All-Star draft: Paste BN Sports staffers' picks
Paste BN Sports hockey editor Mike Brehm and columnist Kevin Allen chose their All-Star teams on Wednesday morning, factoring in both personal choices and how the captains might choose.
Brehm was the home team, with Columbus' Nick Foligno as captain and Chicago's Patrick Kane and Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar as assistants. Allen acted as Team Toews, with Chicago's Jonathan Toews as captain and the New York Rangers' Rick Nash and Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf as assistants.
Brehm won the coin toss and went first. How they chose (before Evgeni Malkin sat out Wednesday's game with an undisclosed injury and Sergei Bobrovsky left Wednesday's game in pain):
Round 1
Brehm: G Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus. Very simple. Hometown goalie. Just signed an extension. Plus, he and Foligno can hug at game's end.
Allen: D Duncan Keith, Chicago. With Doughty already on the other team, it was important to counter with a puck moving D man
Round 2
Brehm: F Ryan Johansen, Columbus. Another hometowner, the future face of the Blue Jackets.
Allen: F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh. Just landed the NHL's best player in the second round of a draft.
Round 3
Brehm: F Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh: Great all-around player, and I don't want to have to face both Crosby and Malkin. Might be unpopular with Blue Jackets fans because Penguins are a big rival.
Allen: D Shea Weber, Nashville: This game is about offense and Weber has the NHL's hardest shot.
Round 4
Brehm: F Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia. NHL leading scorer and former Blue Jacket. My Columbus obligations are done.
Allen: F John Tavares, New York Islanders. With Toews, Crosby and Tavares, this team is exceptional down the middle.
Round 5
Brehm: F Claude Giroux, Philadelphia: Can't have Voracek without his Flyers linemate. They'll be dangerous in this game.
Allen: F Alex Ovechkin, Washington. Just for fun I'm going to ask the coach to play Ovechkin with Crosby.
Round 6
Brehm: F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles. I figure Doughty will want his teammate. Plus, Kopitar has been on fire recently and plays well defensively.
Allen: F Tyler Seguin, Dallas: He could win the scoring championship this season. He will play wing on this team.
Round 7
Brehm: F Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay. Can't believe he's still around. Best one-timer in the business.
Allen: D Mark Giordano, Calgary. Confident my D men will move the puck out of our zone at warp speed.
Round 8
Brehm: G Carey Price, Montreal. Have to pick all my goalies by the 10th round. He has been here before and is having a great season.
Allen: G Roberto Luongo, Florida. Still a high-caliber goalie and one of the league's most fascinating Twitter users.
Round 9
Brehm: G Corey Crawford, Chicago. Kane will want the goalie who won him a Stanley Cup. And keep him away from Toews.
Allen: G Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh. Enjoying the best season of his career.
Round 10
Brehm: F Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis. Exciting player. Imagine what he'd do in a no-checking game. I can see him and Malkin together.
Allen: G Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders. He's a key contributor to the Islanders' rise to power.
Round 11
Brehm: F Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg. Weber will win the hardest-shot competition, but Byfuglien gives me a chance.
Allen: F Patrice Bergeron, Boston. Let's be silly and say I took him to win big faceoffs. He's truly a well-rounded star. Could or should win Selke this season.
Round 12
Brehm: D Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis. Big-scoring defenseman, plus he and Tarasenko are teammates.
Allen: D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona. Predicting my team will get three goals from defensemen.
PHOTOS: 2015 NHL All-Stars
Round 13
Brehm: F Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay. I like having NHL teammates on my team. Can set up Stamkos' one-timers.
Allen: F Radim Vrbata, Vancouver. My skilled centers need scorers to feed. Vrbata having a strong season in Vancouver.
Round 14
Brehm: D Brent Burns, San Jose. Another hard shot here. Like Byfuglien, he can play forward or defense.
Allen: F Phil Kessel, Toronto. Speedy winger and a consistent goal scorer, would be nice fit for Ovechkin and Crosby.
Round 15
Brehm: D Ryan Suter, Minnesota. Can skate a lot of minutes. Not that he'll need to in this game.
Allen: D Justin Faulk, Carolina. For the past couple of months, he has been among the NHL's best defensemen.
Round 16
Brehm: D Brent Seabrook, Chicago. Underrated. Plus, I keep him away from Keith.
Allen: F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton. Young enthusiasm gives the veterans a push.
Round 17
Brehm: F Bobby Ryan, Ottawa. Best forward left.
Allen: D Erik Johnson, Colorado. Having an exceptional season in Colorado. His offense has come together this season.
Round 18
Brehm: F Patrik Elias, New Jersey. Torn here. Considering Latvian fans voted Zemgus Girgensons to the game, I want to acknowledge that. But Elias is a 1,000-point veteran and a classy player. Can't make him last.
Allen: F Girgensons, Buffalo. My hope for Latvian fans is that Girgensons scores four goals and wins the MVP award.