LOS ANGELES -- It's been a week of surprises for Espen Knutsen, so learning he will participate in the hardest shot competition at Friday night's All-Star skills competition hardly raised an eyebrow.

Still, he admitted it's an ironic choice.

"I've always been like that, passing rather than shooting," said Knutsen, who ranks second on the Columbus Blue Jackets in scoring but only ninth in shots.

Maybe it was the hat trick he recorded last week against San Jose that convinced World team coach Scotty Bowman to pencil in Knutsen's name in the event that puts a premium on heavy slap shots.

Maybe Bowman did not know that all three goals came on rebounds or that the hat trick was totally out of character for the soft-spoken 30-year-old from Oslo.

Knutsen has 23 assists but just eight goals in 50 games for the Blue Jackets.

"The coaching staff is telling me to shoot more all of the time, but it is not easy to change just like that," he explained. "But I think I am shooting more this year than last year."

"He's a European guy, and their style is passing and skating and shooting," linemate Mike Sillinger said after Knutsen posted the fourth hat trick in team history. "He's one of the best playmakers. He sees the ice so well."

It's the playmaking ability that once earned Knutsen the unofficial title of best hockey player not in the NHL. He then had a brief -- and unsuccessful -- stint with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1997-98, recording just three goals and a minus-10 rating in 19 games.

"Ice time was the main problem," he recalled. "I didn't play that much in Anaheim. I was on the third and fourth lines."

With superstar Paul Kariya holding out, Knutsen briefly played alongside Teemu Selanne but spent more time with the likes of Mark Janssens, a tenacious checker not known for his offensive ability.

"He was only with us for a short while, but anytime a player can produce like that, year after year in Europe, you know he has the ability," Kariya said. "All he needed, obviously, was a chance to play for a team where he could showcase his skills, to show what he can really do."

Knutsen got his chance last season with the expansion Blue Jackets. Playing on a line with left wing Geoff Sanderson, he had 11 goals and 42 assists in 66 games.

"In Columbus, I am playing with skill guys, playing on the power play," Knutsen said. "But the biggest difference was confidence."

He regained that confidence after returning to the Swedish Elite League, and on Saturday will become the first Norwegian -- and the first member of the Blue Jackets -- to play in the NHL All-Star Game.

"It was a big surprise to me," said Knutsen, who learned Tuesday he was picked to replace injured Dallas Stars left wing Jere Lehtinen on the World squad.

Knutsen was the focus of a small but dogged group of Norwegian reporters and photographers at Friday morning's media session. Hockey, he explained, remains a fledgling sport in his homeland.

Norway is trying to fight its way into the main pool and will not participate in next month's Salt Lake City Olympics. While other Scandinavian countries like Sweden have as many as 300 indoor skating rinks, Norway has just 30.

That helps explain why Knutsen's idols while growing up were playmaking Swedes like Kent Nilsson and Hakan Loob.

But with Knutsen flourishing in the NHL and in the center of the international hockey spotlight this weekend, there could be a new hero for the next generation of Norwegian hockey players.