The NHL All-Star weekend kicks off with the Skills Competition on Friday night. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a special NHL Skills Competition prediction and pick.

This year, the NHL has re-imagined the skills competition. Twelve different players will take the ice for the competition. In the first round, players will participate in four of six events, choosing between fastest skater, hardest shot, stick handling, one time, a passing challenge, and an accuracy shooting challenge. At the end of the round, the eight players with the most points will advance to the second round. There, it will be a one-on-one shootout against the goalie of their choosing. The six players with the most points will advance to the final round, and obstacle course. The player with the most points from all eight events will be crowned the champion.

The hometown Toronto Maple Leafs have two representatives in the competition. The same is true for the Colorado Avalanche, and Edmonton Oilers, while the Vancouver Canucks have three representatives. Further, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and New York Islanders each have one player in the competition. Here are some of the best bets for this year's NHL skills competition.

Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

How to Watch NHL All-Star Game Skills Competition

Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT

TV: ESPN

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

NHL Accuracy Shooting Competition Prediction & Pick

The question for this competition is does scoring a lot of regular season goals translate to accuracy in this competition? David Pastrnak and Auston Matthews are both in this competition, and while Pastrnak is tied with Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Nikita Kucherov for the top odds, Matthews sits a spot behind. Still, with 40 goals this year, Matthews has a 20.2 percent shooting percentage this year. That is higher than both Pastrnak and Kucherov this year. One of the top ten goal scorers in the NHL, which includes Nathan MacKinnon, another competition, Matthews's shooting accuracy is second, only to Brock Boeser.

Matthews also has a higher shooting percentage than William Nylander, Cale Makar, and Quinn Hughes this year. He trails J.T. Miller in shooting percentage on the year among the players participating in the event. Still, there is not necessarily a translation from shooting percentage to winning this event. Last year's winner Brock Nelson was not the most accurate of the players competing. Still, it feels like Matthews is underrated here. He or Miller could easily win this, but also looking for longer odds with MacKinnon and Nylander may not be a bad play either.

Final NHL Accuracy Shooting Prediction and Pick: Auston Matthews (+700) 

NHL Fastest Skater Competition Prediction & Pick

The favorite this year for the fastest skater is Connor McDavid sitting at +105. He is followed by Mathew Barzal (+230) and Cale Makar (+450). Rounding out the field are William Nylander and Quinn Hughes. Nathan MacKinnon is known to be one of the fastest players, if not the fastest in the NHL, but he chose not to do the event. Nylander is an interesting choice though. His top speed this year is 22.35 miles per hour.  Last year, the top four spots were decided by under a second, and the top three but under half a second. The adrenalin of being at home could propel him to a win, but it could also have him take a spill.

That is exactly what Cale Makar did. He was well on a pace to be in contention last year before falling on the final turn. Makar was also solid in 2022 and could contend in this one. He has had a top speed of 22.97 miles per hour this year. Still, Connor McDavid won this event in 2017, 2018, and 2019. He is the fastest skater in this event, and while he is five years older now, he has not lost that speed. He topped out at 24.05 miles per hour this year.  If you want the longer odds, Makar would be a solid pick, but the best one is to take McDavid.

Final NHL Fastest Skater Prediction and Pick: Connor McDavid (+105) 

NHL Hardest Shot Competition Prediction & Pick

Elias Pettersson comes back to defend his crown in this event. Last year Pettersson registered a 103.2 mile per house shot to win the event. He comes in as the favorite at +175. Still, that shot last year is on the lower side in terms of winners for the event. Since 2008, only Shea Weber in 2017, Alex Ovheckin in 2018, and John Carlson in 2019 have had slower shots and wins. Petterrson also has had the fastest shot in a game of every player in this competition at 97.67 miles per hour.

Still, Pettersson has just 12 shots this year over 90 miles per hour. Fellow teammate J.T. Miller has 15. Miller's top shot this year is at 97.52 miles per hour. Miller sits third in odds in the competition at +360, behind Cale Makar at +320, but ahead of Auston Matthews at +440 and David Pastrnak at +650. Cale Makar has shown some powerful shots topping out this year at 96.18 miles per hour, ahead of the other two contestants, Auston Matthews at 91.43 MPH and Pastrnak at 95.87  MPH. Still, take the better money will Miller knock off his teammate here?

Final NHL Hardest Shot Prediction and Pick:  J.T. Miller (+360) 

NHL All-Star Skills Competition Overall Winner Prediction & Pick

The overall winner of the event will be the player who ends up with the most overall points. Matthews, McDavid, and J.T. Miller will all be in the running with winning the three events. Cale Makar and Connor McDavid will enter as favorites both sitting at +750. Still, the longest odds is William Nylander, but with his all-around skills, he could easily win. For Nathan MacKinnon (+850) to win, he will need great in his events. He can win the one-timer competition, but the passing of the fastest skater may hurt him.

Nikita Kucherov (+850) is an MVP candidate this year, and is near the top of the league in just about everything and will not struggle, but also is not the best at any one event. Taking the hometown guys could pay off well, but hometown heroes have not always done well in this competition. The best bet here is on the player who can at least win one if not two events while being near the top in others. That player is Connor McDavid.

Click here for more betting news and predictions 

Final NHL All-Star Skills Competition Overall Winner Prediction and Pick: Connor McDavid (+750)