NHL All-Star Skills Competition format & participants

Each year the NHL figures out what works, what doesn't work, and how to make the second night of All-Star weekend even better. A few years ago American hockey player Kendall Coyne Schofield, who now captains PWHL Minnesota, competed in the skills battle and was absolutely electric. We also can't forget the costumes for the shootout portion, the guys gave it their all in creativity. But, what else can happen on skills night?

Let's get into the specifics of the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook.

NHL All-Star Skills Format & Participants

NHL fans, mark your calendars for Feb. 2, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET. The top 12 skilled players, as voted in by the fans during the NHL All-Star Skills Fan Vote presented by MassMutual, will take the ice at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. This look is different from years past where all All-Stars were spread out through the events to represent every team. Here the League wants the very best skilled players, and only 12 of them.

The list includes three Vancouver Canucks, two Edmonton Oilers, and two Toronto Maple Leafs -- that's more than half of the participants from Canadian teams. The Skills lineup is rounded out by two players from the Colorado Avalanche, one from the Boston Bruins, one representing the New Jersey Devils and one from the Tampa Bay Lighting. If you look at the list, also making it a family affair, one set of brothers.

Here is a full list of all 2024 NHL All-Star Skills participants:

1. David Pasternak - Boston Bruins

2. Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche

3. Cale Makar - Colorado Avalanche

4. Leon Draisaitl - Edmonton Oilers

5. Connor McDavid - Edmonton Oilers

6. Quinn Hughes - Vancouver Canucks

7. J.T. Miller - Vancouver Canucks

8. Elias Pettersson - Vancouver Canucks

9. Auston Matthews - Toronto Maple Leafs

10. William Nylander - Toronto Maple Leafs

11. Jack Hughes - New Jersey Devils

12. Nikita Kucherov - Tampa Bay Lightning

One of the above 12 players will be leaving All-Star weekend with a hefty bag -- as the top performer to get through the eight skills challenges with the most accumulated points will be awarded the $1 million (USD) prize incentive.

Round one of Skills includes these six events: Fastenal NHL Fastest Skater, Rogers NHL Hardest Shot, Scotiabank NHL Passing Challenge, Tim Hortons NHL One Timers, Upper Deck NHL Stick Handling and Cheetos NHL Accuracy Shooting. The point scale for each event will award five points for first place, four points for second place, and so on. Each of the 12 players will participate in four out of the first six challenges. Only the top eight players securing the most points from events one through six will move on to the seventh event, the Honda NHL One-on-One shootout.

Here the shooter gets to pick the goalie they wish to compete against. But get this; the player in eighth place gets to pick their netminder first. The first place player will shoot last, with likely the hardest goalie to beat. The top six in points from round seven will move on.

The eighth test of the 2024 Skills is the Pepsi NHL Obstacle Course. In this final event, all the skills will be represented and points will be worth double (first will be 10 points, second will be eight points, and so on).

The player with the highest point total at the end will be the Skills champion (and $1 million richer). With this new format, even if you advance in last place, you can still make up ground and come out on top. Tune into the new and improved Skills challenge on Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ for all the fun!