Skills competition kicks off KHL All-Star weekend

Kaylee Pofahl

Skills competition kicks off KHL All-Star weekend image

The Kontinental Hockey League's (KHL) 10th annual All Star Weekend kicked off on Saturday with a Master Show skills competition that was complete with mascot brawls, a hardest shot competition and everything in between. 

After opening the weekend with charming fun, the All-Star Game will be held on Sunday with Eurasia's finest taking center ice. Among those highlighting this year's roster are former NHL All-Stars Andrei Markov and Ilya Kovalchuk.

Throughout his 16 season with the Montreal Canadiens, Markov notched 119 goals and 453 assists over 990 games. Kovalchuck spent 12 seasons with the NHL playing for the New Jersey Devils and the Atlanta Thrashers before they became the Winnipeg Jets. 

The event will also feature four players who will go on to represent Canada at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang; in total, 13 KHL players will be representing Canada at the Games.

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Other former NHLers in the All-Star game include Dmitri Kalinin, Nigel Dawes, Nikita Nestorov and Linus Omark. Top NHL goaltender prospects Ilya Sorokin and Igor Shestyorkin will also compete in this year's event. 

The All Star game will be held at Barys Arena in Astana, Kazakhstan and will be available for streaming on DAZN. 

 

Kaylee Pofahl