28 CHL graduates highlight NHL All-Star rosters
By Aaron Bell
Jeff Skinner is making quite an impression as a rookie in the National Hockey League.
Despite being the youngest player in the NHL this season, Skinner has been a scoring machine with the Carolina Hurricanes, scoring 18 goals and 40 points so far this season.
Many expected Skinner to be back in the OHL this season for a third year with the Kitchener Rangers but the seventh overall pick in last June’s NHL Entry Draft has fit right in with his older teammates in Raleigh.
On Wednesday, Skinner was named to play in the NHL’s All-Star Game on home ice in Raleigh on Sunday.
Skinner was originally named to play in the in the Honda SuperSkills Competition but with Sidney Crosby, Evgeny Malkin and Ales Hemsky bowing out of the game due to injuries, Skinner will also skate in the big game.
Skinner becomes the youngest player to ever be named to the All-Star Game. He will be eight days younger than Peterborough Petes’ graduate Steve Yzerman was when he played in the game as a rookie in 1984.
It’s safe to say that Skinner’s quick ascent into the NHL has been a welcome surprise for the Hurricanes.
“His hands are brilliant,” Hurricanes’ coach and OHL graduate Paul Maurice told the Charlotte Observer this week. “He’s got all the elements that you want. He’s committed, he’s focused, he worked his butt off this summer to get into great shape. He has a passion for the game.”
The NHL has a new format for their annual showcase game this season. They selected team captains – Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings and Petes’ graduate Eric Staal of the Hurricanes, who get to pick their squads schoolyard style in a draft.
Lidstrom took London Knights’ graduate Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks and Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first two rounds earlier this week while Staal took Ryan Kesler from the Vancouver Canucks and Saskatoon Blades’ graduate Mike Green from the Washington Capitals. The balance of the rosters will be selected on Friday.
CHL graduates Daniel Briere, Matt Duchene, Claude Giroux, Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Brad Richards, Steven Stamkos, Kris Letang, Brent Burns, Duncan Keith, Dustin Byfuglien, Zdeno Chara, Marc Staal, Shea Weber, Keith Yandle, Marc-Andre Fleury, Cary Price and Cam Ward will also participate in the game but are waiting to see which team they will be drafted by.
Logan Couture, Tyler Ennis, Cam Fowler, Taylor Hall, PK Subban, and Tyler Seguin were all selected to represent the rookies.
Click here for more information about the 2011 NHL All-Star Game
