NHL All-Star Game Picks Have Been Made. Who Has The Edge?

The NHL All-Star selections were made Friday night in what was a fun filled evening for the players that were involved, showing that they are a good natured bunch away from the terror and intensity on the ice.  Team Staal and Team Lidstrom made their selections with some of them plainly obvious, like when Eric Staal chose Carolina goaltender Cam Ward with his first pick.  Nicklas Lidstrom however followed in my footsteps by picking Steven Stamkos,  The exact same first choice I made in the Rink Side Rants Radio Show the other night.  Selections after the jump.

Here’s the Team Lidstrom selections in the order that they were taken as well as the coaches of that squad.

Nicklas Lidstrom(notes) (captain), D, Detroit

Patrick Kane(notes) (assistant captain), F, Chicago

Martin St. Louis(notes) (assistant captain), F, Tampa Bay

Coaches Peter Laviolette, Philadelphia, and Alain Vigneault, Vancouver

2. Steven Stamkos(notes), C, Tampa Bay 4. Duncan Keith(notes), D, Chicago 6. Henrik Sedin(notes), F, Vancouver

8. Shea Weber(notes), D, Nashville 10. Tim Thomas(notes), G, Boston 12. Daniel Briere, F, Philadelphia

14. Dustin Byfuglien(notes), D, Atlanta 16. Jonathan Toews(notes), F, Chicago 18. Marc-Andre Fleury(notes), G, Pittsburgh 20. Jonas Hiller(notes), G, Anaheim 22. Brad Richards(notes), F, Dallas 24. Keith Yandle(notes), D, Phoenix

26. Brent Burns(notes), D, Minnesota 28. Martin Havlat(notes), F, Minnesota 30. Anze Kopitar(notes), F, Los Angeles

32. Matt Duchene(notes), F, Colorado 34. Loui Eriksson(notes), F, Dallas 36. Phil Kessel(notes), F, Toronto

Here’s Team Staal’s picks and the coach’s of that team:

Eric Staal(notes) (captain), F, Carolina

Ryan Kesler(notes) (assistant captain), F, Vancouver

Mike Green(notes) (assistant captain), D, Washington

Coaches Joel Quenneville and Mike Haviland, Chicago

1. Cam Ward(notes), G, Carolina. 3. Alex Ovechkin(notes), C, Washington 5. Daniel Sedin(notes), F, Vancouver

7. Zdeno Chara(notes), D, Boston 9. Rick Nash(notes), F, Columbus 11. Henrik Lundqvist(notes), G, New York Rangers

13. Marc Staal(notes), D, New York Rangers  15. Patrick Sharp(notes), F, Chicago 17. Dan Boyle(notes), D, San Jose

19. Carey Price(notes), G, Montreal 21. Jeff Skinner(notes), F, Carolina 23. Chris Letang, D, Pittsburgh

25. Claude Giroux(notes), F, Philadelphia 27. Erik Karlsson(notes), D, Ottawa 29. Corey Perry(notes), F, Anaheim

31. Patrik Elias(notes), F, New Jersey 33. David Backes(notes), F, St. Louis 35. Paul Stastny(notes), F, Colorado

Some interesting choices as the Sedins are split up for the first time since birth!.  All the Chicago Blackhawks are together except for Patrick Sharp who’s on Team Staal.   Does Peter Laviolette double shift Dustin Byfuglien at defence and at forward to create some net presence?  How many different line combinations will Joel Quenneville come up with as he is known for that type of crazyness.  How will the hometown boys do, especially Carolina Hurricanes rookie Jeff Skinner who looks all of 14 years old?

It should be a fun game to watch and hopefully won’t be just a 13-12 scoring spree.  While I like to see the scoring talent, I also want to see some good hockey.  Virtually no defence is played here, meaning little or no hitting.  Although I do remember a few years ago when Jeremy Roenick through a nice hit on someone to get the crowd going.

Speaking of JR,  I read somewhere that while doing the NHL Network show last night after the picks were made, he asked the Sedin Twins if they had ever switched girlfriends.  Gotta love Jeremy.  NHL marketing, you must find a way to get him on television  on a regular basis.  He adds so much pizzaz to everything he does.

As for the team I’ll be rooting for, it looks as though Team Lidstrom has more scoring ability and I like their goaltenders.  Looks like a solid unit for me.

Tune in tonight to the skills competition where Florida Panther rookie forward Egveny Dadonov will be showing his stuff on Team Lidstrom.

Don’t forget to vote for Panther Ice Dancer Meg in the Ice Dancer Contest.  Hit the like button.  I think she’s leading!

Thanks for reading.  Your comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

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