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We picked our dream skills lineup for the NWHL All-Star Game

Who are some of the NWHL ASG snubs and who should be back in the skills competition (yes, we said BriMac)

The roster for the NWHL 2017 All-Star Game is complete and, unlike last year, actually features teams other than Boston! (We’re kidding. Mostly. Moving on…) Captains Amanda Kessel and Kelley Steadman took turns building their rosters, with Kelli Stack going to #TeamKessel and Brianna Decker to #TeamSteady in the first round.

Kessel’s strategy going into the draft was apparent and could be summarized with a few letters: USNT. While Steadman branched out and drafted Bolden and McLaughlin in early rounds, Kessel chose U.S. national team player after U.S. national team player after U.S. national team player until there were none left.

Perhaps there should have been more room for non-national team players. Rookie Miye D’Oench has had a great season for the Riveters with some timely goals. With new players this season, some veterans failed to crack the roster this year. The speedy Devon Skeats and skilled Janine Weber were both left off this year. Still, the roster has produced teams that look to be evenly matched on paper for the normal 5v5 play.

However, All-Star games are never remembered for their “normal” hockey play, but instead for the skills portion. Last year, we saw Amanda Pelkey emerge from an equipment bag, Megan Bozek set the record for Hardest Shot (and lay down the gauntlet for Zdeno Chara and Shea Weber), and Kaleigh Fratkin shoot in a chicken head.

This year, fans are hoping for more of the same excitement. With the lineup we have, here’s our wish list of participants in the skills competition.

Hardest Shot

Team Kessel

Megan Bozek - Duh- she’s the reigning champ at 88 mph

Meghan Duggan - Sent Munchkins flying off the net last year

Team Steady

Blake Bolden -Complimented by Bozek

Kaleigh Fratkin - Needs to use a different animal costume

Breakaway Challenge

Team Kessel

Harrison Browne - Wants to shoot against former teammate Brittany Ott

Zoe Hickel and Hilary Knight - teamwork makes the dream work for these roommates

Team Steady

Kelly Babstock - Has quite a few spin-o-ramas in her arsenal

Emily Pfalzer - Bring back No. 1 fan Molly from last year

Fastest Skater

Brittany Ott vs. Brianne McLaughlin - Rematch of last year; who gets pied?

Accuracy

Team Kessel

Amanda Kessel - Those wrist shots though

Dana Trivigno - Goals on goals

Team Steady

Kelley Steadman - Left 12.9 seconds on the clock last year

Haley Skarupa - Keen affinity for scoring goals

Think we left someone off the list? Comment and tell us how you think the skills contest roster should look.

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