2007 All-Star Game
| 1
|
2007 All-Star Game (written for Hockeyleaks.com)
2007 All-Star Game Marc Valeri Hockeyleaks.com January 16th, 2007
Mon. Jan. 22 – NHL Salute to a Generation of Stars, 7 p.m. EST. Should be a nice tribute to those who have contributed so much to the game.
Tues. Jan. 23 – NHL YoungStars game, SuperSkills event, 7:30 p.m. EST. Always fun to watch, should be a dandy.
Wed. Jan. 24 – All-Star Game. This one looks good, folks.
Another year, another All-Star game. The game will be held at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, home of the Stars, at 8 p.m. EST on January 24th. This year’s All-Star game looks juicy to say the least, with the surging Buffalo Sabres controlling the East and the shocking supremacy of the Anaheim Ducks in the West. All the votes are tallied, and the results are in.
For those rooting for the Eastern Conference, prepare to salivate. Forwards Sidney “The Kid” Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, and Daniel Briere take the forward positions, with Brian “Mmm…Good” Campbell and Sheldon Souray on the blue line. The posts will be guarded by backstop Ryan Miller. As for the West, forwards “Big” Joe Thornton, Jonathan Cheechoo, and “Burnaby” Joe Sakic led in All-Star votes, with possibly the two best defenceman taking the blueline in Nicklas Lidstrom and Scott Neidermayer, with goaltender Roberto Luongo between the pipes. Wow.
To be honest, I do not think that votes count, as any one individual can vote as many times as he or she pleases, taking the value out of the vote. Instead, I am just going to comment on some of the players heading to Dallas for the game. (In brackets will be the number of All-Star game appearances by that player)
EAST G - Ryan Miller (1), Martin Brodeur (9), Cristobal Huet (1).
D - Brian Campbell (1), Sheldon Souray (2), Jay Bouwmeester (1), Zdeno Chara (2), Tomas Kaberle (2), Brian Rafalski (2).
F – Sidney Crosby (1), Alexander Ovechkin (1), Daniel Briere (1), Jason Blake (1), Simon Gagne (2), Dany Heatley (2), Marian Hossa (3), Vincent Lecavalier (2), Martin St. Louis (3), Brendan Shanahan (8), Eric Staal (1), Justin Williams (1)
Head Coach – Lindy Ruff (2)
Assistant Coach – Bob Hartley (2)
Thoughts: Sigh. Where are Chris Drury and Maxim Afinogenov!? Come on people. If Drury can’t crack the team, I don’t know what is happening. Anyways - in terms of goaltending, all three picks were no brainers. Defensively, the East is young, and though the All-Star game is played at about a 40% effort compared to a regular shoot-around, the West should be blowing by with relative ease. The line of Crosby-Briere-Ovechkin is simply outstanding and should be a pleasure to watch. Williams ends his A.S. virginity, as does Jason Blake and Daniel Briere, all three of which deserve spots here. Just wait until Malkin replaces Briere on this line next year – yikes.
WEST G – Roberto Luongo (2), Miikka Kiprusoff (1), Marty Turco (3)
D – Scott Neidermayer (4), Nicklas Lidstrom (9), Philippe Boucher (1), Dion Phaneuf (1), Kimmo Timonen (2), Lubomir Visnovsky (1)
F – Jor Thornton (4), Joe Sakic (12), Jonathan Cheechoo (1), Bill Guerin (4), Martin Havlat (1), Patrick Marleau (2), Rick Nash (2), Yanic Perreault (1), Brian Rolston (1), Teemu Selanne (10), Ryan Smyth (1), Henrik Zetterberg (1)
Head Coach – Randy Carlyle (1)
Assistant Coach – Barry Trotz (1)
Thoughts – Where’s Jagr? Where’s Fitzpatrick? Honestly, both absences put a smile on my face. I like Kippy getting his first A.S. game appearance, but I believe that Hasek and Fernandez earned a spot here, not to take away anything from Luongo and Turco. Even J.S. Giggy deserved to be here. Defensively, like the East, the line is inexperienced, aside from Lidstrom and Niedermayer. Phaneuf was a no brainer, but, due to the friendliness of the A.S. game, he will not be sending people into next week with his right shoulder. I like the pick of Sakic, Smyth, and Zetterberg, but I must say – it is about time that Brian Rolston gets some respect around here. I can’t say enough about this kid. Nash was a surprise pick, considering he spent time on the shelf due to a bum knee, bad ankle, and a “lower body injury” and a groin injury. Nonetheless, had he played the full amount, he would still be deserving of an invite. Teemu has been revitalized by the lockout, and appears at the top (or near it) of his game.
And now for the future of the NHL; the NHL YoungStars EAST G – Kari Lehtonen
D – Mike Green, Andrej Meszaros, Ryan Whitney
F – Patrick Eaves, Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin, Zach Parise, Jordan Staal, Alex Steen, Tomas Vanek.
Thoughts – I like the way the fans voted for the East YoungStars here. I am very fond of Kessel, Malkin, Parise, and Vanek, just to name a few. Boy, will there be a game when Malkin teams with Crosby and Ovechkin for the next All-Star game. I am already looking forward the East’s team next year.
WEST G – Peter Budaj
D – Matt Carle, Brent Seabrook, Ladislav Smid, Shea Weber
F – Ryan Getzlaf, Jussi Jokinen, Anze Kopitar, Alexander Radulov, Lee Stempniak, Wojtek Wolski.
Thoughts: I like the West’s team here too. I am a fan of Kopitar, Wolski, and Getzlaf, but one question – where are Stastny and Penner? Zajac was left off too, but I would certainly put Stastny ahead of him. Given the puck on a wide open rink, likely to happen, Jokinen should embarrass Lehtonen at least once.
Predictions: It’s hard to say, considering goalies play a period each, and no one is playing to their full potential. I think the East will take the All Star game, simply because of the Briere-Crosby-Ovechkin punch – I hope something big comes from that line. As for the YoungStars, it is tougher to decide. I would have to say the East again; the firepower seems too strong for the West to contain, and Budaj has been killing me in my pools with his inconsistent play.
Let’s wait and see what happens.
