The NHL just released the 2018 All-Star roster for this season’s festivities in Tampa Bay. The home town will have quite the representation with Team Atlantic captain Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Victor Hedman all receiving All-Star nods. Also include Jon Cooper into the mix, who was recently given the Atlantic Division coaching position, and it’s clear that the league is giving the home team its due. If it wasn’t clear that this was going to be a weekend where the Lightning dominate national attention, it is now.
As far as appearances go, this is Stamkos’ fifth time as an All-Star, Kucherov’s second, Hedman’s second, and Vasy’s first. Even rookie defensemen Mikhail Sergachev made the injured reserve list. This is probably not even an example of hometown favoritism, but rewarding an honestly talented group of players. With Kucherov leading the league in points and goals, Stamkos second in the league in points, Vasy leading the league in wins and shutouts, and Hedman on the Norris watch list, it’s easy to understand the NHL’s decisions.
The Lightning leads the league with participants at four. The Los Angeles Kings follow with three players. Multiple teams each have a pair going as well, such as Dallas and Pittsburgh. The Skills competition takes place Friday, January 27th, with the NHL three-on-three All-Star Tournament occurring the day after on the 28th.
The Bolts are leading the league in points, Fitz and the Tantrums are set to perform, and the Stanley Cup will make an appearance on the Gasparilla pirate ship. All things considered, it is really shaping up to be an All-Star weekend to remember.
Our four will join Coop behind the bench in representing the Atlantic Division at #NHLAllStar. ⭐️
Full rosters: https://t.co/KX726QhioX
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 10, 2018
Atlantic Division
Head coach: Jon Cooper, TBL
Captain: Steven Stamkos, TBL
Forwards
Aleksander Barkov, FLA
Jack Eichel, BUF
Nikita Kucherov, TBL
Brad Marchand, BOS
Auston Matthews, TOR
Steven Stamkos, TBL
Defense
Mike Green, DET
Victor Hedman, TBL
Erik Karlsson, OTT
Goalies
Carey Price, MTL
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL
Metropolitan Division
Head Coach: Barry Trotz
Captain: Alex Ovechkin, WSH
Forwards
Josh Bailey, NYI (1st)
Sidney Crosby, PIT (3rd)
Claude Giroux, PHI (5th)
Taylor Hall, NJD (3rd)
Alex Ovechkin, WSH (7th)
John Tavares, NYI (5th)
Defense
Noah Hanifin, CAR (1st)
Seth Jones, CBJ (2nd)
Kris Letang, PIT (4th)
Goalies
Braden Holtby, WSH (3rd)
Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (4th)
Central Division
Head Coach: Peter Laviolette
Captain: P.K. Subban
Forwards
Patrick Kane, CHI (7th)
Nathan MacKinnon, COL (2nd)
Brayden Schenn, STL (1st)
Tyler Seguin, DAL (5th)
Eric Staal, MIN (5th)
Blake Wheeler, WPG (1st)
Defense
John Klingberg, DAL (1st)
Alex Pietrangelo, STL (1st)
P.K. Subban, NSH (3rd)
Goalies
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG (1st)
Pekka Rinne, NSH (2nd)
Pacific Division
Head coach: Gerard Gallant
Captain: Connor McDavid
Forwards
Brock Boeser, VAN (1st)
Johnny Gaudreau, CGY (4th)
Anze Kopitar, LAK (4th)
Connor McDavid, EDM (2nd)
James Neal, VGK (3rd)
Rickard Rakell, ANA (1st)
Defense
Brent Burns, SJS (5th)
Drew Doughty, LAK (4th)
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI (2nd)
Goalies
Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK (3rd)
Jonathan Quick, LAK (3rd)
