"This city is like no other and our fans have become like no other fans," said a visibly satisfied Mark Stone, who usually wears the jersey of the Vegas Golden Knights. "We tried to bring that in and also include the Strip, with the landmark Bellagio Fountain. It shows Vegas is becoming a crazy hockey community. I'm proud to be a part of it."
By combining the tried and tested, new ideas and revived traditions, the organizers managed to generate a mixture that provided the best entertainment. "It was good that they mixed a bit of something new into the established things like the Fastest Skater competition and target shooting," said Frederik Andersen, who said the organizers had a good hand. "These two are, at least in my view, the most interesting competitions to watch."
For Auston Matthews, too, when asked if the Vegas vibe was fulfilled, the answer was simple: "I think it has. With the different competitions, they've been thinking outside the box. They're more closed done a Vegas thing. It's a fantastic place for an event like this."
The two competitions at the Bellagio Fountains in particular made the players shine. "It was cool, a really great experience, even if it was a bit cold," said Josi, describing his work in the Discover NHL Fountain Face-Off. "Especially the end with the fountain and the whole show was stunning."
Josi made it to the finals of the competition, but was defeated by Zach Werenski, who highlighted the opportunities in Vegas. "It's been great. You can do things here that you can't do anywhere else. They're trying to do that and it's been great fun so far."
Video: Josi participates in the Discover NHL Fountain face-off
Another highlight that definitely fit into the show metropolis of Vegas was the adidas NHL Breakaway Challenge. For the first time since 2016, the actors were able to measure how creative they were in the shootouts. Much to Josi's delight, things got down to business very imaginatively. "The Breakaway Challenge was cool. Everyone got very creative. It was fun to watch. It was a very entertaining show."
The Swiss defender was particularly impressed by Trevor Zegras and his move, and his compatriot also admired Zegras' unbelievable penalty, which he couldn't take himself.
Video: Zegras scores terrific goal in Breakaway Challenge
Although Vegas is known for making a spectacle out of almost anything, the All-Star Skills still managed to surprise a few players. The Vegas vibe with a lot of show gave Adrian Kempe a lot to marvel at. "It was all a big show with a lot of exciting moments that you didn't expect," he said.
In the end, all actors agreed that the show was one of a kind and lived up to what could be expected in Vegas. It should also have put a sparkle in the eyes of the fans, which is the goal of the entire weekend. "I think they had a good mix. It's for the fans and we're here to make a show out of it," emphasized Leon Draisaitl. "I think it was very entertaining and fun to watch. I'm sure the fans felt the same way."
Sebastian Aho chimed in when he said it's about the fans and that he likes it as long as viewers are having fun. The whole weekend is for the fans and Vegas would definitely be one of the best locations for the event.
A Vegas native, Alex Pietrangelo, won the Breakaway Challenge and was pleased that the city was able to make a good impression on his team: "It's pretty easy to show what kind of city that is. Everyone knows Vegas is like But for me, living here, it's also important to show how amazing the people are here and how well they treat us. That sometimes goes a bit unnoticed in this city."
