Joe pretty much covered this yesterday, but it’s one thing to hear about the discussions and well-sourced conjecture and another to receive an official announcement.
What was rumored will in fact be true: the 2011 NHL All-Star Game will remove the conference vs. conference format in favor of a draft conducted by the players themselves. When I first heard about this announcement, I felt some pride because I pointed out that the league could benefit from a “Team Crosby vs. Team Ovechkin” format ... but apparently Eric McErlain beat me to it and even got most of the details correct. Darn.
Anyway, for those of you who want to see the details in black-and-white, here they are via a league press release. As you’ll notice, while fans won’t dictate every roster decision, they still will get a say in which players appear in the game.- From a group of 100 players on the ballot, fans will vote for their top six All-Stars by position without regard to the Conference in which the player plays. Fans will also have the ability to write-in a player of their choice.
- The three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie receiving the most votes will be named the first NHL All-Stars.
- The remaining 36 All-Stars will be named by the NHL Hockey Operations Department for a total of 42 All-Star players (3 goalies, 6 defensemen and 12 forwards per team).
- Following the selection of the All-Stars, NHL Hockey Operations will designate 12 NHL rookies to participate in the Honda NHL SuperSkills on Saturday, January 29 for a total of 54 NHL players taking part in All-Star weekend.
- After the 42 NHL All-Stars have been selected, two captains will be chosen per team by the players.
- On Friday, January 28, 2011, a draft event will be held in Raleigh with all 54 NHL players (42 All-Stars and 12 rookies) during which the captains will draft the remaining members of their respective teams.
A few other facts really quick: the first pick will be determined by a coin flip. Each side will choose six rookies each from the pool of 12 for the skills competition. The league seems like it will make the genius move to televise that player draft as part of the All-Star weekend’s festivities.
I cannot speak for Joe on this one, but at least from my perspective, I think it’s a fantastic way to spice up an event that has gotten a little stale over the years. Having two captains pick from that pool will evoke some memories of pickup games for players and fans alike ... and might even bring out some interesting controversy involving the players who are chosen last.
