For the first time in nine years the NHL All-Star Player Draft returned.
This was the fourth time the league used this format to pick its teams, first trying it in 2011, again in 2012 and then 2015 after two seasons were interrupted by a work stoppage and Olympic participation.
This year, there were four teams that needed to be selected. One was captained by Auston Matthews, with Morgan Rielly as his assistant and Justin Bieber as the celebrity rep. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl came together with actor Will Arnett; Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar worked with singer/songwriter Tate McRae; and the injured Jack Hughes and his brother Quinn were joined by Elias Pettersson and singer Michael Bublé.
Each team selected nine players from the remaining pool of 36 players. Which roster do you like most?
These teams will compete in Saturday’s All-Star Game against one another, but this draft has no impact on Friday’s skills competition, which itself has a new format this season. The participants, and the skills they’ll compete in, were announced Wednesday night. Check in at Sportsnet.ca Friday morning for more details about the skills competition.
