2011 All star roster.

[mug25 2]

I agree with Bandit's. This stuff is just for fun. It's starting to worry me how far people are taking this whole respect and honor stuff. Every player that was at that game had a smile on their face. If they enjoy it, does anyone else's opinion really matter?

Agreed.

I'm all for showboating skills and i love fancy goals like Vermette's ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhzVvQBUtOI&feature=related ) and the stuff Ribeiro does in actual shootouts but when the players start with this lacrosse non-sense, i can't help but facepalm. Kids are wasting valuable time practicing these moves instead of working on their stick handling skills. Isn't St-Louis scoring twice while skating backwards a lot more entertaining than Ovy going for it with his stick upside down?

He's trying to be creative. The whole breakaway competition was judged on creativity and style. I thought it was entertaining.

[AIREAYE 248]

I'm all for showboating skills and i love fancy goals like Vermette's (www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhzVvQBUtOI&feature=related ) and the stuff Ribeiro does in actual shootouts but when the players start with this lacrosse non-sense, i can't help but facepalm. Kids are wasting valuable time practicing these moves instead of working on their stick handling skills. Isn't St-Louis scoring twice while skating backwards a lot more entertaining than Ovy going for it with his stick upside down?

It's called 'having fun'

[Chadd 916]

what would you guy think of having a hardest wrist shot contest? or maybe hardest backhand contest?

Utterly pointless and having guys put up numbers 1/3 to 1/2 of the slapper numbers would just look bad.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

I went to the game, was in the second row.. Fleury threw me a puck over the glass (of course I was decked out in pens gear) which was pretty damn awesome. I had a great time, got some autographs at the fan fest and met some good people. Saw Kopitar, Ovechkin, Shannahan, Green at RDU this morning. Pretty cool. Kopitar and Ovi were signing autographs for a few little kids (different areas at different times) which was cool. PK Subban was kind of a dick at the fan fest thing and Taylor Hall was playing on his blackberry no more than 5 minutes into signing autographs too. Spent more time on blackberry and talking to whomever was with him (agents, bodyguard, whatever he was) than talking to his fans that came up for a signature in my opinion.

The accuracy shooting thing was horrible cause you can't watch both guys at once. Sucks to spend that kinda money to be there and miss literally half of one of the competitions because of poor planning on the leagues behalf. Also had to groan when the faithful in the stands called for Chara to blast it during the ASG every time he got the puck at the point

I'd never been to an all star game but it surely seemed like the Team Staal/Lidstrom thing really had some effect..the crowd really wanted Staal to win and was much more excited for goals for Staal versus when the other team scored..but maybe it was like that for normal East/West I don't know.

All in all glad I went, it was a good weeekend.

[mug25 2]

They really need to give New York an ASG or a Winter Classic. Would really be good for the sport.

[n3ss 0]

phil kessel is kinda fat.

[camhockey16 5]

maybe he is just having an allergic reaction to some medicine?

actually i thought that too when i saw him - not sure though

[BenderHockey 127]

They really need to give New York an ASG or a Winter Classic. Would really be good for the sport.

They did. '94. Richter MVP.

[MyBoxersSayJoe 132]

I actually enjoyed it. They changed things up a bit from the usual. I've been to 9 all-star games now and Raleigh really was a great location. Transportation was a breeze, no wait to travel to any of the other hotels, arenas, pre-game or post-game parties. The people down there were all extremely social and friendly. The arena and overall set-up/flow of the place was great and very convenient. I wish there were more stores or stands where you could purchase jerseys because the day of the game it was a 25 minute wait on line.

For the skills competition, it was great to see Chara crush his own record. I liked having the two guys go at the same time for the skating competition. It was difficult to keep track with two guys shooting at the same time with the accuracy competition. As for the game, it's just fun to watch. It seemed like some of the lines really had some chemistry. It's a completely different game without checking. For those of us in the beer leagues, think of it on that level. They're really that good.

If you're looking at it to be anything other than casual fun and entertainment, I think you may be taking it a little too seriously. It's almost like playing in your high school alumni game. Just have fun with it.

[psh 25]

That slow motion of Chara's shot was awesome. He is so far over the puck when he makes contact!

Speaking of Chara, how long ago did he switch to an Easton stick? I thought he was a Warrior guy forever, but I'm pretty sure he used an Easton during the hardest shot competition. I probably would never have noticed, but I just picked up an SE16 for next to nothing and am looking forward to giving it a try.

[IniNew 51]

Speaking of Chara, how long ago did he switch to an Easton stick? I thought he was a Warrior guy forever, but I'm pretty sure he used an Easton during the hardest shot competition. I probably would never have noticed, but I just picked up an SE16 for next to nothing and am looking forward to giving it a try.

He was the Easton ST Poster Boy.

[psh 25]

He was the Easton ST Poster Boy.

Ah, so he just went back home. Thanks.