Women's 3-on-3 event to debut at NHL All-Star weekend

Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The NHL will debut a 3-on-3 women's scrimmage at the 2020 All-Star Game in St. Louis.

Sources told ESPN, The Athletic and Hockey Night in Canada about the event, which includes the top American and top Canadian women's hockey players. NHL All-Star weekend begins Jan. 24.

The NHL is expected to officially announce the women's event this week. The scrimmage will take place on the first day of All-Star weekend, The Athletic reported.

Women have participated in the last two NHL All-Star weekends. The league asked Team USA Olympians to demonstrate drills for the skills competition in 2018, when the event was held in Tampa, Fla. Last year, Kendall Coyne Schofield became the first woman to compete in an NHL All-Star skills competition.

Coyne finished seventh in the fastest-skater event with a time of 14.346-seconds. Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid won the event with a time of 13.378.

The women selected to play in the All-Star weekend event are part of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association, a pool of players who are boycotting professional hockey this year in an effort to find a more sustainable league.

The Canadian Women's Hockey League folded in March, leaving just the five-team National Women's Hockey League.

Sources told The Athletic that no players from the National Women's Hockey League are expected to participate in the event.

The NHL All-Star game features a series of three-on-three games, which will be held starting at 7 p.m. EST Jan. 25 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The All-Star skills competition is at 7 p.m. Jan. 24. NHL All-Star weekend also features a mascot showdown, alumni game and a one-on-one shootout, in addition to several fan events.