NHL All-Star Skills Competition: Predictions, betting odds, best bets for 2023 events

The 2023 NHL All-Star Skills competition is Friday with seven events on deck. Winners of each event get to go home with a cash prize of $30,000. 

However, the All-Stars aren't the only ones that can win money. There are three All-Star Skills events that fans can bet on.  

Sports Interaction has odds for three fan-favorite games: Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot and Accuracy Shooting. Among the players available to bet on are Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Alex Ovechkin. 

MORE: Explaining three new events taking place at All-Star Weekend

The Sporting News has the All-Star Skills odds, as well as predictions for the three events. 

2023 NHL All-Star Skills competition odds, predictions

All odds provided by Sports Interaction

Fastest Skater

Prediction: Dylan Larkin

No Connor McDavid in the Fastest Skater event is a bummer, but there will still be plenty of speed on display. 

My prediction is Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin. The center already holds one Fastest Skater title, winning the event in 2016 with a time of 13.172 seconds, breaking Mike Gartner's record set in 1996.

Cale Makar will give him a run for his money, but I don't see anyone beating Larkin, who is also the favorite according to oddsmakers. 

Odds

Hardest Shot

Prediction: Alex Ovechkin

This year's Hardest Shot competition feels a bit lackluster. No big, burly defensemen like Zdeno Chara or Shea Weber that would stand out as a favorite.

With that said, out of the options, it feels like Alex Ovechkin's to take. He won the Hardest Shot event in 2018, hitting 101.3 mph, and has competed in plenty of these events.

Even at his age, he's showing no signs of slowing down, so why not add another Hardest Shot win to his resume? The oddsmakers seem to agree, with Ovechkin holding the best odds to win. 

Odds

Accuracy Shooting

Prediction: Nikita Kucherov

The Accuracy Shooting event is a wide-open field. None of the players participating in the 2023 competition have won the event before, and the odds don't have a clear-cut favorite. 

While it feels inevitable that McDavid, who holds the highest odds, dominates and wins the event, I'm going to go with Nikita Kucherov. He has such a quick release and can pinpoint a shot when needed. McDavid can't be winning everything. 

Odds