2012 NHL All-Star Skills Competition: Boston Bruins' Zdeno Chara retains Hardest Shot Title
The 2012 Molson Canadian National Hockey League (NHL) All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday night, January 28, 2012, was certainly a treat for hockey fans around the world as players did not fail to impress in each and every competition.
Captain of the Boston Bruins and of one of the All-Star teams, Zdeno Chara, showed off some skill by not only retaining his title of being the leagues hardest hitter but also smashed his old record as well.
Chara set a new record last year in the 2011 NHL All-Star Skills Competition at 105.9 mph, but this time around, it was a whole new ball game with the might Bruins’ captain shooting at 108.8 mph to set a new league record.
He was paired up with Nashville Predators top defenseman, Shea Weber, in the finals of the hardest shot competition, but failed to equalise it with Chara even though he also broke his old record by hitting it at 106 mph.
This is the fifth consecutive time that Zdeno Chara has won the hardest shot competition.
"Sometimes you don't look exactly at the numbers," Chara said. "Sometimes you just want to win Obviously (Weber's) a great player in this League, and he has a really hard shot. We've been in the (hardest shot) finals together for the past few years. Really,
I don't go out there and try to get motivated that much. You just try to go out and do your best."
Playing in Canada, Chara did not expect much humbleness from the crowd, especially due to their extreme rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens, which even led up to police involvement at one point, but being in the city where he spent four seasons with the
Senators, the crowds standing ovation was definitely an emotional moment for him.
"The standing ovation was very much appreciated," Chara said. "And to get the record in Ottawa where I played so much time and had great years was very nice."
Players will have another chance at grabbing the title next year, but by the way things are going at the moment, Zdeno Chara does not look like he will be slowing down any time soon.
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