Tomorrow will be the actual draft for the 2011 NHL All-Star Game with Eric
Staal and Nicklas Lidstrom serving as the captains. To prepare for the actual draft, Nicholas Montemagno from Rangers
Tribune and I conducted a mock All-Star Draft. He had Team Staal and the first pick, while I
had Team Lidstrom and the last pick. Below are the results of my picks and the
rationale behind them.
To see which players Nick chose and why he took them when he check out his write-up.
To see which players Nick chose and why he took them when he check out his write-up.
The
actual draft will take place Friday at 8 pm on Versus.
TEAM LIDSTROM
Captain: Nicklas
Lidstrom
Alternate: Martin
St. Louis
Alternate:
Patrick Kane.
Round 1 -- Henrik
Sedin (C)
With Stamkos off the board, Martin St. Louis is crushed, but
we must move on and I will take the reigning MVP Henrik Sedin. Picking an MVP is never a bad choice, and
he’s Swedish so that’s a win-win. Henrik is having another outstanding season
leading the league in assists (50).
Round 2 – Henrik
Lundqvist (G)
Tim Thomas might have the best numbers of any goalie in the
game right now, but mine won a gold medal, and is as hot as any netminder going
right now. Goaltenders do not normally
steal the show at in these games, but this one can. Welcome aboard Henrik Lundqvist.
Round 3 – Daniel
Sedin (LW)
No-brainer as Daniel
and Henrik Sedin combine to form the best duo in the NHL. Daniel is currently third in the league in
goals (27), assists (37) and points (64).
At some point I might have to take a guy who is not Swedish though.
Round 4 – Jonathan
Toews (C)
Patrick Kane wanted
his running mate in Chicago and I could not argue against one of the best young
leaders in the game, and a terrific two-way hockey player that should lead a
tremendous second line.
Round 5 – Rick
Nash (LW)
Nash is a player who seems to shine on the big stage whether
it be the All-Star game (5G, 4A) or the Olympics. While he does not get enough national
attention for the work he does in Columbus those in the league know how good he
is. To go with his huge frame he has speed, power and finishing touch.
Round 6 – Zdeno
Chara (D)
Zdeno is quite
possibly the most imposing force in the game.
While there will not be a lot of hitting in the game, when it comes down
to a late game situation the competitive nature will take over and who better
to stop the likes of Stamkos than Chara.
Also doesn’t hurt that he is going to get me a point in the hardest shot
competition either and scares defensive with his bombs from the point during
the game.
Round 7 – Jonas Hiller (G)
Hiller is one of the
most underappreciated goalies in the NHL around the country. What he is doing this season for the Ducks is
nothing short of remarkable and he should be in the Vezina trophy race along
with Henrik Lundqvist and Tim Thomas.
Jonas is currently leading the league in wins (25) and is fifth in the
league in save percentage (.925).
Round 8 – Brad
Richards (C)
I could not get
Martin St. Louis his current running-mate with Stamkos going first overall, but
here I can get him an old one in Brad Richards.
That a player of Brad’s caliber is only in his first All-Star game
should make him even hungrier to show why he got that Conn-Smythe trophy. His combination of vision, passing and scoring
touch has propelled the Stars to a surprising season and gives my team
versatility on power play as well. Let
us not forget is 57 points in 50 games this season either.
Round 9 – Shea Weber
(D)
Another defender
with a booming shot who is underappreciated around the country. This 25-year-old defender has been among the
league’s best for a number of years now and has shown he can perform on big
stages and I like that in my guys.
Round 10 – Carey
Price (G)
While the rules
forced Carey with this pick, there is no denying the season that he is having
between the pipes and he is a tremendous finish to my goalie lineup. Price has shown this season that he is back
in form and ready to carry the Canadiens to the playoffs. Now I need him to carry my team for one
period, and he is always good for striking a pose after the victory.
Round 11 – Dustin
Byfuglien (D)
A virtual firing
squad from the point has led Dustin to a career season and the league lead in
goals by a defender (16). With his
combination of size and strength he is a terror to deal with for opposing
defenses and that is exactly what I expect him to be for Team Lidstrom.
Round 12 – Marc
Staal (D)
Marc Staal has been
known around the league as one of the top shutdown defenders for a few seasons
now, but he has taken it to another level this year. Adding offense to his game and playing a
staggering 25:33 a night has helped the New York Rangers to their surprising
position despite being plagued by injury.
Besides, who knows better how to defend Eric Staal than his own brother
Marc. Cannot wait to see how the Staal
family reacts to Eric passing on Marc 12 times and allowing me to take the best
shutdown defender in the game to stop Eric in the All-Star game. Dinner at the Staal house should be fun
tonight.
Round 13 – Matt
Duchene (C)
Matt Duchene has
quickly become one of the game’s top players both on and off the ice. This youngster just became the youngest
Colorado Avalanche player ever to record their 100th career point.
Think about the names that have played for that franchise and understand how
special this young player is. His
combination of speed, quickness and a wicked wrist shot will give Team Staal
fits.
Round 14 – Brent
Burns (D)
I have broken with
expectations and chosen Burns over young countryman Erik Karlsson. Erik is currently and will be a tremendous
player in this league for a long time, but the opportunity to grab Burns was
something I could not pass up. Burns is
yet another player on my team that is not as well known nationally as their
talent should have them. His 14 goals
this season only trail his new teammate Dustin Byflugien among defenders. Also, I can now have Erik spy for me in all
team meetings and he will clearly throw his performance to help my team.
Round 15 – Loui
Eriksson (LW)
Having passed on a
Swede in the last round, I needed to ensure I grabbed the last Swedish player
on the board with this pick. Loui is a
tremendous player who is only getting better and now will get to play with his
normal center, Brad Richards, here on team Lidstrom. Eriksson is having another tremendous year
ranking eleventh in the league in scoring with his 47 points.
Round 16 – Paul
Stasny (C)
Paul Stasny might
have been the last player added to the All-Star game rosters, but it was not
because he did not deserve to be here to begin with. This young center has tremendous vision and
passing ability that has made him a mainstay for the Colorado Avalanche since
the beginning of his career. Picking him
made Duchene really happy too, so there is always that.
Round 17 – Patrik
Elias (C/W)
Things have been
awful in New Jersey this year, so that will only give Elias more incentive to
make this team a winner. Combine that
motivation with the fact that Patrik is red-hot right now and Team Lidstrom has
a very dangerous player on the team.
Round 18 – Martin
Havlat (LW)
Marty Havlat might
be Mr. Irrelevant in terms of this lineup selection, but I expect him to use
that as fuel to prove myself and Eric Staal wrong for waiting so long to select
such a talented winger. Havlat has been
doing just that all season and I expect him to do it one more time in the ASG.
My initial line
combinations and defensive pairings:
Daniel Sedin- Henrik
Sedin – Matt Duchene
With the amount of
attention the Sedin twins will draw in this game, look for Duchene to use his
speed and quickness to exploit the open ice and have a huge performance.
Rick Nash – Jonathan
Toews – Patrick Kane
Keeping Toews and
Kane together was an obvious move, but the way that Nash and Toews played
together at the Olympics made the trio an easy choice as well. The ability of all three to be strong on the
puck, finish and passing ability could make this a lethal line.
Loui Eriksson – Brad
Richards – Martin St. Louis
The thinking on this
combination is similar to that with the Toews line. You have the current combination of Richards
and Loui Eriksson with the past chemistry of St. Louis and Brad Richards. Loui
Eriksson might be the happiest man in Carolina to play with two playmakers of
this caliber.
Martin Havlat – Paul
Stastny – Patrik Elias
All three of these
guys are excellent players, but reality is they were the three left over after
the other nine were grouped. Each one of
these three could move up and change roles on other lines, or they could stay
together and use their incredible combined passing and vision to pot a few
themselves.
Nicklas Lidstrom –
Dustin Byfuglien
The combination of
the experience, defensive awareness and passing with Byfuglien’s shot is an
intriguing one. This also has a somewhat
natural feel due to the similarities between Nick and Tobias Enstrom with more
defensive skill at this stage on Lidstrom’s side.
Marc Staal– Shea
Weber
Marc Staal plays a
very similar game to Weber’s natural defense partner Ryan Suter, so this
pairing is a natural fit and one I am sure every Rangers fan wishes could
happen on Broadway.
Zdeno Chara – Brent
Burns
In terms of placing
Zdeno, the pairing with Burns is the most similar to that of Seidenberg whom he
plays with in Boston. Only concern with
this pair is the susceptibility to speed, so the combinations might change
between now and the drop of the puck.
In net I will go with Hiller in the first,
Price in the second and Lundqvist to close out team Staal in the third.
