The 2011 NHL SuperSkills Competition will leave behind some fun memories for hockey fans.
Tim Thomas started things off with a little comic relief when he lost his edge and fell during the goalie portion of the fastest skater competition. Daniel Sedin showed off his individual talents by going 8 for 9 in the accuracy shooting portion. Alex Ovechkin and P.K. Subban used the venue to entertain the crowd with their colorful personalities.
Yet the most memorable scene probably came during the hardest shot competition, as powerful defensemen Shea Weber and Zdeno Chara squared off. Weber won the first round, but Chara beat Weber and everyone else - including himself - when he registered a scary 105.9 mile per hour slap shot.
Chara earned his fourth consecutive victory in the hardest shot competition, while that 105.9 broke his previous record of 105.4 mph. That 105.4 mark wrestled the all-time title from memorable mullet man Al Iafrate.
(Odd aside: shooters with the name “Al” dominated the competition from 1990-2000. Iafrate won it three times while Al MacInnis took it six times. The only non-Al was Dave Manson, with a 98.0 mph shot in 1996.)
Anyway, here’s video footage of that Chara slap shot. The question remains: can Chara or someone else hit the 106 mph mark as players get stronger and sticks create more powerful shots?
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(Shot of 105.9 via Versus/NHL.com.)