Brock Nelson wins NHL All-Star Skills shooting accuracy competition
Feb. 3—SUNRISE, Fla. — Brock Nelson brought his family along to the NHL All-Star Game.
"I think they're enjoying it," he said, "and having a great time."
Nelson added to the memorable weekend Friday night.
The former Warroad High and UND star forward won the NHL All-Star Game Skills shooting accuracy competition, besting a field of 10 NHL All-Stars.
Nelson, wearing a New York Islanders hat on backwards and his NHL team's jersey, beat Calgary Flames forward Nazem Kadri in the finals by hitting all four targets first.
Nelson knocked out the two lower targets before hitting the upper ones.
"It was cool," Nelson said. "There were some nerves, some excitement, going into it, not knowing what to expect. That was fun. I kind of had (son) Beckett bouncing in and out to meet some guys and be around the action. Seeing him around — and how excited he is — was probably the coolest thing. I'll remember it forever."
The competition started with a 10 players in the preliminary round.
The four players who hit the four targets fastest advanced to the semifinals.
Nelson had the second-fastest time at :12.126. Edmonton Oilers forward McDavid was the fastest at 9.497. New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin (:13.235) and Kadri (:13.459) also advanced.
Tampa Bay Lighting forward Nikita Kucherov (:18.147), Philadelphia Flyers forward Kevin Hayes (:22.377), St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko (:25.062), Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov (:25.297), New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes (:32.324) and Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (:36.956) were eliminated.
In the semifinals, Nelson beat Panarin, while Kadri knocked out McDavid.
This is Nelson's first trip to the NHL All-Star Game.
The 3-on-3 style game will be played at 2 p.m. Saturday. It will be televised by ESPN.
