Yesterday the NHL All- Star ballot was officially released and voting has started. The ballot is headlined by names like Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, and Henrik Sedin. All thirty teams and six positions were represented by one hundred of the league’s best players. Although fans usually don’t make the educated choice and go with the biggest names rather than the players that are having the best season, I am shocked that the NHL would act in the same manner. The most obvious name left off the ballot was Washington Capitals sniper Alexander Semin.
Semin is currently second in the league with thirteen goals, only behind Stamkos. He is fourth in points behind Stamkos, Crosby, and Ovechkin and also notched ten assists (which is not too shabby for a forty goal scorer this early in the season). Semin was replaced on the ballot by Thomas Vanek: who only has eleven points and seen time on the fourth line and Ilya Kovalchuk, who only has nine points and has been a healthy scratch as well as the target of scrutiny for the Devils very slow start. Those two players and most of the forwards on the ballot don’t deserve to be in consideration for the All-Star game as much as Alexander Semin.
Other notables left off the ballot include: Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp and Colorado Avalanche forward Chris Stewart, Anaheim Ducks defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky and Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard and Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price.
