With the NHL All-Star Draft now over, we decided to take a look and see who got the better team.
Here is the team breakdown:
Team Staal
Eric Staal- Captain
Ryan Kesler- Assistant Captain, Alexander Ovechkin, Daniel Sedin, Rick Nash, Patrick Sharp, Jeff Skinner, Claude Giroux, Corey Perry, Patrick Elias, David Backes, Paul Stastny, Mike Green- Assistant Captain, Zdeno Chara, Marc Staal, Dan Boyle, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Cam Ward, Henrik Lundqvist, Carey Price
Team Lidstrom
Nicklas Lidstrom – Captain
Patrick Kane- Assistant Captain, Martin St. Louis- Assistant Captain, Steven Stamkos, Henrik Sedin, Danny Briere, Jonathan Toews, Brad Richards, Martin Havlat, Anze Kopitar, Matt Duchene, Loui Eriksson, Phil Kessel, Nicklas Lidstrom- Captain, Duncan Keith, Shea Weber, Dustin Byfuglien, Keith Yandle, Brent Burns, Tim Thomas, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jonas Hiller
Eric Staal and his assistant captains, Kesler and Green, did a great job selecting players. Eric Staal was able to select both Hurricanes; goalie Cam Ward and the talented rookie Jeff Skinner. He also chose his younger brother Marc and Patrick Sharp, who grew up in the same home town as the captain. Mike Green used the third overall choice to select the only other Capital in the game Alexander Ovechkin and Kesler was able to get his choice of Sedin choosing Daniel, but they couldn’t attain his twin Henrik.
Team Lidstrom also succeeded in their plan. Swedish players were pretty much split with Daniel Sedin, Henrik Lundqvist, and Erik Karlsson on team Staal and Henrik Sedin and Loui Eriksson on team Lidstrom. Martin St. Louis used their first choice to take teammate Steven Stamkos and took former teammate Brad Richards in the later rounds. Patrick Kane was not able to get Patrick Sharp, but did take Duncan Keith and (against his will) Jonathan Toews. Team Lidstrom was also lucky enough to get Phil Kessel. Kessel of the Maple Leafs was the last player remaining at the end of the draft and received $20,000 to a charity of his choice and a new car, but that is only a small prize for the trash talking that he will have to endure. I don’t feel bad for Phil Kessel or the Toronto Maple Leafs, because Kessel was the worst player in the draft. He is a one trick pony and other than a solid wrist shot he is invisible on the ice. As for the Leafs this is deserved, a terrible team with terrible players and coaches.
Some of the steals in this draft were Jonas Hiller as the last gaolie taken, Keith Yandle as the third last defenseman taken, and Corey Perry who was taken in the 15th round. Hiller leads the NHL in wins with 25 and he leads the league in saves. Hiller has been playing amazing hockey in January and is used to stopping a lot of shots, which is always what the all-star game provides. Keith Yandle was the 9th defenseman taken (including captains), which is unjust based on his play recently. Yandle is leading all defensemen in points this season and is tied for most points in the league for the month of January. Coyotes captain Shane Doan said that Yandle is the best player on the ice 75% of the time. Yandle is a great offensive and defensive talent and like Hiller has the hot hand in the month of January. Both Yandle and Hiller went to team Lidstrom, but Corey Perry went to team Staal. Over the past 10 years, Perry has been one of the top players everywhere he has played. Although he is an agitator, which could have caused him to slip down the draft due to hard feelings, he has won on all stages. He has an Olympic Gold Medal, Stanley Cup Ring, World Junior Championship, and Memorial Cup.
What did you think of the draft?