Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller named as final participants in All-Star skills competition

Credit: © Bob Frid

The NHL has announced that Vancouver Canucks center J.T. Miller and defenseman Quinn Hughes have been named as the final participants in All-Star Skills competition.

Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller of the @Canucks received the highest amount of votes in the @massmutual #NHLAllStarVote and are the final two participants for the #NHLAllStar Skills! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/SK5gEjVxjA

— NHL (@NHL) January 20, 2024

Hughes and Miller join 10 players previously selected by the league to participate in the skills competition, while the two Canucks were voted in by NHL fans. They join Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar; Edmonton Oilers centers Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid; New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes; Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and winger William Nylander; and fellow Canuck teammate Elias Pettersson.

This year’s skills competition features a revamped format, where each player will enter as an individual competitor and compete in all the events, with some players being eliminated closer to the end. The winner will be decided based on total points gained throughout the entire event, and while the last event will be worth more points, the winner of the event is not guaranteed to win the competition. The winning player will be given a prize of $1 million.

Hughes, 24, is having a career year with 11 goals and 42 assists for 53 points in 45 games on the blueline. It puts him on pace for 96 points in a full season, which would surpass is current career high by more than 20 points, and he’s already bested his career-high in goals. This will be Hughes’ second appearance in the All-Star Game, having previously gone in 2020.

Miller, 30, has also been having a strong season with 20 goals and 41 assists for 61 points in 45 games. It puts him on pace for 111 points in a full season, which would be the first time he’s hit the 100-point mark in his career. This is his first All-Star Game appearance.

The skills competition will take place on Friday, February 2nd in Toronto, and will be bookended by the All-Star Player Draft on Thursday, February 1st and the All-Star Game on Saturday, February 3rd.