So with most formats for the all-star game in the United States, it pits one side against the another based on conferences. The NBA has the Western Conference vs. the Eastern Conference, the NFL has the AFC vs. the NFC. The MLB has the National League vs. the American League. The only league that had a different format was the MLS, which had their team of all-stars compete against a foreign team from Europe. That is, until this year, where the NHL changed their format.
The NHL just announced the players that will be participating in this year’s NHL ASG. However, there are currently no set teams at the moment. Just a huge pool of players… See where this is going? Here’s an excerpt from the article:
The NHL is straying from the traditional Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference format this year. Next week, two captains will be chosen and charged with the task of picking the two rosters — think fantasy draft in a world of reality. Each team for the game will be made up of three goalies, six defensemen and 12 forwards.
The Canucks, who own the NHL’s best record, are sending identical twins Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin, along with Ryan Kesler — their three leading scorers — to the game. Picture this: Henrik and Daniel could be on opposite sides, something the NHL draft didn’t do when this duo arrived from Sweden.
The unique draft will kick off All-Star Weekend Jan. 28. The skills competition will take place one day later, with the game Jan. 30.
The two captains will likely be Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, which would make sense since they’re arguably the two best players in the league at the moment, despite Ovechkin’s scoring slump recently. But how crazy of a concept is this? It’s like a schoolyard game, where you have two captains just picking players back and forth. Get the teams together, then start playing.
Imagine if the NBA or the NFL would do this (sorry, MLB, but your ASG actually matters with regards to the World Series). Tom Brady throwing TDs to DeSean Jackson? Troy Polamalu sacking Ben Roethlisberger? Steve Nash throwing an alley-oop to LeBron James or Dwayne Wade? The ideas of such a game in the NBA All-Star game or NFL Pro Bowl would be endless and amazing. And the hype to start off the weekend would be great. Maybe other leagues will start considering trying this out in the near future.