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Shouldn't Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Be On the All-Star Ballot?

November 11, 2011, 12:29 PM ET [ Comments]
Eklund
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If there is one team we all watch on Center Ice it has to be the Edmonton Oilers. There is no doubt the Oilers are young, fast, and ridiculously exciting to watch. They are so deep with young talent I have no doubt that I will be visiting Edmonton in the next 3-5 years for another Stanley Cup Final. No doubt.

There are many great stories surrounding these Oilers.

*The return of Ryan Smyth and his 16 points in the first 15 games is a great story. Smyth has brought the veteran leadership need to these wonder kids...

*The developing story regarding the Oilers need for a Defenseman and which one of their young chips they will use...

*The growing dominance of Taylor Hall...

*The clutch play and leadership of Eberle...

*The underrated player Ryan Jones who is considered "extremely valuable" according to several teams I talk to...

*Hemsky's return...

*The struggles of Paajarvi, the demotion of Omark...

*And of course: The Oilers sit atop the Northwest, and are third in the Conference.

There really is not an NHL team with more storylines than the Edmonton Oilers.

But in my opinion, despite all these amazing stories, the reason I watch the Oilers is to watch the player I consider the most interesting and dazzling player to come into the NHL in a long time. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

We have talked about the NHL All-Star game before around here, and I have said how I am not a huge fan of the game and if you are reading hockeybuzz right now you are likely to agree with that sentiment. However I also believe the event (which is what it should be called instead of a "game.") should continue to exist. Why the contradiction?

I have been to the last 5 All-Star Weekends and it's about three things.

#1. A place for the NHL to entertain sponsors.
#2. A convention for all the people who cover the sport and work in the sport to get together.
#3. A weekend to promote hockey to the City with cool exhibits, activities and parties.

As for the Game itself it is about 1 thing.

#1. Kids. Kids LOVE the All-Star Game. They don't care if players are back-checking or if teams are sticking to their systems. They don't care if the final score is 13-6. Kids love seeing the All-Stars together in the same game and they love debating about who should be there.

And there is no player who is more exciting toward the future of this sport than Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. I can't help but believe Nugent-Hopkins would be on this Ballot if he played in Montreal or Toronto. He is as dynamic a player as we have seen.

And you could say, "So he isn't on the ballot. He will be at the game." And I agree. But don't you remember filling out All-Star Ballots more as a kid than you do now?

Also the NHL loves to promote their stars out East. I am not 100% positive about this, but I believe I remember Crosby and Ovechkin being on the ballots in their rookie years. I tried researching this but couldn't find any place that lists past ballots. (If any of you folks can find them, please put it in the comment thread)

I just think the NHL has a golden opportunity to market this kid and they missed it.

What do you think?

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