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All-Star Game thoughts

January 12, 2018, 9:56 AM ET [142 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
I’m a little late on this, but the all-star rosters were revealed the other day and there were people upset, as is tradition. One thing to keep in mind is that you are probably more upset than the player who was “snubbed”. That player is going to go on vacation and enjoy their time off. For the Penguins that means Phil Kessel could visit New Castle, Pennsylvania (hot dog capital of the world) or go somewhere with nice weather. Geno could go swim with tiger sharks again if he so chooses. I’d bet a lot of money on those two being completely content with missing out on the game.

There is also the chance that behind the scenes players asked to not be included. It’s impossible to know who and how often this happens, but it is greater than zero.

I don’t hate the all-star game and I think the switch to 3v3 by division was a good one. I think something that could spice the event up even more is something Jeff Veillette of faceoffcircle.ca wrote about




I think it is a wonderful idea. It is great for the fans. I think the players would enjoy the unique opportunity to represent their franchise at the event. Adding a fifth team to the event would allow some of the “snubbed” players to be included. Tampa Bay is hosting this year and is one of the best teams in the league. They originally had four representatives for the event. That leaves one spot for each of the remaining teams in the division. If Tampa had their own team you would allow some breathing room in the selection process.

I also like Jeff’s idea about dropping the focus on positions. It’s 3v3 you don’t need “forwards” or “defenseman”. You need fun players who are going to do fun things which leads me to my next talking point.


The all-star event is what it is, but we will never approach the ceiling of the event because of the culture of the sport. Instead of just having the players who are the most skilled and fun there is an emphasis on who “deserves” it the most. These games don’t count for anything. It is strictly entertainment. For example, Brayden Schenn is having a great year and deserves all the praise he is being given, but nobody wants to watch him play 3v3 hockey over Vladimir Tarasenko. Jonathan Drouin isn’t an “all-star” in the classic sense this year, but who doesn’t want a player like that involved this weekend? Let’s use some common sense please.

Then you have the issue of hockey culture sapping the fun out of players who could otherwise show off some amazing ability. It is well documented that Sidney Crosby hasn’t attended many of these things for various reasons. He’ll be there this year, but does it matter? Is he going to show off his unreal abilities with the puck? He’s just going to try and be another player. He’s vanilla ice cream with a cone made of kale. For the love of god throw some sprinkles or maybe some M&M’s on there. It’s OK to stand out because you have natural ability and meshed it with an unreal work ethic. Nobody goes to a concert and says “Hey, I really wish that guitar solo was dialed back”. I mean how absurd is it that in hockey we get mad at celebrations and skilled plays. Nobody should be looked at in a negative light for putting their hard-earned skills on display. Well, the over 50 crowd will have a problem, but they are among the biggest hypocrites around. They’ll get mad at a kid for tossing away a Silver Medal and next week complain about participation trophies. You can ignore them Sid. They don’t matter. Dangle people. Score a lacrosse style goal. We know it is in your bag of tricks. You’ve just been hiding the bag because people that can’t do what you do would criticize you for showing off. You won’t have these physical gifts forever so use them while you can.

I think the format of All-Star weekend is solid. Let’s start using common sense and embracing what the weekend should be about. and that is fun and highlighting individual talents. The more the better.

Thanks for reading!
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