Sure I was mad when the Western Conference starters were announced for the 2009 NHL All-Star game. However, I quelled my anger with the thought that I would only have to wait until the rest of the roster was filled out to be satisfied. Well, now that the rosters are locked in, and Roberto Luongo (although well deserved, he's too injured to play in the exhibition battle) was the only 'Nuck recognized. So, I'm going to try my best to make my case for Van-ca-tesh and their players getting the nod, while bashing some other picks.
1. Daniel "Nintendo DS" Sedin: This is the big shocker to me. How did Deuce Deuce not get elected to the team? His resume? The sexiest twin has 19 goals and 23 assists in his first 42 games, which is only behind in terms of goals of Patrick Sharp and Loui Eriksson's 20. He's also good enough for #5 in the West in points. Here is a list of the forwards on the "All-Star" team who have less goals than Daniel: Jonathan Toews, Ryan Getzlaf, Dustin Brown, Pavel Datsyuk, Shane Doan, Milan Hejduk, Jarome Iginla, Mike Modano, Rick Nash, Joe Thorton, and Keith Tkachuk. That's right, folks, there are 11 NHL All-Star players who have less goals than Daniel Sedin. How about that? Can you argue with the fact that Daniel deserves to be in before all of those suckers? I understand that you have to allow somebody in from each team, but having the #3 scorer in the Western Conference left off of the team of All-Stars is just ludicrous.
2. Kyle "Cult Classic" Wellwood: Sometimes you have to put someone on the All-Star team because they are having a career year, even if it doesn't translate to gigantic numbers in terms of the stats. KW was cut from the Laffs, and then signed by the 'Nucks in the offseason. He was then waived by the Canucks, passing through waivers with no problem. After a couple of injuries put the Orca in a deficit, KW got called up and passed through reverse waivers untouched. This guy was the forward that nobody wanted, and he has proven to be a hugely productive force on my favorite team of puck heads. Kyle is sporting the stat line of 14 goals and 5 assists along with a +7 rating (compared to the 14 goal scoring -11 (that's a minus!) rating of All-Star Keith Tkachuk. He also has more goals than the following scorers: Jonathan Toewes, Dustin Brown, Milan Hejduk, Mike Modano, Joe Thorton, and Keith Tkachuk (well, tied actually). Case closed, I think.
3. Mattias "Swedey Pie" Ohlund: Ohlund may not be up to his usual snuff this time around, but he is holding down 3 goals and 13 assists along with a really solid +13 rating while on the ice. Maybe you don't consider the importance of +/- like I do (I feel like it is quite possibly the most important statistic in all of hockey, and maybe accurately shows a player's worth more than any statistic in all of sports (did I overdo it?). Here is the list of NHL All-Star defensive players with a lower +/- rating than Ohlund (by the way, +/- is even more important and accurate for a D-man): Brian Campbell (altogether now: Over-rated! Over-rated!), Scott Niedermayer, Dan Boyle, Sheldon Souray, and Shea Weber. In fact, the only All-Star defensive player who has a higher +/- than Ohlund is Detroit's Nick Lidstrom with an impressive +18. So, am I saying that Lidstrom is the only player who deserves to be an All-Star player besides Ohlund on the Western Conference blue line? Nope, I'm actually saying that Ohlund deserves to be on the team over all of the other players, because Lids is a bitch.
4. Mats "Mr. Torontonian" Sedin: I mean, I tried to vote for him, by the fascists at NHL.com kept him off the ballot. Has any other player garnered more of the NHL headlines here in the '08/'09 season? Plus, how pissed would the Montreal fans be if the former Maple Leaf made the squad after just a couple of games played this season? It would have been classic. Major miss by the NHL, as they would have gotten tons of publicity across the sporting world if they stepped it up and made this one happen. Awful business as usual Bettman.
After straight up jacking the Oilers thanks to 2 goals and 1 assist from Stevie "Karen's favorite player" Bernier. My boy AB also had a nice three point outing (1 goal and 2 assists) in the 4-2 victory, in a game where 16,839 Albertans sat back and enjoyed a huge debut performance from Mats Sundin (0 goals, 0 assists, 2 missed shots, 1 hit, 15:02 of total ice time, and a 50% faceoff margin; hopefully I can get a little more from him when the 'Nucks match on the Sharkies). At 22-15-5 (49 points), my boys from BC are -3 of Calgary, with Minnie sitting -6 of Vancouver, Edmonton now -8 of Vancouver, and Colorado also shagging behind at -8 of the 'Nucks and -11 off the lead. It's time for a huge back to back for Van-ca-tesh, with a Friday night bash against the ailing last place Blues (at 15-21-3 they have their fans singing the Blues...oh!) and a Saturday night NHL Network battle against the equally ailing Sharks. Oh wait, I think they're good this year.
Revenge!
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