NHL unveils All-Star Game ‘Last Men In’ following fan vote

HC at Noon goes deep into Great 8 debate, as to whether a player, like Alex Ovechkin, that has played as much hockey as he has over recent years, and already been to many All-Star games, should actually be penalized for skipping one?

Following a fan vote, the “Last Men In” for the All-Star Game have been announced.

Representing the Atlantic Division will be Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner, who is tied for second in goals with 29 in 43 games. The 26-year-old beat out Patrice Bergeron, Dylan Larkin, Aleksander Barkov, Shea Weber, Mark Stone, Brayden Point and Morgan Rielly.

Kris Letang got the nod for the Metropolitan Division and he sits seventh among all defencemen with 37 points in 41 games and tied for third with 10 goals. Both totals have him on pace to set new career highs. The 31-year-old Penguins blueliner beat out Teuvo Teravainen, Nick Foligno, Kyle Palmieri, Anders Lee, Mats Zuccarello, Jakub Voracek and Nicklas Backstrom.

In the Central Division, Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog was voted in and will join his two linemates Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen at all-star weekend. The Avalanche captain has already set a new career best with 27 goals, which is also the fifth-highest mark in the NHL this season. The 26-year-old beat out Jonathan Toews, Tyler Seguin, Zach Parise, Filip Forsberg, Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrik Laine in the vote.

And in the Pacific Division, Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl will join teammate Connor McDavid. With 54 points in 44 games, Draisaitl is 10th in league scoring and his 23 goals are already just six shy of tying his career high. The 23-year-old beat out Ryan Getzlaf, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Mark Giordano, Anze Kopitar, Logan Couture, Brock Boeser and Jonathan Marchessault for the honour.

All-Star Weekend runs Jan. 25-26 in San Jose this season. The skills competition takes place on Jan. 25 and the all-star 3-on-3 tournament goes the following day. The rest of the rosters were unveiled last week, and you can find them here.

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