The All-Star Draft Brings Fun and Laughter

On Friday night, the National Hockey League held its annual All-Star Game Draft, where the teams are created, based on the decision of each team’s captain and alternates. With the podiums set up – Nick Foligno, Patrick Kane and Drew Doughty on one side, Jonathan Toews, Ryan Getzlaf and Rick Nash on the other – the two teams took turns selecting players and exchanging jokes and polite jabs at those they called upon.

While Kathryn Tappen and Darren Mallard attempted to keep up with horrible puns, the two teams and their players kept things fun. Alex Ovechkin‘s attempt to get picked last fell just a few spots short, and both Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Filip Forsberg, the two remaining players, received a car for their long wait. Not that Ovechkin really needed the car, a year of his salary alone can buy up to 431.5 Honda Accords, the automobile handed out this year.

For Phil Kessel, it was a relief. Not only does he step away from the disaster that is the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he also avoided the embarrassment he suffered back in 2011, when he was chosen last. Of course, an All-Star draft is not complete without a good laugh, and unfortunately for Phil “The Thrill”, he became the butt of the joke once again. In a bizarre twist to this year’s festivities, a trade was announced that saw Kessel get shipped out from Team Toews to Team Foligno in exchange for Tyler Seguin. This, of course, is a throw-back to the now-infamous Kessel to Toronto trade, which saw the Bruins receive two first-round picks (one in 2010, one in 2011) and a 2010 2nd-round pick. The 2010 first-rounder, as we all know, turned out to be Tyler Seguin, who has since been traded to the Dallas Stars, and is having a phenomenal season.

In an interesting, albeit minor, storyline, Team Foligno selected Carey Price, while Team Toews chose Jaroslav Halak, sparking the age-old Halak vs. Price battle, a debate that once tore the city of Montreal in two and had fans from both parties yelling back and forth about who the better goaltender was. A playoff round is probably the best way to determine that, but for now, we’ll settle with an All-Star free-for-all, and find out which goaltender between the two prevents the red lamp behind them from lighting up the most.

The four rookies, Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary), Mike Hoffman (Ottawa), Jiri Sekac (Montreal), and Jonathan Drouin (Tampa Bay), were split in two, with Johnny Hockey and Hoffman heading to Team Toews, while Sekac joined his Montreal teammate in Price, and Drouin with Stamkos, on Team Foligno.

After the special was over, the two teams had their rosters. Here’s how they look:

Team Foligno

Forwards

Nick Foligno (C)
Patrick Kane (A)
Ryan Johansen
Anze Kopitar
Steven Stamkos
Phil Kessel (via trade)
Claude Giroux
Bobby Ryan
Radim Vrbata
Zemgus Girgensons
Alex Ovechkin
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Defense

Goalies

Carey Price
Marc-Andre Fleury
Brian Elliott

Rookies

Jonathan Drouin
Jiri Sekac

Team Toews

Forwards

Jonathan Toews (C)
Ryan Getzlaf (A)
Rick Nash (A)
Tyler Seguin (via trade)
Jakub Voracek
John Tavares
Vladimir Tarasenko
Patrice Bergeron
Patrik Elias
Tyler Johnson
Filip Forsberg

Defense

Shea Weber
Brent Seabrook
Aaron Ekblad
Ryan Suter
Mark Giordano
Justin Faulk

Goalies

Corey Crawford
Roberto Luongo
Jaroslav Halak

Rookies

Johnny Gaudreau
Mike Hoffman

With the All-Star skills competition set for tomorrow evening, we’ll find out which of the two teams boasts the best singular talents, such as the fastest skater, hardest shot, and most accurate hand-eye coordination. On Sunday, the two teams go head-to-head in what should be a fun outing.

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