NHL All-Star skills challenge to feature Bellagio Fountains and blackjack

With the NHL taking the 2022 All-Star Game festivities to the bright lights of Las Vegas, the league is bringing in new innovations to the skills competition.

Two new events will be introduced in Sin City, where participants are set to showcase their skills on the Las Vegas Strip in the Fountain Face-Off and the Las Vegas NHL 21 in ’22 challenge.

Here is a breakdown of how the two new skill challenges work:

Fountain Face-Off

• Eight players will compete on unfrozen ice.

• A boat will take them to a spot in the fountain called “centre water” in front of the Bellagio fountains.

• Each participant will then try to shoot pucks into five targets in the shortest amount of time.

• There will be a qualifying round and a head-to-head final.

• The display spans more than 1,000 feet, and the fountains spray water as high as 460 feet.

“I don’t want to give away too much,” NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer said about the event. “But we’re going to sort of up the ante a little bit with making it a slightly more challenging situation for a player, and just think of the environment and the things that we could do to make it a bit more challenging.”

NHL 21 in ’22 Challenge

This skill challenge will provide a Vegas twist on street hockey by playing blackjack.

• Five players will stand on Las Vegas Boulevard and will shoot at 52 oversized cards.

• Players will try to get the highest hand (21) in the fewest shots without going bust.

• The first player who wins two rounds wins the event.

“It’s accuracy shooting with strategy, because you’re now shooting at 52 targets rather than four,” Mayer said about the event. “We’re going to incorporate some other elements to throw guys off a little bit, to give them opportunities to maybe double down. We’re going to use celebrities and I think Vegas personalities to kind of just enhance the experience.”

Also returning to the all-stars skills competition for the first time since 2016 is the Breakaway Challenge, which involves four skaters and two goalies. Shooters will attempt two shots, can start anywhere in the neutral zone and use the entire offensive zone, including behind the net.

Unlike past seasons, there will be a panel of celebrity judges who will rate them on a scale of 1-10, similar to how the NBA scores its All-Star Dunk Contest so creativity will go a long way.

Joining the 2022 NHL All-Star Skills in the Breakaway Challenge are Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras, Manon Rhéaume and actor Wyatt Russell. Three-time Olympic medalist Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson will take part in the Fountain Face-Off and Accuracy Shooting competitions.