2024 NHL Skills Competition Odds and Predictions: Fastest Skater & More

Jan 27, 2018; Tampa, FL, USA; Pacific Division forward Connor McDavid (97) of the Edmonton Oilers skates fastest skater competition during the 2018 NHL All Star Game skills competition at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY SportsThe 2024 NHL Skills Competition takes place Friday, February 2ndOdds are available for Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot and moreRead below for 2024 NHL Skills Competition odds and picks for the major events

The 2024 NHL All-Star Skills competition will take place Friday night in Toronto. 12 NHL All-Stars will compete in eight events to earn points, with the top-scoring player winning a $1 million prize.

Sportsbooks have released odds for the NHL Skills Competition, allowing bettors to wager on popular categories such as Fastest Skater and Hardest Shot. Data from NHL EDGE can help us make our most accurate predictions yet.

Let’s get into the 2024 All-Star odds as we offer you our NHL Skills predictions for Friday night.

2024 NHL All-Star Fastest Skater Odds

All odds as of Feb. 1 at BetMGM Sportsbook. Sign up with the BetMGM promo code to wager on the NHL Skills Competition.

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What channel is the NHL skills competition on? Friday night’s event will be broadcast on Sportsnet, TVA Sports (Canada), ESPN and ESPN+ (US). Start time is 7:00 PM EST.

McDavid Favorite in Fastest Skater Odds

Edmonton Oilers phenom Connor McDavid is the slight favorite over New York Islanders’ forward Matthew Barzal at the NHL Skills Competition. It’s hard to pick against McDavid here, as the speedster has already won this event three times. He also has the top max speed (24.21 mph) of any player competing in the event.

Cale Makar is an interesting longshot at +400 after wiping out in last year’s event. He’s likely looking for redemption this time around. Barzal meanwhile, ranks top-10 in the league in 20 mph+ bursts with 199, although he still trails McDavid (270) by a decent margin.

We aren’t overcomplicating this one, as legit skating threats to McDavid like Nathan MacKinnon and Dylan Larkin, aren’t participating in this event this year. Take advantage of McDavid’s plus-money price in the NHL Skills Competition odds.

Pick: Connor McDavid (+110)

2024 NHL All-Star Hardest Shot Odds

Pettersson Favored to Repeat in Hardest Shot Odds

Despite his smaller stature, Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson enters the 2024 NHL Skills Competition as the clear favorite to win the Hardest Shot. The Canucks phenom unloaded a 103.2 MPH shot in this event last year to take home the grand prize.

Elias "Hardest Shot Winner" Pettersson. pic.twitter.com/G49jxgibhx

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 4, 2023

Pettersson’s hardest shot in-game this season had been 97.67 mph, per NHL EDGE. JT Miller is right behind him at 97.52 MPH, while Cale Makar isn’t far off at 96.18 mph. Auston Matthews (91.45 mph) and David Pastrnak (95.87 mph) have also showcased impressive shots this season.

We don’t doubt Pettersson can win this thing again, but we like the value on his teammate J.T. Miller more. Pettersson’s winning shot in 2023 was actually the fourth-lowest winning speed since 2008, and we aren’t overly confident he can replicate it. Miller has never competed in this event before, and we think he announces his arrival in style.

Pick: J.T. Miller (+360) 2024 Stanley Cup Odds Tracker: Dallas Stars Are Current FavoritesRead More

2024 NHL All-Star Accuracy Shooting Odds

Participant	Odds
Leon Draisaitl	+600
David Pastrnak	+600
Connor McDavid	+600
Nikita Kucherov	+600
Auston Matthews	+700
Nathan MacKinnon	+800
William Nylander	+800
J.T. Miller	+850
Cale Makar	+1100

Accuracy Shooting is Any Man’s Event

The NHL Accuracy shooting event is often one of the tougher ones to predict, hence why no player is the clear favorite in the odds for 2024. Who could have predicted that New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson would win this thing last year?

Brock Nelson goes 4-for-5 in the first round of Accuracy Shooting!pic.twitter.com/lT3cvCfiBW

— Islanders Videos (@SNY_Islanders) February 4, 2023

Shooting percentage is the easiest way to measure accuracy, but it doesn’t always translate to this competition. Nelson has just a career 14.4% shooting percentage, and the two prior accuracy shooting winners, Sebastian Aho and Jaccob Slavin, aren’t exactly regarded as lethal snipers.

We like the value on the two home-team players in Auston Matthews (+700) and William Nylander (+800), as the crowd should play an important role. Matthews leads the entire league with 40 goals, and his 20.2 shooting % is second-best among competitors. His +700 odds are too high for a proven sniper looking to deliver in front of fans at his home arena.

Pick: Auston Matthews (+700)

2024 NHL All-Star Competiton Winner Odds

Participant	Odds
Cale Makar	+750
Connor McDavid	+750
Nikita Kucherov	+850
Nathan MacKinnon	+850
David Pastrnak	+850
Mathew Barzal	+850
Quinn Hughes	+900
Leon Draisaitl	+900
Elias Pettersson	+900

Who Wins the Overall Skills Competition?

2024 is the first year of the skills competition where there will be one single champion who wins a large $1M prize. In previous years, the winner of each individual skill event would receive $25,000-$30,000. There was no overall champion prize.

Connor McDavid and Cale Makar are +750 co-favorites at Bet MGM Sportsbook to win the NHL All-Star Skills competition in 2024. The prize will go to the player with the most overall points when all events are finished.

Who do you think will skate away with the #NHLAllStar Skills Competition's $1 million prize? 🤩 pic.twitter.com/T5ubC1ExHW

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) January 31, 2024

Each player will compete in 4 of the first 6 events to earn points, with the top 8 scorers advancing to a one-on-one shootout. The top six then advance to am Obstacle Course, which is the final round. When betting on the overall winner, you’ll want to lock in a player with a strong chance of winning multiple events.

Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov are both favorites in the Hart Trophy odds, but neither are frontrunners in any specific category. McDavid has a great shot at winning fastest skater, stickhandling and accuracy shooting, making him great value at +750 to win the whole thing,

Pick: Connor McDavid (+750)

NHL Skills Competition Quick Picks

Stick Handling Winner: Connor McDavid (+500)One Timers Winner: Leon Draisaitl (+600)Passing Challenge Winner: Nikita Kucherov (+750)

 

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