THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Vancouver’s super Sedin twins are both headed to the NHL all-star game. Will they play on the same team?
That won’t be decided until a couple days before the Jan. 30 game at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C., where a format change will see two captains select the squads in a live draft.
The league’s hockey operations department unveiled the remaining 36 players for the game on Tuesday and included the top three forwards from the league-leading Canucks — Ryan Kesler along with Henrik and Daniel Sedin.
Representation from the other Canadian teams comes from goalie Carey Price (Montreal), defenceman Erik Karlsson (Ottawa) and forwards Jarome Iginla (Calgary), Phil Kessel (Toronto) and Ales Hemsky (Edmonton).
Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle of the Oilers were among the 12 rookies who were selected to participate solely in the skills competition.
The most anticipated part of the weekend is the player draft, which NHL vice-president Brendan Shanahan came up with in an effort to add some spice to the event.
The all-stars themselves will vote to determine which six players (two forwards and one defenceman per team) will serve as captains. The only rules governing the 18-round draft is that all goalies must be selected by each team’s 10th pick while all defencemen have to be off the board by the 15th selections — guaranteeing a forward gets taken last.
The Sedins have played together virtually their entire lives: in minor hockey, with hometown Modo in the Swedish Elite League and finally with the Canucks. Depending how the draft plays out at the all-star game, they may finally be split up.
Other NHL teammates will find themselves in a similar position. Four Pittsburgh Penguins were voted by fans to start the game — forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, defenceman Kris Letang and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury — and will be joined by four Chicago Blackhawks (defenceman Duncan Keith and forwards Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp).
Tampa Bay forwards Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis, Nos. 2 and 5 in league scoring entering play Tuesday, were both added along with potent Dallas Stars linemates Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson and the Atlanta Thrashers defence pairing of Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and defenceman Mike Green were also invited.
The host Carolina Hurricanes will be represented by three players — captain Eric Staal, goalie Cam Ward and rookie forward Jeff Skinner, who will take part in the skills competition.
Detroit Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg is the only player from the top 15 in league scoring who was omitted. The lone representative from the Red Wings is defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom, who was suspended along with teammate Pavel Datsyuk for one game after skipping the 2009 all-star game in Montreal.
Forwards
Corey Perry – Anaheim Ducks
Jarome Iginla – Calgary Flames
Eric Staal – Carolina Hurricanes
Patrick Kane – Chicago Blackhawks
Patrick Sharp – Chicago Blackhawks
Matt Duchene – Colorado Avalanche
Rick Nash – Columbus Blue Jackets
Loui Eriksson – Dallas Stars
Brad Richards – Dallas Stars
Ales Hemsky – Edmonton Oilers
Anze Kopitar – Los Angeles Kings
Patrik Elias – New Jersey Devils
Claude Giroux – Philadelphia Flyers
David Backes – St. Louis Blues
Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning
Martin St. Louis – Tampa Bay Lightning
Phil Kessel – Toronto Maple Leafs
Ryan Kesler – Vancouver Canucks
Henrik Sedin – Vancouver Canucks
Daniel Sedin – Vancouver Canucks
Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals
Defencemen
Dustin Byfuglien – Atlanta Thrashers
Tobias Enstrom – Atlanta Thrashers
Zdeno Chara – Boston Bruins
Nicklas Lidstrom – Detroit Red Wings
Brent Burns – Minnesota Wild
Shea Weber – Nashville Predators
Marc Staal – New York Rangers
Erik Karlsson – Ottawa Senators
Dan Boyle – San Jose Sharks
Mike Green – Washington Capitals
Goaltenders
Jonas Hiller – Anaheim Ducks
Tim Thomas – Boston Bruins
Cam Ward – Carolina Hurricanes
Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens
Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers
12 Rookies
Cam Fowler – Anaheim Ducks
Tyler Seguin – Boston Bruins
Tyler Ennis – Buffalo Sabres
Jeff Skinner – Carolina Hurricanes
Kevin Shattenkirk – Colorado Avalanche
Jordan Eberle – Edmonton Oilers
Taylor Hall – Edmonton Oilers
Evgeny Dadonov – Florida Panthers
Michael Grabner – New York Islanders
Derek Stepan – New York Rangers
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Phoenix Coyotes
Logan Couture – San Jose Sharks
