The Finnish hockey player, Sebastian Aho, did not get the chance to compete for the cash prize at the league’s All Stars event.
NHL star Sebastian Aho was quite disappointed after the All Stars event, as reported by Chip Alexander, a journalist who closely follows the Carolina Hurricanes, the team Aho represents.
After speaking with Aho post the event, Alexander reported that the Finnish player was “clearly annoyed” at not being selected for the talent contest, where the prize was a whopping one million dollars.
“Aho doesn’t claim to have won it, but he would have liked the opportunity to compete for the prize money,” Alexander writes.
In the skill contest, 12 players were selected, ten by the NHL and two through fan voting.
Russian player Nikita Kucherov was one of those chosen by the NHL despite showing indifference towards the competition, which led to the crowd booing him.
The competition consisted of eight different “sports”, each requiring specific skills like stick handling or skating speed, and points were awarded for each of them. Participants were eliminated as the competition progressed.
The winner of the competition was Connor McDavid from the Edmonton Oilers, who claimed the million dollar prize money. McDavid’s current contract has him earning an average of 12.5 million dollars annually.
In comparison, Aho’s average annual salary is approximately 8.46 million dollars.
The 26-year-old Aho has played 45 games for Carolina this season, scoring 17+37=54. Aho is on pace to break his personal points record set in his most efficient NHL season where he scored 85 points.
Carolina is currently second in its division as they prepare for their first game after the All-Star break.