 |
| Scott Levy/NHLI via Getty Images |
New York Rangers
rookie Derek Stepan has been one of the many pleasant surprises for the team so
far this season. The 20-year-old rookie center has 13 goals, 16 assists
and 29 points in his first 50 games. His performance allowed for him to
be one of 12 rookies selected to participate in the Honda NHL SuperSkills on
Saturday, Jan. 29, during 2011 NHL All-Star Weekend. The question today
though is whether Stepan might be playing during Sunday’s main game as well.
Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com, during his weekend wrap, discussed the
idea that NHL is going to give the injured players selected for the game all
the time they can to decide if they can participate in the All-Star game.
According to Pierre, that means there would not be any selection of additional
replacement players to participate in the game.
Why? Because the league will replace any injured All-Star from the pool of rookies already attending the skills event. I think this is an absolutely brilliant solution.
Sidney Crosby bowed
out of the festivities on Monday, which should be enough time to find a
replacement from outside those already going.
However, Evgeni Malkin and Ales Hemsky are two current All-Star players
sidelined by injury who all seem unlikely to play in the game. Of the 12
rookies selected to participate in the skills event one would assume the first
two choices would be Calder favorites Jeff Skinner (Carolina) and Logan Couture
(San Jose). If there is another injury
or if the league does not replace Crosby from outside those already going, then
I would say Derek Stepan is the most qualified of those who will already be in
attendance.
As of Saturday, the league was kicking around how the rookies would be chosen for the game. Would they be part of Friday's fantasy draft, or would the rookies win their way into the game by excelling in Saturday night's skills event? Both are interesting ideas.
Both of those ideas
bring different sorts of intrigue to the process. If you have them in the
draft it adds another player from the hometown team that Eric Staal is supposed
to select. If you let them win their way into the game you could end up
with a scenario where the guys who have had the best year’s, as rookies, do not
get in or possibly defenders get in instead of forwards.
Overall I do not
think that Stepan has had the kind of year to be worthy of playing in the
All-Star game itself, but in the end the game is a show and if the rookies are
going to participate instead of bringing in the guys who have had better years,
then I would love to see Stepan represent the Rangers on Sunday.
