NHL All Star Game Draft Review

Team Rosters

Captain - Zdeno Chara
Alternate Captain - Joffrey Lupul (wait what?)
1st- Pavel Datsyuk
2nd- Tim Thomas
3rd- Evgeni Malkin
4th- Marian Hossa
5th- Kimmo Timonen
6th- Corey Perry
7th- Carey Price
8th- Phil Kessel (wait what?)
9th- Ryan Suter
10th- Jimmy Howard
11th- Brian Campbell
12th- Patrick Kane
13th- Dion Phaneuf
14th- Jarome Iginla
15th- Dennis Wideman
16th- Marian Gaborik
17th- Jordan Eberle
18th- Tyler Seguin
19th- Jamie Benn

Captain - Daniel Alfredsson
Alternate Captain - Henrik Lundqvist
1st- Erik Karlsson
2nd- Jason Spezza
3rd- Jonathan Quick
4th- Claude Giroux
5th- Kris Letang
6th- Steven Stamkos
7th- Brian Elliot
8th- Shea Weber
9th- Daniel Sedin
10th- Dan Girardi
11th- Keith Yandle
12th- Milan Michalek
13th- Henrik Sedin
14th- James Neal
15th- Alex Edler
16th- John Tavares
17th- Scott Hartnell
18th- Jason Pominville
19th- Logan Couture

Observations of the Draft

• It was smart of Chara for picking Datsyuk first, knowing that Alfie would got with his Swedish teammate (Karlsson) as his first pick.
• Tim Thomas was reportedly disappointed with Chara not picking all right wings.
• Jamie Duthie is right. Jason Spezza should be on the TSN panel.
• Carey's reaction to getting picked: Price-less

• God damn Lupul. Everyone knows Kessel should have been last again.
• Speaking of Lupul, his string of American picks made him qualified to be Burke's new assistant GM.
• Alfie had to pick Shea Weber, who else can get close to Chara in the Hardest Shot competition?
• I realized that Chara was trying not to pick a Canuck, but it seems that they wanted the Sedin's to be split up again (7 picks between the two).
• Oh, and nice chirp by Henrik.
• Love the crowd chanting "Over-Rated" to Dion Phaneuf.
• Was it smart having Iginla taken after Phaneuf and making them sit together?
• I don't know if you can count Rapheal Diaz a rookie, he turned 26 a few weeks ago
• Gaborik proved the drafts only blooper: going to the wrong team's stands.
• Alfie picked Hartnell, how much do you think it was hair-related?
• What a tender moment between Chara and Seguin
• "Sweating It Out" Award Winner: Tyler Seguin
• "Phil Kessel" Award Winner: Phil Kessel Logan Couture

One More Thought

This isn't draft-related, but since the All Star game is basically the highest-skilled game of shinny (a.k.a no contact), shouldn't concussed players not be excused from this game? I realized (for a lack of a better term) that there is more than just avoiding contact to the head when your trying to recover, but for guys who are close-but-not-quite-ready-yet to play again when coming back from one, this game can serve as a tune up.