NHL All-Star Game

Here is everything you will need to know for the upcoming 2015 NHL All-Star Game. The NHL announced this years all-star roster and released the uniforms earlier in the week. Below is the roster:

Forwards

Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
Zemgus Girgensons, Buffalo Sabres*
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks*
Johnathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks*
Nick Foligno, Columbus Blue Jackets
Ryan Johansen, Columbus Blue Jackets
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
Patrik Elias, New Jersey Devils
John Tavares, New York Islanders
Rick Nash, New York Rangers
Bobby Ryan, Ottawa Senators
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay Lightning
Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs
Radim Vrbata, Vancouver Canucks
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Defensemen

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes
Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes
Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks*
Brent Seabrook, Chicago Blackhawks*
Erik Johnson, Colorado Avalanche
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild
Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks
Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis Blues
Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets

   

Goaltenders

Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks*
Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings**
Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

Rookies

Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
Tanner Pearson, Los Angeles Kings
Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators
Mike Hoffman, Ottawa Senators
Jonathan Drouin, Tampa Bay Lightning

 * Fan Vote
 ** Injured

Every All-Star game there are snubs and surprises.  My biggest snub is Nicklas Backstrom (Washington Capitals) he has 41 points (13 goals, 28 assists) in 41 games. There is NO way that a player who is averaging a point a game should be excluded from the All-Star game. On top of all of that he has played a a point per game pace for his whole career and has never made an All-Star game. As for my biggest surprise besides Zemgus Girgensons (who was voted in by fans),  has to go to Patrick Elias, he is a good player, but you have to think that he only got in because they need one player from each team considering he only has 18 points (6 goals, 12 assists) in 34 games. I would have taken Jagr over Elias, Jagr has 25 points (9 goals, 16 assists) in 43 games plus his style would add a fun aspect to the festivities. The NHL also released the uniforms that will be worn during the game. One is white with black and green accents, while the other is black with green and white accents, both include a chrome NHL logo on the front. Personalty I do not like the look, but none the less these are the uniforms they will be wearing in Columbus. Once again the teams will be picked in a fantasy draft style, which is more fun than the traditional East v.s. West or North America v.s. Europe. Look to see if Jimmy Howard will be able to play in the game after suffering a groin injury. If he can not play my favorite to replace him is Henrik Lundqvist who did not start well, but is on fire as of late.

Dates:
Fantasy Draft: January 23 (8pm ET)
Skills Competition: January 24 (7pm ET)
All-Star Game: January 25 (5pm ET)