Photo: NHL via Getty Images
By now, most NHL players are off to warm beaches, tropical climates, or even horseback riding, with the league in the midst of its annual All-Star break. However, for a select number of NHL players, coaches, and staff, this weekend is set to be a busy one as All-Star festivities begin in St. Louis, Missouri. In this piece, NoVa Caps’ Diane Doyle previews the All-Star Game, which will feature the Capitals’ T.J. Oshie, John Carlson, Braden Holtby, and Head Coach Todd Reirden.
2020 All-Star Game Format
The 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend will again consist of a three-game tournament, played in a 3-on-3 format featuring four teams, one for each NHL division. Each team will consist of nine skaters and two goalies, typically seven forwards and two defensemen, although this is not always the case. Each game will be 20 minutes in length. The two teams from the Eastern Conference (the Metropolitan Division and the Atlantic Division) will face off against each other, while he two teams from the Western Conference (the Pacific Division and Central Division) will play each other, with the winners from the two Conference games facing off in the final game, whose winner will earn a prize of $1 million to be split among all team participants.
2020 All-Star Rosters
The charts below show the All Star rosters for each of the four divisions. The team’s captain is listed first and his name followed by an asterisk. Each player is listed, along with his position, his team, and the number of All-Star appearances, including this year.
| Atlantic Division | |||
| Player | Position | Team | Appearances |
| David Pastrnak * | F | Boston Bruins | 2 |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | F | Detroit Red Wings | First Appearance |
| Anthony Duclair | F | Ottawa Senators | First Appearance |
| Jack Eichel | F | Buffalo Sabres | 3 |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | F | Florida Panthers | First Appearance |
| Mitch Marner | F | Toronto Maple Leafs | First Appearance |
| Brady Tkachuk | F | Ottawa Senators | First Appearance |
| Victor Hedman | D | Tampa Bay Lightning | 3 |
| Shea Weber | D | Montreal Canadiens | 7 |
| Frederik Andersen | G | Toronto Maple Leafs | First Appearance |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | G | Tampa Bay Lightning | 3 |
Other Atlantic Division players selected but not attending:
Not Playing due to Injury: Forward Auston Matthews/Toronto
Chose Not to Play: Goalie Tuukka Rask/Boston
Atlantic Divison Head Coach: Bruce Cassidy/Boston
| Metropolitan Division | |||
| Player | Position | Team | Appearances |
| Kris Letang* | D | Pittsburgh Penguins | 6 |
| Mathew Barzal | F | New York Islanders | 2 |
| Nico Hischier | F | New Jersey Devils | First Appearance |
| Travis Konecny | F | Philadelphia Flyers | First Appearance |
| T.J. Oshie | F | Washington Capitals | First Appearance |
| Chris Kreider | F | New York Rangers | First Appearance |
| John Carlson | D | Washington Capitals | 2 |
| Jaccob Slavin | D | Carolina Hurricanes | First Appearance |
| Seth Jones | D | Columbus Blue Jackets | 3 |
| Braden Holtby | G | Washington Capitals | 5 |
| Tristan Jarry | G | Pittsburgh Penguins | First Appearance |
Other Metropolitan Division players selected but not attending:
Not Playing due to Injury: Forward Jake Guentzel/Pittsburgh, Forward Kyle Palmieri/New Jersey, Defenseman Dougie Hamilton/Carolina, Goalie Joonas Korpisalo/Columbus Forward Artemi Panarin/New York Rangers
Chose Not to Play: Forward Alex Ovechkin/Washington (Original Captain)
Metropolitan Divison Head Coach: Todd Rierden/Washington
| Central Division | |||
| Player | Position | Team | Appearances |
| Nathan MacKinnon * | F | Colorado Avalanche | 4 |
| Patrick Kane | F | Chicago Blackhawks | 9 |
| Ryan O’Reilly | F | St. Louis Blues | 3 |
| David Perron | F | St. Louis Blues | First Appearance |
| Mark Scheifele | F | Winnipeg Jets | 2 |
| Tyler Seguin | F | Dallas Stars | 6 |
| Eric Staal | F | Minnesota Wild | 6 |
| Roman Josi | D | Nashville Predators | 3 |
| Alex Pietrangelo | D | St. Louis Blues | 2 |
| Jordan Binnington | G | St. Louis Blues | First Appearance |
| Connor Hellebuyck | G | Winnipeg Jets | 2 |
Other Central Division players selected but not attending: None
Central Divison Head Coach: Craig Berube/St. Louis
| Pacific Division | |||
| Player | Position | Team | Appearances |
| Connor McDavid * | F | Edmonton Oilers | 4 |
| Leon Draisaitl | F | Edmonton Oilers | 2 |
| Tomas Hertl | F | San Jose Sharks | First Appearance |
| Anze Kopitar | F | Los Angeles Kings | 5 |
| Max Pacioretty | F | Vegas Golden Knights | First Appearance |
| Elias Pettersson | F | Vancouver Canucks | 2 |
| Matthew Tkachuk | F | Calgary Flames | First Appearance |
| Mark Giordano | D | Calgary Flames | 3 |
| Quinn Hughes | D | Vancouver Canucks | First Appearance |
| Jacob Markstrom | G | Vancouver Canucks | First Appearance |
| David Rittich | G | Calgary Flames | First Appearance |
Other Pacific Division players selected but not attending:
Not Playing due to Injury: Forward Logan Couture/San Jose, Goalie Darcy Kuemper/ Arizona
Not Playing for Personal Reasons: Forward Jakob Silfverberg/Anaheim
Chose Not to Play: Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury/Vegas
Pacific Divison Head Coach: Rick Tocchet/Arizona
More information on NHL All-Star Rosters can be found here:
NHL All-Star Skills Competition
There will be six events in the 2020 NHL All-Star Skills competition:
- NHL Fastest Skater
- NHL Save Streak
- NHL Accuracy Shooting
- Elite Women’s 3-on-3
- NHL Hardest Shot
- NHL Shooting Stars
NHL Fastest Skater – Eight players will compete in this event and be timed for one lap around the rink
NHL Save Streak – A minimum of four goalies and all participating skaters will participate in this event. It is a shootout divided by division where the goalies attempt to make the most consecutive saves
NHL Accuracy Shooting – Eight players will compete in this event and will shoot from about 25 feet from the goal line and attempt to shoot at target images
Elite Women’s 3-on-3 – Two teams, the Canadian women and American women hockey stars will compete in a 3-on-3 game. Each team will consist of nine skaters and one goalie and compete in a game consisting of two, 10-minute periods.
NHL Hardest Shot – A minimum of four players will take part in this event where each participant attempts two shots which are measured in miles per hours
NHL Shooting Stars – 10 players, to include eight NHL All-Star Game participants, one Canadian woman, and one American woman, will participate in the event and will shoot pucks at various targets which have different point values.
The winner of each of the five individual events will earn $30,000.
More information on the NHL Skills Competition can be found here.
There are more events taking place during All-Star weekend including a Fan Fair each day in different locations, the NHL Black History Tour Truck each day, NHL Mascot showdown, NHL All-Star 5K (on Saturday), NHL 2020 Pro-Am (Saturday), and various other events. A full detailed schedule of events can be found here.
By Diane Doyle
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