NHL Shakes Up All-Star Game
- Tuesday, November 16, 2010 2:17 PM
- Written By: Josh Marks
Credit: Grant Burke at http://www.grantburkeart.com
Perhaps the NHL should change its name to the Dynamic Hockey League. While Major League Baseball made the mistake of placing too much weight on its All-Star Game by having it decide home field advantage in the playoffs, NHL Vice President of Hockey and Business Development Brendan Shanahan decided this year to shun any seriousness and instead turn the game on its head by transforming Raleigh, North Carolina's RBC Center into a pond hockey pickup game on the last weekend of January, 2011.
The Western vs. Eastern Conference format has been scrapped for a player draft in which the two captains will choose their teammates. Fans will still get to vote to send their favorite players to the game via an online ballot. Click here to vote for your favorite players. The voting started on Nov. 15 and goes until Jan. 3.
But this is where it gets interesting. Two captains will be chosen by the players. It will be fascinating to see who they select. Will it be Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin? Or maybe a surprise pick such as Zdeno Chara or Jonathan Toews or Joe Thornton?
And then comes the real fun. On the Friday before the game, a fantasy draft will take place with all 54 NHL players during which the captains will select the remainder of the team. Will they load up on defense or offense or try to find a combination of both? Will they play favorites by choosing their teammates or not choose their teammates because they don't want to appear to be playing favorites? Will they choose a young team or a veteran team or a combination of youth and experience?
Already this new format is creating buzz around hockey circles. It instantly creates excitement for an event that frankly was becoming a bit stale, what with the annual Winter Classic the past few years becoming the marquee event on the NHL schedule after the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Kudos to the NHL for not being afraid of change when it makes sense. And this change, as crazy as it sounds, make a whole lot of sense.
