After an all-night closed-door meeting among BEARD Hockey executives and using GM polling input, the All-Star game teams are finally complete.
After a grueling all-night session at BEARD Hockey Headquarters in Raleigh, NC, the league has finally announced the 2021-22 All-Star Game rosters.
This year was tougher than last, with General Managers making their case for players among all positions. Some who received solid vote totals will miss out, though, as every team is guaranteed at least one representative to the All-Star game.
The game will take place Sunday, February 13th, with the results being published by that evening.
The league also announced they are working on a long-delayed framework for future hosting. Starting with the 2022-23 season, BEARD Hockey clubs will have the opportunity to host the All-Star Weekend, and along with it earn financial rewards. It won't just be the host city earning dough, though. The league will have more on this in the weeks ahead.
"We are also investigating a format change," said BEARD Hockey Co-Commissioner Thomas Gidlow. "The East vs West format is fine, but we have some ideas about how to spice this thing up and really make it an interactive weekend for all involved. Stay tuned."
As there is no financial bounty from this weekend's game, Chicago will serve as the host city. Buffalo hosted the inaugural All-Star Game last season.
One note: The annual GM Game will be postponed for this season. Usually, the GM Game takes place before the All-Star game - due to the condensed schedule, we will forgo this game for this season only.
Leading vote earners for the East: Aleksander Barkov (NYI - 16 votes), Cale Makar (PIT - 15 votes), Juuse Saros (DET - 10 votes)
Leading vote earners for the West: Brayden Point (ARI - 16 votes), Quinn Hughes (ARI - 16 votes), Pavel Francouz (ARI - 14 votes) - a clean sweep for the Coyotes!
EASTERN CONFERENCE
FORWARDS:
Aleksander Barkov (NYI)
Alex Ovechkin (TOR)
Auston Matthews (TBL) - 2x All-Star
Evgeny Kuznetsov (FLA)
J-G Pageau (BUF)
Jonathan Toews (NJD)
Kevin Fiala (PHI)
Mika Zibanejad (DET) - 2x All-Star
Mitch Marner (OTT)
Patrik Laine (NYI)
Travis Konecky (BOS)
Tyler Seguin (WSH) - 2x All-Star
DEFENSEMEN:
Aaron Ekblad (MTL)
Cale Makar (PIT) - 2x All-Star
Dougie Hamilton (OTT)
Rasmus Dahlin (CBJ)
Rasmus Ristolainen (DET)
Roman Josi (NYR) - 2x All-Star
GOALTENDERS:
Carey Price (CAR)
Darcy Kuemper (NJD)
Juuse Saros (DET) - 2x All-Star
Honorable Mention: Sean Monahan (OTT), Brad Marchand (BOS), Patrick Kane (CBJ), Ryan Pulock (FLA)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
FORWARDS:
Anthony Mantha (EDM)
Bo Horvat (SEA)
Brady Tkachuk (WPG)
Brayden Point (ARI) - 2x All-Star
David Pastrnak (MIN) - 2x All-Star
Evgeni Malkin (VGK)
Mark Scheifele (NSH) - 2x All-Star
Mark Stone (VAN)
Matt Duchene (ANA)
Pierre-Luc Dubois (VGK)
Steven Stamkos (WPG)
Teuvo Teravainen (STL)
DEFENSEMEN:
Brent Burns (WPG) - 2x All-Star
Ivan Provorov (COL)
John Carlson (CHI) - 2x All-Star
Morgan Rielly (SJS)
Quinn Hughes (ARI)
Thomas Chabot (DAL)
GOALTENDERS:
Antti Raanta (LAK)
Linus Ullmark (CGY)
Pavel Francouz (ARI)
Honorable mention: Connor McDavid (CHI), Sidney Crosby (LAK), Niklas Backstrom (WPG), Victor Hedman (LAK), Ben Bishop (VAN)