Monday, January 18, 2010

CHL Announces Events and Participants for the 2010 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Skills Competition

Windsor, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced the events and the participants from Team Cherry and Team Orr that will compete in the 2010 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Skills Competition on Tuesday night January 19, 2010, at 7:00 pm at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, ON.

40 of the CHL’s top prospects eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft have been divided amongst four different events and all players competing in a 3-on-3 game to showcase their abilities before fans and a record number of scouts and NHL personnel in attendance. The skills events will include the Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Shooting Accuracy, and a brand new Showdown style Breakaway Contest.

The Showdown Breakaway Contest will feature six players per team taking two attempts on goal before a panel of four celebrity judges that will score each attempt based on creativity, originality, degree of difficulty, execution, showmanship, and the ability to score. Celebrity judges include Spitfires’ Vice-President and General Manager Warren Rychel and defenceman Ryan Ellis. Joining them will be former NHL enforcer and Windsor native Bob Probert, along with Rob Faulds from Rogers Sportsnet.

Headlining this new event will be Ryan Spooner and Austin Watson of the Peterborough Petes representing Team Cherry, with Jeff Skinner of the Kitchener Rangers and Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers representing Team Orr. Spooner is tied for the OHL-lead with four shootout goals this season on six attempts with three game-winners, while Watson is a former member of the Spitfires. Skinner and Seguin are the top two goal scorers in the OHL with 35 and 30 goals respectively.

Spitfires’ forward Taylor Hall and defenceman Cam Fowler will open the event for Team Cherry with the Fastest Skater competition.

The best individual score in each event receives a goal for their team, with another goal awarded for the best team average from each event for a total of eight available goals. The 3-on-3 game consists of two 15-minute periods with running time with all goals scored counting towards the overall competition score.

The Skills Competition will be broadcast live on TVCogeco Windsor beginning at 7:00 pm, with the game to be broadcast to a national audience Wednesday night live on Rogers Sportsnet at 7:00 pm.

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