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It's crazy to think that we're almost halfway through the 2022-23 NHL season already. While I don't necessarily watch All-Star games unless I really have nothing better to do, I do use the All-Star weekend as my sports barometer. Whether it's MLB's Home Run Derby, or the NHL's skills competition, when these events roll around once a year it immediately triggers a bitter sweet thought in my mind; while there is only half a season to go, it is the most fun stretch of regular season games we'll see.
Photo courtesy of NHL.com
Players will enjoy their All-Star break. Those who made it will bask in the glory of their accomplishment, those who missed will enjoy their extended time off with family and friends back at home. But once the season starts back up, it's business as usual. Playoff teams will bitterly battle for a higher seed, fringe teams will become desperate and fight to secure themselves a playoff spot as the clock ticks, and the last place teams will continue to tank for Connor Bedard while shipping their stars off to contenders, shaking up the league in time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
As with any All-Star game that is largely left up to fan voting, this year's game is no exception to the controversy that follows the democratic process of leaving the power to the people.
The NHL All-Star selection is a hybrid. One player from each team is selected to represent their club, and then it is up to the fans to round out the rest of the roster. Let's take a look at the rosters.
Metropolitan Division
F - Sidney Crosby, PIT
F - Johnny Gaudreau, CBJ
F - Kevin Hayes, PHI
F - Jack Hughes, NJD
F - Brock Nelson, NYI
F - Alex Ovechkin, WSH
F - Artemi Panarin, NYR*
F - Andrei Svechnikov, CAR
D - Adam Fox, NYR*
G - Igor Shesterkin, NYR
G - Ilya Sorokin, NYI
Atlantic Division
F - Nikita Kucherov, TBL
F - Dylan Larkin, DET
F - Mitch Marner, TOR
F - Auston Matthews, TOR*
F - David Pastrnak, BOS* F - Nick Suzuki, MTL
F - Tage Thompson, BUF
F - Brady Tkachuk, OTT
F - Matthew Tkachuk, FLA
G - Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL*
G - Linus Ullmark, BOS
Central Division
F - Kirill Kaprizov, MIN
F - Clayton Keller, ARI
F - Nathan MacKinnon, COL* F - Mikko Rantanen, COL* F - Jason Robertson, DAL
F - Vladimir Tarasenko, STL
D - Seth Jones, CHI
D - Cale Makar, COL
D - Josh Morrissey, WPG
G - Connor Hellebuyck, WPG*
G - Juuse Saros, NSH
Pacific Division
F - Matty Beniers, SEA
F - Leon Draisaitl, EDM*
F - Kevin Fiala, LAK
F - Bo Horvat, VAN* F - Nazem Kadri, CGY
F - Connor McDavid, EDM
F - Elias Pettersson, VAN
F - Troy Terry, ANA
D - Erik Karlsson, SJS
G - Stuart Skinner, EDM* G - Logan Thompson, VGK
Fan voted players represented with *
All-Star snubs?
This goes without saying, as there are always fans who get upset when their guys don't make it to the All-Star game. The outrage over this year's "snubs" were Buffalo Sabres Rasmus Dahlin, Carolina Hurricanes Martin Necas, Dallas Stars Jake Oettinger, and Montreal Canadiens Cole Caufield (before the injury)
I personally think Dahlin and Oettinger are enormous snubs, but looking at both the Atlantic and Central division rosters, it's hard to say exactly who I'd replace them for. I'm also not sure how Brock Nelson was the Islanders selected All-Star over Ilya Sorokin... but here we are.