The "starters" for the NHL All-Star game were already named. I used quotation marks because, of course, the new system makes the whole process of unveiling these rosters a bit strange. I presume you recall that these days, a pool of players are named, and then two captains pick the players for their two rosters. So, six players get the chance to start for whichever team chooses them. Since this game is in Ottawa, four of these players are Senators. Fortunately, three of them are deserving all-stars, one of them is a deserving starter, and one of them is Daniel Alfredsson, the face of Ottawa's franchise for years. The other two starters, Dion Phaneuf and Tim Thomas, are both deserving to be on the team as well. Now, the rest of the players have been named.
As I look over the rosters, none of these names strike me as being out of place. Sure, having a guy like Jarome Iginla or John Tavares on the team may keep out a player having a better season, but they do want every team represented, and both of those guys are having good seasons. Honestly, the one player who probably shouldn't be here is Corey Perry, who should be replaced by Teemu Selanne. Of course, it is entirely possible that Selanne begged off being named.
There are a couple of interesting goalies in the pool, as both Brian Elliott and Jimmy Howard have made it. Both are very much deserving, but I am also pretty sure neither player was on the voting ballot. I'm also pretty sure Tyler Seguin, who has really emerged in his second season, wasn't on the ballot as well. I was also kind of surprised to see Logan Couture, another second year player, on the roster. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau both have more points, and Marleau only has one less goal than Couture. Again, given that both of those players are aging veterans, maybe they begged off the game.
There is also, of course, the rookie players, which also some teams, like Edmonton, New Jersey, Columbus, Colorado, and Carolina, to have representatives without taking precious real roster spaces. Still, that means we get to see players such as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, which is nice.
The All-Star Draft will be January 26. Last year's was pretty interesting, so you may want to tune in. Plus, the event is taking place in Ottawa which, as you may know, is in Canada, so the crowd should be quite enthusiastic.
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