Friday, January 27, 2012

From Pavel Datsyuk first to Logan Couture last, comparing the 2012 All-Star rosters

GATINEAU, QUE. -- The dust has settled and the 2012 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft is complete. No big snubs or dramatic teammate double-crosses. No trade between the two sides, the Sedins stick together and Logan Couture goes home with a new car.

But we did get lots of booing of Joffrey Lupul and his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates from the Ottawa crowd, so that was fun.

Here's the final breakdown of the 38 selections, including the group of rookies placed on each squad.

Team Zdeno Chara (alternate captain Joffrey Lupul)

1. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings (No. 1 overall)
2. Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
3. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
4. Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks
5. Kimmo Timonen, Philadelphia Flyers
6. Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks
7. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
8. Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs
9. Ryan Suter, Nashville Predators
10. Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings
11. Brian Campbell, Florida Panthers
12. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
13. Dion Phaneuf, Toronto Maple Leafs
14. Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
15. Dennis Wideman, Washington Capitals
16. Marian Gaborik, New York Rangers
17. Jordan Eberle, Edmonton Oilers
18. Tyler Seguin, Boston Bruins
19. Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars

Rookies: Colin Greening, Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan Johansen, Cody Hodgson, Luke Adam, Raphael Diaz

Team Daniel Alfredsson (alternate captain Henrik Lundqvist)

1. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
2. Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators
3. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
4. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
5. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins
6. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
7. Brian Elliott, St. Louis Blues
8. Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
9. Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
10. Dan Girardi, New York Rangers
11. Keith Yandle, Phoenix Coyotes
12. Milan Michalek, Ottawa Senators
13. Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
14. James Neal, Pittsburgh Penguins
15. Alex Edler, Vancouver Canucks
16. John Tavares, New York Islanders
17. Scott Hartnell, Philadelphia Flyers
18. Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres
19. Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks (final selection)

Rookies: Sean Couturier, Carl Hagelin, Nick Johnson, Matt Read, Craig Smith, Justin Faulk

So how do these rosters stack up as we look ahead to some of the more anticipated Skills Competition events on Saturday night?

Hardest Shot - Team Alfie has to have the slight edge this year with two of the top three finishers in last year's competition on their side in Steven Stamkos and Shea Weber. Of course, both lost to Chara's record-breaking 105.9 mph attempt. Dustin Byfuglien's absence, as the only other All-Star in 2011 to break 100 mph will be sorely missed, so we'll just have to settled for a three-way dance.

Advantage: Team Chara

Accuracy Shootout - Steven Stamkos, Scott Hartnell and Milan Michalek are the top three All-Stars in the shooting percentage category and Daniel Sedin, last year's champion, give Team Alfie the edge here. While it's a bit different trying to hit four round targets in each corner of a goal, it has to be some sort of advantage, yeah?

Advantage: Team Alfredsson

Fastest Skater - We'll have a new champion this year with Michael Grabner's absence, and Stamkos is the only All-Star back from last year who posted a sub-15 second time. Gritty veteran Martin St. Louis is also missing, so young legs will likely once again dominate in this category as both teams are flush with that kind of talent.

Advantage: Even

Fastest Goalie - Alfredsson and Chara still have to choose which All-Stars will perform in what events, but if we had our way, we'd like to see Tim Thomas defend his honor -- no, not from this past week's events -- after his stumble while racing Cam Ward a year ago.

Advantage: N/A

Trick Shot Competition - No Alex Ovechkin means someone else is going to have to break out the fishing hat and Canadian flags this year. Between Stamkos, Claude Giroux, John Tavares, the Sedins, you might as well call them the "All-Hands Team". Chara's squad, with the likes of Eberle, Seguin and Malkin, should give them a good push, but this one is a landslide.

(Ed. Note: How could we forget Pavel "Dangle Dangle" Datysuk?)

Advantage: Team Alfredsson

Who do you like for each of the top Skills events on Saturday?

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
? The maturing Kansas City Royals coulda been contenders but they're not
? The Sodapop Curtis Affair: Lowe's tweet implodes Peyton Manning-Jim Irsay relationship | Is Peyton era over?
? Video: Are the Chicago Bulls the NBA's best team?

Indiana Invaders FC Dallas Thunder Bay Chill Montreal Canadians

No comments:

Post a Comment