The NHL All-Star weekend is approaching fast, and with the game taking place on February 4, every team has already selected one player to represent their club. It’s to no one’s surprise to see Connor McDavid chosen for the sixth time to represent the Edmonton Oilers, especially considering he is leading the entire NHL in goals, assists and points.
Now it’s the fan’s turn to choose three more players from each division to play in this exciting event, with this in mind, who from the Edmonton Oilers would you like to see join McDavid at the All-Star game?
We asked, you answered! Let’s take a look!
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Leon Draisaitl
Coming in at 65% of poll voting is Leon Draisaitl. With 22 goals and 60 points in 38 games played this season, Draisaitl is second in the league in point scoring behind only McDavid. Draisaitl is on pace for 126 points over 80 games this season which would beat his previous two career highs of 110 during the 2019–20 and 2021–22 seasons.
Like McDavid, It’s also not surprising to see Draisaitl getting most of the voting to go to the All-Star games. He is arguably one of the best passers in the game, both on his forehand and backhand; his one-timer is also one of the deadliest from almost any angle. It would be a benefit to these All-Star games to have Draisaitl on the ice as he is one of the most exciting players to watch besides McDavid on the ice.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
With over a quarter of the votes is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Nuge has been having a great season – he currently has 19 goals which already surpasses his numbers in the last two years and has a total of 48 points in 40 games played this season. Nuge is currently on pace for 98 points this season which would surpass his career high of 68 points during the 2018–19 season.
This season Nugent-Hopkins has been scoring goals almost at will with a shooting percentage (S%) of 20%, another career high for him. He put his deadly accuracy on display at this year’s Oilers Skills Competition at Rogers Place, going four for four in the accuracy shooting contest in under 10 seconds. Not only does he have a great shot, but he has also been a key part of the Oilers’ number-one powerplay in the league, and has also been an important part of the Oilers’ penalty kill; he is a great two-way player and would be a great addition to the All-Star team.
Stuart Skinner
Stuart Skinner has 7% of votes. Most fans would agree that Skinner has surpassed expectations in his rookie season. He has an SV% of 0.914 and a GAA of 2.88, and has been a solid option between the pipes. In light of Jack Campbell’s struggles this season, Skinner has played six more games, seemingly stealing the starting role from Campbell for the time being.
Although Skinner is having a lot of success so far this season – he has even been in conversations for Calder trophy voting, although he is not the front-runner for this award – having an Oilers-drafted and developed goalie being talked about for this award is almost unheard of. It would be great to see Skinner at the All-Star games this season, but the odds of it happening are rather low, considering the other competition he is up against and the fact there are only three open spots per division.
Tyson Barrie
With only 2% of votes is Tyson Barrie. Barrie has been a great asset on the backend for the Oilers. He currently has five goals and 28 points in 40 games, and is on pace for 57 points in 82 games. Barrie is currently leading all Oilers defencemen in points while also playing sound defensive hockey, with a plus-minus of 0. Barrie has not only been great on the ice, but he is a well-liked veteran leader in the Oilers’ locker room.
It will be interesting to see how many votes he gets for the All-Star game but like previously stated with Skinner, the odds of him getting selected to go are rather low.
That’s a wrap
Let us know what Oilers player you would like to see play alongside Connor McDavid at the All-Star tournament this year in the comments! Don’t forget to vote for your selection at https://www.nhl.com/fans/all-star!
Thank you to everyone who took part in the poll, stay tuned for next week’s Sunday Census!
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
Let him go all on his know. He’s all that and a bag of chips. He can’t even sign a girls hat out side Rogers Place ( Edmonton ) that waited in the cold for him. She is a 13 year old autistic girl that lovers the oliers and knows most everything about them all. He is to be the man of the oliers Lmao.