<p>The NHL All-Star Skills Competition happened and it was something. It&#8217;s fair to say it didn&#8217;t get the best reception from hockey fans on social media. How do we as fans fix it? What ideas would make the event and game more attractive to fans of the game? Let&#8217;s dive into what you had to say!</p>
<p><em class="text-lg italic">Before getting into the article I’d like to say this piece is purely to involve the community of Oilersnation on the website. Comments are selected from Oilersnation social accounts (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). Articles such as this are intended to be fun and engaging</em></p>
<h1>Facebook:</h1>
<p>Andrew brings up the idea of making an all-star game for each division. I&#8217;m interested to see how this would play out. My problem is each division may not have a ton of star talent if that makes sense. If we look at the Pacific Division, you could make an All-Star team made up mostly of the Oilers&#8217; Top Six. If it helps grow the game though, I&#8217;m open to the idea.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-127677 " src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8691.jpg" alt="" width="721" height="440" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8691.jpg 828w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8691-300x183.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8691-768x468.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 721px) 100vw, 721px" /></p>
<p>Terry has the right idea here. Bring the game back to its roots. Don&#8217;t make it too flashy. Wooden sticks would be hilarious. I could see the NHL going with an outdoor all-star game if it&#8217;s played in a colder climate like Edmonton or Toronto!</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-127678 " src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8693.jpg" alt="" width="754" height="376" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8693.jpg 828w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8693-300x150.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8693-768x383.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 754px) 100vw, 754px" /></p>
<p>Emmet with a twist! Give underperforming players a bit of a showcase to be traded. Now, this would be a little awkward for the players involved. Imagine being told you&#8217;re going to a showcase event because your current team has no need for you. This would be an oddly depressing yet entertaining game.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-127679 " src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8690.jpg" alt="" width="706" height="451" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8690.jpg 828w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8690-300x192.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8690-768x491.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px" /></p>
<h1>Instagram:</h1>
<p>White on Instagram brings in a charitable stake. The All-Star game seriously needs more at stake, more of an incentive for the players to take it a bit more seriously. Bringing back the fantasy draft is a great start but adding trades also makes it interesting to watch!</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-127680 size-full" src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8688.jpg" alt="" width="828" height="368" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8688.jpg 828w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8688-300x133.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8688-768x341.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 828px) 100vw, 828px" /></p>
<p>The fan vote is a nice tough however one player from every team does make it a little dull. You essentially know who&#8217;s going to get chosen for each team. Nick is right, the NHL needs to make it more of a showcase. Remember that iconic photo of 6+ Oilers at the All-Star game?! We could&#8217;ve had a close recreation of that this year if Hyman and Nuge also got selected. Not sure if we would&#8217;ve seen a single Flame though with Kadri&#8217;s fantastic 19 goals.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-127681 " src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8689.jpg" alt="" width="730" height="277" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8689.jpg 828w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8689-300x114.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8689-768x291.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px" /></p>
<p>The NHL All-Star event needs the incentive to make it more interesting. I love this idea of a winning division getting home ice for either west or east. This is a step in the right direction for sure from Djboutdoors_ on Instagram. Why do you think people love watching YouTubers like MrBeast because his content has a stake or incentive behind it? What does the NHL All-Star game bring that makes it worth watching? Star players aren&#8217;t enough if they don&#8217;t take it more seriously.</p>
<h1><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-127682 " src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8687.jpg" alt="" width="722" height="271" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8687.jpg 828w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8687-300x113.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8687-768x288.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 722px) 100vw, 722px" /></h1>
<h1>Twitter:</h1>
<p>Den Polland on Twitter brings up a fan/celebrity 3 on 3. Speaking of celebrities, I&#8217;m sure if the NHL brought in someone actually relevant like Ryan Reynolds that would help big time. Sometimes I find myself watching these events and the league will find the most obscure artists that only a small percentage of people have heard of. The HUT idea is nice on paper but I doubt the players would care too much about that.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The winning team of the 3 on 3 get to donate half the weekends revenue to their foundation of choice. The winners of the skills comps get 99 overall in those categories on hut. Fan/celebrity 3 on 3 tourney winner gets to take on 3 on 3 team of their choice.</p>
<p>&mdash; Den Polland (@oilersgm2) <a href="https://twitter.com/oilersgm2/status/1620133231168466945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Talk about a BOLD idea. The winning team gets an automatic wild-card playoff berth for the respective conference. This would help with the incentive idea but I just think this is too bold for the NHL. It would at least give a good reason to tune in for the majority of fans.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Winning team, east/west, gets an automatic wild-card playoff birth. Details TBD.</p>
<p>&mdash; HockeyHowie (@hockeyhowie_62) <a href="https://twitter.com/hockeyhowie_62/status/1620219763892027392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>March Madness?! I love the creativity here only problem I find is the players and fans will also view this as a waste of time. However, it&#8217;s a good alternative to not having competitive international hockey?!</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Get rid of the traditional game and do a March Madness style tourney over 2+ weeks (instead of break + bye). Invite some teams from Europe and maybe top AHL team. 2 Teams would play 5 games over that stretch but most would get a good break.</p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Bonn (@13Mike31) <a href="https://twitter.com/13Mike31/status/1620124485344178180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h1>Wrap Up:</h1>
<p>In my opinion, if the NHL wants to have some fun, go back to the roots of hockey. Sticks in the middle style. All the players selected throw their sticks in the middle of the ice, creating a nice pile just like at the ODR or street hockey. The captains of the respective conferences randomly choose sticks and there you go. It&#8217;s different, fun or you go back to the fantasy draft. Then when the teams are selected, add some form of incentive to play. It&#8217;s time the NHL does something to make this an event worth watching, right now it&#8217;s not even close.</p>


The NHL All-Star Skills Competition happened and it was something. It's fair to say it didn't get the best reception from hockey fans on social media. How do we as fans fix it? What ideas would make the event and game more attractive to fans of the game? Let's dive into what you had to say!

<em class="text-lg italic">Before getting into the article I’d like to say this piece is purely to involve the community of Oilersnation on the website. Comments are selected from Oilersnation social accounts (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). Articles such as this are intended to be fun and engaging</em>
<h1>Facebook:</h1>
Andrew brings up the idea of making an all-star game for each division. I'm interested to see how this would play out. My problem is each division may not have a ton of star talent if that makes sense. If we look at the Pacific Division, you could make an All-Star team made up mostly of the Oilers' Top Six. If it helps grow the game though, I'm open to the idea.

&nbsp;

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-127677 " src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8691.jpg" alt="" width="721" height="440" />

Terry has the right idea here. Bring the game back to its roots. Don't make it too flashy. Wooden sticks would be hilarious. I could see the NHL going with an outdoor all-star game if it's played in a colder climate like Edmonton or Toronto!

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-127678 " src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8693.jpg" alt="" width="754" height="376" />

Emmet with a twist! Give underperforming players a bit of a showcase to be traded. Now, this would be a little awkward for the players involved. Imagine being told you're going to a showcase event because your current team has no need for you. This would be an oddly depressing yet entertaining game.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-127679 " src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8690.jpg" alt="" width="706" height="451" />
<h1>Instagram:</h1>
White on Instagram brings in a charitable stake. The All-Star game seriously needs more at stake, more of an incentive for the players to take it a bit more seriously. Bringing back the fantasy draft is a great start but adding trades also makes it interesting to watch!

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-127680 size-full" src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8688.jpg" alt="" width="828" height="368" />

The fan vote is a nice tough however one player from every team does make it a little dull. You essentially know who's going to get chosen for each team. Nick is right, the NHL needs to make it more of a showcase. Remember that iconic photo of 6+ Oilers at the All-Star game?! We could've had a close recreation of that this year if Hyman and Nuge also got selected. Not sure if we would've seen a single Flame though with Kadri's fantastic 19 goals.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-127681 " src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8689.jpg" alt="" width="730" height="277" />

The NHL All-Star event needs the incentive to make it more interesting. I love this idea of a winning division getting home ice for either west or east. This is a step in the right direction for sure from Djboutdoors_ on Instagram. Why do you think people love watching YouTubers like MrBeast because his content has a stake or incentive behind it? What does the NHL All-Star game bring that makes it worth watching? Star players aren't enough if they don't take it more seriously.
<h1><img class="aligncenter wp-image-127682 " src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_8687.jpg" alt="" width="722" height="271" /></h1>
<h1>Twitter:</h1>
Den Polland on Twitter brings up a fan/celebrity 3 on 3. Speaking of celebrities, I'm sure if the NHL brought in someone actually relevant like Ryan Reynolds that would help big time. Sometimes I find myself watching these events and the league will find the most obscure artists that only a small percentage of people have heard of. The HUT idea is nice on paper but I doubt the players would care too much about that.

https://twitter.com/oilersgm2/status/1620133231168466945

Talk about a BOLD idea. The winning team gets an automatic wild-card playoff berth for the respective conference. This would help with the incentive idea but I just think this is too bold for the NHL. It would at least give a good reason to tune in for the majority of fans.

https://twitter.com/hockeyhowie_62/status/1620219763892027392

March Madness?! I love the creativity here only problem I find is the players and fans will also view this as a waste of time. However, it's a good alternative to not having competitive international hockey?!

https://twitter.com/13Mike31/status/1620124485344178180
<h1>Wrap Up:</h1>
In my opinion, if the NHL wants to have some fun, go back to the roots of hockey. Sticks in the middle style. All the players selected throw their sticks in the middle of the ice, creating a nice pile just like at the ODR or street hockey. The captains of the respective conferences randomly choose sticks and there you go. It's different, fun or you go back to the fantasy draft. Then when the teams are selected, add some form of incentive to play. It's time the NHL does something to make this an event worth watching, right now it's not even close.

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