A total of 36 players were added to the 2014-2015 NHL All-Star roster on Saturday. They were chosen on the basis of overall skill and talent shown on the ice during regular season games. A few players, however, were selected through fan voting. These candidates include; Chicago’s Jonathan Toews, Corey Crawford, Patrick Kane, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, and Buffalo’s Latvian centreman Zemgus Girgensons.
The NHL All-Star Fan Vote has come into question many times this year, due to the surplus in Chicago fans taking part in the vote. I see no problem with it, I mean, that is the whole point of the Fan Vote isn’t it? Hopefully the Fan Vote turnout is more diverse next season, because the lack of votes for other players seemed unusual.
Three players from the Columbus Blue Jackets (Foligno, Johansen, and Bobrovsky) were selected, which is a new milestone for the franchise. Columbus will be hosting the All-Star game this season (January 26-27). Johansen is having a steller year, ranking 17th in the league in points (39), which makes hosting the All-Star game that much more exciting for Columbus.
Surprisingly, Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K Subban was left out of the selection. Subban is considered an NHL All-Star in many people’s eyes, so his absence from the final cut was out of the ordinary. A few new defenseman have joined the All-Star party including Coyotes Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Carolina Hurricanes Justin Faulk.
The arrival of Aaron Ekblad as an All-Star should be exciting, despite only being able to take part in the Skills Competition. Ekblad has no shortage of skill up his sleeve.
Now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for…
Here is the final 2014-2015 NHL All-Star Roster:
Forwards:
Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks)
Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
Nick Foligno (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Ryan Johansen (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Tyler Seguin (Dallas Stars)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers)
Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles Kings)
Patrik Elias (New Jersey Devils)
John Tavares (New York Islanders)
Rick Nash (New York Rangers)
Bobby Ryan (Ottawa Senators)
Claude Giroux (Philadelphia Flyers)
Jakub Voracek (Philadelphia Flyers)
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis Blues)
Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Tyler Johnson (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Phil Kessel (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Radim Vrbata (Vancouver Canucks)
Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)
Defensemen:
Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Arizona Coyotes)
Mark Giordano (Calgary Flames)
Justin Faulk (Carolina Hurricanes)
Erik Johnson (Colorado Avalanche)
Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings)
Ryan Suter (Minnesota Wild)
Shea Weber (Nashville Predators)
Brent Burns (San Jose Sharks)
Kevin Shattenkirk (St. Louis Blues)
Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg Jets)
Rookies: *Only Participate In Skills Competition*
Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames)
Aaron Ekblad (Florida Panthers)
Tanner Pearson (Los Angeles Kings)
Filip Forsberg (Nashville Predators)
Mike Hoffman (Ottawa Senators)
Jonathan Drouin (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Jimmy Howard (Detroit Red Wings)
Roberto Luongo (Florida Panthers)
Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens)
Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators)
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on twitter – @alandownward. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
