin Bieber of Raleigh right now. The city is just in love with him and rightfully so. To tell you the truth, as a guy in my sixth year, he makes the game more enjoyable for me watching him in practice and seeing how passionate he is about it.” Skinner’s smile seemed infectious as most of the players had a grin on at some point of the night.
Needless to say, I’m looking forward to Sunday’s All-Star Game. There won’t be nearly as much stop and start as tonight, which will be nice. Expect a lot of scoring and a lot of skill showing. Goaltending is for the regular season.