With Toronto the host city, naturally Auston Matthews loaded up on his Maple Leafs teammates when choosing his squad for the NHL All-Star tournament on Saturday.
Matthews, along with his assistant captain and teammate Morgan Rielly, made sure to keep the Maple Leafs all together during Thursday’s draft, selecting William Nylander and Mitchell Marner to their team.
“We’re looking forward to getting this thing going,” Matthews told the Sportsnet/ESPN broadcast crew during the four-team draft. “I know Toronto’s going to bring the noise for everybody. It’s going to be a good weekend.”
Team Matthews, with singer Justin Bieber the celebrity captain, also selected goaltenders Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers.
His team, which will face the squad headed by Quinn Hughes and Jack Hughes in the semifinal three-on-three game on Saturday, added the Arizona Coyotes’ Clayton Keller, the New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal, the Nashville Predators’ Filip Forsberg, the Detroit Red Wings’ Alex DeBrincat and the Rangers’ Vincent Trocheck.
Not to be outdone, Quinn Hughes loaded up on his Vancouver Canucks teammates. With brother Jack of the New Jersey Devils unable to play due to injury, Quinn’s squad filled up on players from the Canucks, who sit atop the Western Conference standings.
Goalie Thatcher Demko and forwards Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller were called by Quinn Hughes and his co-captain, and another Canucks teammate, Elias Pettersson.
“We got five of six Canucks, something we were looking to do,” Quinn Hughes said. “I’m happy with our squad.”
Elias Lindholm, whom the Canucks acquired via trade from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, was the exception.
Hughes, whose celebrity captain is singer and diehard Canucks fan Michael Buble, also nabbed the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, the Winnipeg Jets’ Kyle Connor, the Ottawa Senators’ Brady Tkachuk, the Devils’ Jesper Bratt, the Anaheim Ducks’ Frank Vatrano and Los Angeles Kings goalie Cam Talbot.
The winner of the Matthews-Hughes game will face the victor of the clash between Team MacKinnon and Team McDavid. The champions will split a $1 million prize.
With all of the talent on his team for the NHL All-Star Game three-on-three tournament, Nathan MacKinnon opted to add another dimension when drafting.
Some old-school hockey.
MacKinnon, along with celebrity captain singer Tate McRae and Colorado Avalanche teammate Cale Makar as assistant captain, was sure to add Washington Capitals power forward Tom Wilson and then stepped it up a notch by grabbing Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers.
“We need an agitator,” MacKinnon told the Sportsnet/ESPN broadcast at the event in Toronto.
Team MacKinnon, which will face the squad headed by Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid, also drafted his Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev and Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman, and added skaters Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild), Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes), Oliver Bjorkstrand (Seattle Kraken) and Elias Lindholm (Vancouver Canucks).
Lindholm has the distinction of representing a team he has not played for, having been traded to Vancouver from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, which he found about en route home from a quick vacation in Mexico.
“It sounds a little weird but I’m super excited, super happy. I’m excited to start something new,” he said of joining the Canucks after five-plus seasons in Calgary.
McDavid, along with his assistant captain and Edmonton Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl and celebrity captain actor Will Arnett, made a surprising first selection in the draft when they took Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
“We want somebody who’s going to make a difference,” said Arnett, who wore a Toronto Maple Leafs hat despite working alongside a pair of Oilers stars.
Team McDavid also includes goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and his Florida Panthers teammate Sam Reinhart, as well as David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins), Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres), Robert Thomas (St. Louis Blues), Boone Jenner (Columbus Blue Jackets), Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens) and Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks).
The winner of the MacKinnon-McDavid game will face the victor of the clash between Team Matthews and Team Hughes in the championship game.
The victorious team will split a $1 million prize.
