Auston Matthews, Nick Suzuki and Brady Tkachuk were among 16 players named by the NHL on Thursday to represent the Eastern Conference at this year’s All-Star weekend, which will be held Feb. 1-3 in Toronto.
Matthews, of the host Toronto Maple Leafs, leads the NHL with 30 goals. Suzuki, captain of the Montreal Canadiens, is making his third All-Star Game appearance, and Tkachuk, captain of the Ottawa Senators, is making his fourth.
The All-Star weekend will feature 44 players, 32 of whom will be named Thursday, in a skills competition and a three-on-three tournament. The first 16 players from the Western Conference will be announced during the first intermission of Thursday’s game between the Penguins and Bruins. The final 12 players will be decided by a fan vote. This year, designated team captains — accompanied by celebrity captains — will draft players to fill out the four rosters for the tournament.
Notably absent from the initial East roster is Washington Capitals scorer Alex Ovechkin, who could still be voted in by fans. The roster also features just one defenceman, Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, at the outset.
The league used a player draft at the All-Star Game for a two-team format in 2011, 2012 and 2015, before going to a division-based setup in 2016.
Eastern Conference players, as nominated by the NHL:
Boston Bruins: David Pastrnak, F
Buffalo Sabres: Rasmus Dahlin, D
Carolina Hurricanes: Sebastian Aho, F
Columbus Blue Jackets: Boone Jenner, F
Detroit Red Wings: Alex DeBrincat, F
Florida Panthers: Sam Reinhart, F
Montreal Canadiens: Nick Suzuki, F
New Jersey Devils: Jack Hughes, F
New York Islanders: Mathew Barzal, F
New York Rangers: Igor Shesterkin, G
Ottawa Senators: Brady Tkachuk, F
Philadelphia Flyers: Travis Konecny, F
Pittsburgh Penguins: Sidney Crosby, F
Tampa Bay Lightning: Nikita Kucherov, F
Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews, F
Washington Capitals: Tom Wilson, F
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