Colorado Avalanche All Star Skills Competition
Well, except for Bernie the mascot, no Colorado Avalanche are represented at this year’s All Star weekend. Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson was slated to go, but he had to bow out at the last minute due to an injury. (Read about it.)
I’ve already covered the actual All Star Skills Competition as well as the competitions I though Johnson should be named for. However, as I was watching, I got to thinking about who from the Avalanche would really rock that competition. How about if they were competing against their own teammates? That adds a bit of filip to the contests, eh?
Fastest Skater
This was one of the competitions for which I recommended Erik Johnson. He’s a lot speedier than people give him credit for. He’s even beaten Matt Duchene in skating from the offensive zone to the defensive zone in a game. (It’s the long stride.)
That said, the obvious choices are Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene. It’s hard to say who would beat whom — the Flying MacKinnon or the Flying Dutchman. Wouldn’t that be a great competition to watch, though?
Breakaway Challenge
The shootout gives us a little bit of a clue about this competition. Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene and Alex Tanguay — aka, the guys who almost always take the shootout for the Avs — are the leaders on the team. Nate has five goals in eight attempts, Duchene five in 10 attempts and Tanguay three in seven attempts.
However, at the All Star Skill Competition for the Breakaway Challenge, creativity and flair are valued. The most charismatic player, or the one with excellent timing, almost always wins. In that case, Gabriel Landeskog is the natural winner. The captain would probably bring a dog out and say something in Swedish, and he’d have the crowd in the palm of his hand.
Accuracy Shooting
This one’s easy — Alex Tanguay. He currently boasts a shooting percentage of 21. Technically, he is 13th in the NHL with that percentage. However, if you consider only players who have played the majority of the games this season, Tanguay is #1. Tangs might even pull a Ray Bourque, taking just one shot to hit each target.
Skills Challenge Relay
The relay is a bit involved, consisting of five events.
- One Timers: Jarome Iginla has such a quick release. It seems a pretty good bet he’d take this contest. It’d be great to see him fed shots from his actual linemates, Matt Duchene and Alex Tanguay.
- Passing: The Avs have struggled in this department this season, but Erik Johnson has done very well. He’d have to hit tiny nets spaced across the neutral zone and even elevate some of his passes. However, he manages harder than that in game situations.
- Puck Control: Nathan MacKinnon, please. He’s so agile on his skates. For this competition he’d be navigating a puck through a series of cones.
- Stick Handling: In the All Star weekend he attended, Matt Duchene rocked this portion of the relay. His stick handling is so fine for passing the puck between the markers.
- Goalie Goals: This one’s a no-brainer — Reto Berra actually scored a goal while with the Lake Erie Monsters. And that one was through a crowd of bodies — it’d be much easier across an empty sheet of ice.
Hardest Shot
This is the other event for which I had recommended Erik Johnson. He’s renowned for having a bomb of a shot. However, last season backup goalie JS Giguerre claimed Matt Duchene had the hardest shot on the team. That’d be a great match up, the big defenseman and the small forward.
If he were healthy, defenseman Ryan Wilson would be another to watch — he shatters glass with his shot.
Shooutout
The last competition is one in which all skaters and goalies participate. The Avs have struggled with scoring this season. However, I think Tanguay would do well in this competition. Tyson Barrie would be another to score a few goals — he is Mr. Clutch. And there’s always Daniel Briere — he’s got a knack for scoring key goals at key times.
As far as the goalies are concerned, Varlamov can be a brick wall. However, Matt Duchene has also said Reto Berra is one of the best shootout goalies against which he’s played. That would be a pretty good goalie battle.
Honestly, as part of the Burgundy and White weekend in the preseason, wouldn’t it be a crowd-pleaser if the Avs held a skills competition?