What channel is the NHL Skills competition on? Live streams, format, participants for 2023 All-Star event

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The NHL All-Star Skills competition kicks off All-Star Weekend on Friday night. 

This year, there are seven events that will take place in South Florida. In addition to some fan favorites like Fastest Skater and Hardest Shot, the NHL has three new events this year that are part of the skills night.

The All-Stars aren't just competing for entertainment either. The winner of each event gets to go home with a cash prize of $30,000. 

In addition to the players selected for the All-Star Game, five women's hockey players and a celebrity goalie are going to be at the competition.

The United States' Alex Carpenter and Hilary Knight, and Canada's Emily Clark, Rebecca Johnston and Sarah Nurse will be competing in the skills competition. Former NHL goalie Roberto Luongo will be in the breakaway challenge. 

MORE: Watch the 2023 NHL All-Star Game on fubo TV: Sign up today!

The Sporting News has you covered on how to watch the All-Star Skills competition, the schedule, participants and more.

What time is the 2023 All-Star Skills competition?

  • Date: Friday, Feb. 3
  • Time: 7 p.m. ET

The 2023 skills competition is set to start at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3. 

The event is expected to run three for three hours. 

What channel is the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills competition on?

  • U.S.: ESPN
  • Canada: Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Fans in the United States can watch the All-Star Skills competition on ESPN. 

For those viewers in Canada, Sportsnet and TVA Sports will be broadcasting the action live. 

How to stream the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills competition

  • U.S.: fuboTVESPN+, ESPN app
  • Canada: SN NOW 

Fans looking to stream the NHL All-Star Skills competition can do so through fuboTV (which offers a free trial), ESPN+, or the ESPN app. 

For viewers in Canada, SN NOW is the place to stream the contests. 

Where is the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend?

This year's All-Star Weekend will take place at FLA Live Arena down in Sunrise, Fla., home of the Panthers. 

It is the second time the NHL has played the All-Star Game in South Florida, as the Panthers previously hosted the event in 2003.

The 2021 event was initially planned to take place in Florida, however, it was canceled due to COVID. 

2023 NHL All-Star Skills competition format

In total, there are seven events in the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills competition. Four of these challenges have been around for years, which include the fastest skater, breakaway challenge, accuracy shooting and hardest shot. 

New this year are the splash shot, pitch 'n puck and tendy tandem. 

Fastest Skater

Participants:

  • Kevin Fiala, Kings
  • Dylan Larkin, Red Wings
  • Kirill Kaprizov, Wild
  • Cale Makar, Avalanche
  • Chandler Stephenson, Golden Knights
  • Andrei Svechnikov, Hurricanes

If you like speed, then this event is for you. Players are timed on how fast they can complete one lap around the rink.

Whoever has the fastest time is declared the winner. 

Breakaway Challenge

Participants: 

  • Mitch Marner, Maple Leafs
  • Alex Ovechkin, Capitals
  • Sidney Crosby, Penguins
  • David Pastrnak, Bruins
  • Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers

The breakaway challenge is one of the most unique events at the skills competition. Players can get creative with their shootout attempts, using props, costumes and even special guests to help get the judge's vote. 

A panel of judges votes on who had the best breakaway attempt and they determine the winner. 

Accuracy Shooting

Participants: 

  • Aleksander Barkov, Panthers
  • Leon Draisaitl, Oilers
  • Kevin Hayes, Flyers
  • Jack Hughes, Devils
  • Nazem Kadri, Flames
  • Nikita Kucherov, Lightning
  • Connor McDavid, Oilers
  • Brock Nelson, Islanders
  • Artemi Panarin, Rangers
  • Vladimir Tarasenko, Blues

In this event, players must put their shooting accuracy to the test. There are four targets in the net and each participant must hit all four targets as quickly as possible. 

Whoever takes the shortest amount of time to hit all four targets is the winner. 

Hardest Shot

Participants:

  • Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres
  • Seth Jones, Blackhawks
  • Josh Morrissey, Jets
  • Alex Ovechkin, Capitals
  • Elias Pettersson, Canucks

Like the fastest skater, the hardest shot competition is simple to understand. Players take turns skating in and firing a slap shot into the net. 

The participant with the hardest registered shot is the winner. 

Splash Shot

Participants: 

  • Sidney Crosby, Penguins
  • Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche
  • Mikko Rantanen, Avalanche
  • Cale Makar, Avalanche
  • Igor Shesterkin, Rangers
  • Adam Fox, Rangers
  • Brady Tkachuk, Senators
  • Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers

One of the new events for 2023 is the splash shot, an outdoor event that will take place on the beach at Fort Lauderdale. 

Eight players are divided into four teams of two. Players are required to hit all the targets before attempting to dunk their opponents in water.

The winner is the one to dunk their opponents first. 

Pitch 'n Puck

Participants: 

  • Johnny Gaudreau, Blue Jackets
  • Clayton Keller, Coyotes
  • Jason Robertson, Stars
  • NIck Suzuki, Canadiens

Six players will participate in the pitch 'n puck, an event that mixes hockey with golf. Players must combine their skills on a par-4 golf to get the puck/ball in the hole. 

The player that takes the fewest shots to complete the course is the winner. If there's a tiebreaker, a longest-drive competition will determine the victor. 

Tendy Tandem

Participants: 

  • Connor Hellebuyck, Jets
  • Juuse Saros, Predators
  • Igor Shesterkin, Rangers
  • Stuart Skinner, Oilers
  • Ilya Sorokin, Islanders
  • Logan Thompson, Golden Knights
  • Linus Ullmark, Bruins
  • Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning

The tendy tandem is another unique event that is getting its first try this year. The eight goalies at the competition will make up four teams, with each division pairing up its two goalies on one team. One goalie will shoot and the other will tend the goal. 

The shooting goalie will take a shot and try to get it into a designated hole. They will be awarded three points if the shot goes in the hole, two if it hits the in-net target and zero if it misses the net. 

The in-net goalie will face one, two or three players in a shootout. Players start from center ice and must shoot on the rush. Play continues until all pucks have been shot.

The goalie tandem with the most combined points from the two parts of the event wins. 

Author(s)
Bryan Murphy Photo

Bryan Murphy is an NHL content producer at The Sporting News.