by A.J. PerezFiled under: Hurricanes, Lightning, NHL All Star Game
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The hype leading up to Friday's night's All-Star Fantasy Draft centered around all the lobbying players were doing behind the scenes.
Then Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos -- whose teammates were either the captains or assistant captains who did the picking -- were taken with the first two overall picks and it was clear behind-the-scenes maneuvers were overshadowed by pure familiarity.
Eric Staal, who will captain the red team in Sunday's exhibition at RBC Center, tapped Ward and later selected rookie Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner. Team Nicklas Lidstrom didn't have any fellow Detroit Red Wings to choose from, but assistant captains Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay) and Patrick Kane (Chicago) selected some current and former teammates -- going back to college in the case of Boston goalie Tim Thomas.
"I'm very happy to end up on Martin St. Louis' team," said Thomas, who played with St. Louis at the University of Vermont. "It's great to be with him again. I had a feeling I was going to go to the blue (Lidstrom's) team."
For his part, Thomas said he "was too focused on playing in games" to do any lobbying.
It extended across bloodlines -- at least in one of the two instances -- as well. Eric Staal tapped his brother and New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal in the seventh round, but not after first taking some criticism.
"I'm disappointed," Marc Staal chided after he was passed over by his brother six times. "I am never going buy him Christmas presents or birthday presents again. It's classless."
The two players who knew each best were, however, split up as Vancouver's Sedin twins found themselves on different teams.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2011/01/28/cam-ward-steven-stamkos-top-picks-in-nhl-all-star-player-draft/
No comments:
Post a Comment