Vegas Golden Knights: Main Takeaways from All-Star Skills Comp

That was quite fun, wasn’t it? Even though Vegas Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty was a bit of an afterthought, there was a lot to be pleased about on the opening night of the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game.

The lone representative of the Vegas Golden Knights in St. Louis, Pacioretty was a spectator for large chunks of the NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Friday.

Although the veteran would no doubt have wanted to participate, Pacioretty would have been entertained by what he saw out on the ice.

Because, while the Skills Competition can be a bit tedious at times, this year’s event had some new features that sparked some real interest and kept people engaged throughout the night.

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Adding the Elite Women’s 3-on-3 event proved to be a home run by the NHL (more on that later), while hockey purists like me loved seeing Shea Weber back in the Hardest Shot competition.

The plethora of the league’s bright young things also injected a fresh wave of personality into proceedings, and the NHL would no doubt have been pleased with how the first day of the All-Star Game unfolded.

Granted, there can be improvements but Friday was a breath of fresh air compared to what we have been used to in recent years, and there was plenty to get excited about.

It was the perfect way to start the festivities in St. Louis and, while we all wait for the main event later today, we had some takeaways from the 2020 NHL All-Star Skills Competition at Enterprise Center.

Let’s delve in…