With the game of hockey evolving the National Hockey League (NHL) brought NHL All-Star weekend down south Feb. 3-4, 2023. The Florida Panthers hosted the events this year in Sunrise, just south of Ft. Lauderdale. This event allows the best of the game to enjoy some fun in the hot sunny weather while being celebrated by fans.

“I started watching hockey this past playoffs season and believe more people are playing and watching hockey because it’s just fun watching the new skills and the atmosphere of the game,” said sophomore Aden thompson.

This year’s All-Star weekend features more young stars than ever. This year  16 of the All-Stars were 25 years-old or younger showcasing their skills. The veterans cherished the experience as well highlighted by generational talents of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. With this year’s younger and older stars combining, the athletes competed in mini competitions such as fastest skater, breakaway challenge, tendy tandem, accuracy shooting and hardest shot. A few events pitch ‘n puck, and splash shot took place outside of the arena.

“You go down the list, every team seems to have a young superstar that’s just emerging or about to emerge on to the scene and doing spectacular things,” said Mark Messier, a former All-Star who played with the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks.

This year’s All-Star game itself featured rivals Crosby and Ovechkin playing alongside each other, many young stars and the Tkachuk brothers. It’s a tournament based system: the Central division played the Pacific division and the Atlantic played the Metropolitan division. The Central and Atlantic division All-Stars prevailed in the semi-finals to make it to the championship game with a chance to win 100,000 dollars. The Atlantic All-Stars won the final by a score of 10-6 lead by MVP Matthew Tkachuk.