NHL Skills Competition bets: Three players to back for Friday's festivities

The NHL All-Star weekend festivities get going tonight with the Skills Competition, a fun night of events from Hardest Shot to Stick Handling and so on. We hopped through the betting markets to find us a few names of interest worth backing in a few of the more notable events.
We'd certainly recommend you go light on any bets here; this is meant to be more fun than anything and we can only get so analytical when it comes to All-Star events like these. Enjoy the night, here's to cashing some bets!

Cale Makar to win Fastest Skater: +500 DraftKings

Our first bet is a bit of a redemption story, as Cale Makar took a tumble last season on the final turn and ended up finishing in last. He was well on pace to a competitive time before he caught his skate, and the hope here is that the star Colorado Avalanche defensemen wants to go out there and show what he can do.

This is not a contest that defensemen typically win, which makes it all the more intriguing that Makar is set to compete once again. Makar is one of the most gifted players in the league and can skate backwards almost as fast as he can forward. We know he's fast, and we love the narrative that he redeems his 2023 showing.

William Nylander to win Accuracy Shooting: +800 DraftKings

We have to load up a Maple Leafs skater in some form this weekend, as the event is being held in Toronto. We'll do that here by backing William Nylander to win the Accuracy Shooting challenge. 

Our thought process is relatively simple. Nylander is seventh in the league this year in shots on goal and has been among the shot leaders for the past few seasons. This is a star-studded field, but we like the idea that Nylander may want to take down fellow Leafs teammate Auston Matthews and also usurp some of the other stars in the event like Draisail, McDavid and Pastrnak. 

Quinn Hughes to win Passing Challenge: +850 FanDuel

The passing challenge is built on varying accurate passes from varying distances, which has us liking a defenseman take the honors. Quinn Hughes has been superb for Vancouver, and the long cross-ice passes he tends to make, along with keeping the puck moving in the zone, might benefit him here.

Hughes is third in the NHL this season with 50 assists, he's no stranger to passing that puck. This seems like a nice price to us for one of the league's budding stars.