NHL All-Star Preview: League's Best Tangle in Carolina

The 58th National Hockey League All-Star Game is set for this Sunday — January 30 — at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, home of the 2006 Stanley Cup Champion Hurricanes. While this marks the first time the game will be played in Carolina, there’s also another first on the horizon; teams will be selected by captains in a fantasy draft to be held this Friday. This marks the first-ever time that the NHL has adopted such a format, breaking with the usual tradition of having Eastern vs. Western Conference (or, in an ill-fated move from the 90s, International Players vs. North Americans).

This will be a very big game for the three Carolina players representing the team in front of the hometown fans. Leading the way is C Eric Staal, who will captain one of the teams, along with Detroit Red Wings D Nicklas Lidstrom . Staal (who, coincidentally, is also the Hurricanes captain) has been the face of the franchise since being selected 2nd overall at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. His cabinet is jammed with awards: a Stanley Cup in 2005-06, three previous NHL All-Star game appearances, the 2007-08 All-Star game MVP and an Olympic Gold Medal with Canada at the 2010 Winter Games.

Staal will be joined by Hurricanes netminder Cam Ward on Sunday — and Ward could very well be the first overall selection by Team Staal at the fantasy draft. Ward has been a fan favorite in Carolina ever since winning the 2005-06 Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP during the ‘Canes wild run to the Stanley Cup. He’s been a consistent in the Carolina net ever since.

The third Hurricane descending on this year’s All-Star festivities is rookie Jeff Skinner. Skinner was recently named an injury replacement for Pittsburg Penguins C Evgeni Malkin, but don’t think his inclusion is simply a bone being thrown to the local fans. In his first NHL season, Skinner has emerged as one of the league’s best and brightest young scorers. Despite being the youngest player currently in the League, he has put up 18 goals and 40 points this season. He’s second behind Staal on the Hurricanes in both categories, and his 40 points is the most among all NHL rookies. The only rookie with more goals than Skinner is San Jose’s Logan Couture, with 22. When Skinner takes the ice Sunday, he’ll be just 18 years, 259 days old, making him the youngest person ever to play for the All-Stars in an All-Star Game. Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman had been the youngest, at 18 years, 267 days in 1984.

If you’re going to wager on the NHL All-Star game this year, please take note of the following schedule: The Honda NHL SuperSkills Competition takes place on Saturday, January 29 at 7:00pm and the NHL All-Star Game presented by Discover is on Sunday, January 30 at 4:00pm. (All times EST).

LVII: Gabriel Morency previews the Pro Bowl and NHL All Star game

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