Rochester's Steve Toll (center), last year's winner of the Agility event, will defend his title in one of six events in the 2008 All-Star Skills Competition.
NEW EVENTS FOR SKILLS COMPETITION
'Braveheart' tournament & Goalie Longshot added in 2008
03/12/2008
The 2008 All-Star Skills Competition is one of the highlights of NLL All-Star Weekend, which is coming up on Saturday at Rexall Place in Edmonton. The Rush will host the defending champion Rochester Knighthawks on Saturday at 6:00 PM EST, immediately followed by the All-Star Skills Competition. The 2008 NLL All-Star Game takes place on Sunday at 4:00 PM EST.In addition to the traditional four skills competition events, two new events -- a 3 vs 3 'Braveheart' tournament and a Goalie Longshot Contest, will be added for 2008.
Fastest Shot
Colorado's Josh Sims (102 mph in 2007) will defend his title against Rochester's John Grant, Portland's Dan Dawson, and others to determine which All-Star has the fastest shot. Each player will take two shots on an open net. The ball must go in the net to count. Grant won the event in 2005 and 2006 (102 and 100 mph, respectively), but Sims edged him last year in Portland.
Accuracy
Philadelphia's Geoff Snider will defend his title against Buffalo's John Tavares, Edmonton's Mike Accursi, and others to see who can hit the most targets with three shots on goal. Tavares, who was the runner-up to Snider last year, hasn't won the event since 2004.
Agility
Rochester's Steve Toll will defend his title against San Jose's Eric Martin, New York's Jarett Park, and others in a tournament-style full-field race. Each player will sprint from one end of the floor and back before shooting a ball on an empty net.
Trick-Shot
Portland's Dan Dawson is back to defend his title in the fan-favorite freestyle/trick-shot contest. Each player gets two shots on goal to attempt to impress the fans in the NLL's version of the slam-dunk contest. Players will be judged on the crowd's applause. San Jose's Colin Doyle and Edmonton's Jimmy Quinlan are among Dawson's challengers.
Goalie Longshot
The All-Star goaltenders get into the mix to determine who has the most accurate long-outlet pass in the league. From the comfort of their own crease, Colorado's Gee Nash, Minnesota's Nick Patterson, San Jose's Anthony Cosmo and Toronto's Bob Watson will attempt to hit targets on the opposite end of the floor. Each goaltender will get three shots.
3 vs 3 Tournament
Teams of two runners and one goaltender will compete against each other in three-minute 'first-goal wins' mini-games. Rush players Jimmy Quinlan, Chris McElroy and Curtis Palidwor will defend their home turf against teams comprised of All-Star players, including the threesome of Mammoth All-Stars Gavin Prout, Dan Carey and Gee Nash.
For the first time, "Play with the Stars", will be held, on Saturday at Noon MST at Rexall Place, where kids ages 6-17 can compete in a mini skills competition where the winner in each event (all but 3 vs 3) will win the opportunity to participate in the 2008 NLL All-Star Skills Competition. For more information or to register online, visit edmontonrush.com.
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