• Home
  • News
  • Rosters
  • Skills
  • Fan Fair
  • shop.nhl.com
  • History
  • Video
  • Photos
 
Posted On Thursday, 01.26.2012 / 7:36 PM

By Dave Lozo -  NHL.com Staff Writer /NHL.com - 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend blog

Senators excited about being drafted by Alfredsson

GATINEAU, Quebec -- If you think the Ottawa Senators don't care if they don't wind up on Daniel Alfredsson's team during the 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft, think again.

"I would be (ticked)," defenseman Erik Karlsson said.

Alfredsson, Karlsson, Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek spoke for a few minutes prior to Thursday night's draft at Hilton Lac Leamy. Spezza was far more diplomatic with the same question.

"I think we'd all prefer to play with him," Spezza said. "But it's his preference. He's the boss."

All four were voted to the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Game by the fans. The break is usually an ideal time to get some rest and recharge the batteries, but the players are more than happy to take part in the festivities in front of the home crowd at Scotiabank Place.

"It's nice to be able to be at home and give back to the fans at home," Spezza said. "Tomorrow, I'll probably do a lot of running around. I've got a lot of family and friends coming in for Saturday and Sunday. I need to make sure to take the time to enjoy the game and make sure they enjoy it too. It's going to be a nice mix."

"It's going to be a fun weekend for everybody and I just want to enjoy it," Michalek said.

Follow Dave Lozo on Twitter: @DaveLozo
Full Story ›
Posted On Thursday, 01.26.2012 / 7:28 PM

By Dan Rosen -  NHL.com Senior Writer /NHL.com - 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend blog

Chara talks All-Star Player Fantasy Draft strategy

GATINEAU, Que. -- All-Star captain Zdeno Chara has a strategy in mind for the 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft, but he's also expecting his plan to blow up soon after the first pick is made.

"You have some ideas, but I'm not going to lock into them too much," Chara said roughly an hour before the draft was set to begin. "How wrong can you go when you have such a great group of guys in here. You're going to try to do some picks so you don't pick all right wingers. You have to try to select it by position, but we all know that everybody can play."

Chara said because everyone here is an All-Star, it shouldn't matter who gets picked first and who gets picked last even if those are the two most intriguing picks of the night.

"You want to have a little fun with it, but you also try to make real selections," Chara said. "But, really there is no true first pick or true last pick. Everybody is such a good player that they deserve to be here. This is more to make the whole All-Star event more exciting for fans and people around hockey. I guess you have to pick somebody first and somebody is going to be last, but to me it's just something that creates more excitement."

Joffrey Lupul, Chara's assistant here at All-Star weekend, added that it's not all that bad if you're the final pick.

The reward last year for Phil Kessel was a brand new Honda CR-V.

"I know Phil looked uncomfortable up there last year, but he still has a car," Lupul said.

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl
Full Story ›
1 | 2
 
NHL.TV™ › SHOP.NHL.COM › NHL AUCTIONS › FOLLOW ON: FACEBOOK TWITTER