‘The Oilers Skills Competition’

‘The Oilers Skills Competition’

Sunday, December 29, 2019. The annual Oilers skills competition was back on display at Rogers Place. Despite going through a slump leading up to the skills competition, the Oilers managed to entertain the fans with an exhibition of their world-class skill as well as to show appreciation for the fans’ continuous support throughout the season thus far.

The first event of the afternoon was the coveted ‘fastest skater’ competition in which all of Rogers Place betted on Connor McDavid to win again. However, there was a surprising outcome as new Oiler, Joakim Nygard, whom the Oilers signed this past off season, won the event with a time of 14.014, beating McDavid’s time of 14.041. Who knows, maybe McDavid is saving his speed for the NHL All-Star game being held on January 25, 2020 in St. Louis, Missouri. It is important to note that Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will be representing the Edmonton Oilers at the event this year.

Another exciting event of the Oilers skills competition was the ‘Hardest Shot’ event where Matt Benning once again reigned as the champion, defending his title from last season’s skills competition. Benning clocked his slapshot at 104.1mph beating out fellow Swedish defenceman Oscar Klefbom’s shot at 101.4mph. Moreover, another fan favourite event of the day was the ‘King of the Shootout’ challenge which included many exciting and creative goals put on display by the Oilers. In the end, BC native Jujhar Khaira managed to beat out the team and be named King of the Shootout for this year’s skills competition. Lastly, in the ‘Accuracy Shooting’ competition, James ‘The Real Deal’ Neal managed to beat out his competitors by going 4/4 in less than ten seconds. Neal of course was involved in a trade this past off season for Milan Lucic, and by the looks of his current numbers, he has clearly made an impact this season.

With just over 30 games left in the season, the Oilers are making a push for the playoffs. The annual Oilers skills competition served as nice, fun day for the fans and the team. But with the playoffs only a couple months away, the Oilers will be grinding out every point for the rest of the season. Go Oilers Go!

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