All-Star selections are always a hot topic of debate and this year is no different.
After the NHL selected the first 32 players (i.e. one for each team), the remaining 12 spots were determined via fan vote.
When seven of the 12 players voted in come from just two teams, you know their fanbases carried the mail to get their players in.
But the fan voting plus the “one player per team” rule results in other deserving players being snubbed (although Oliver Bjorkstrand may have preferred to be snubbed this year).
With how hot the Edmonton Oilers have been since Kris Knoblauch took over the coaching duties, you would expect the Oilers to have sent more than the usual Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Last year Stuart Skinner joined the duo, which was the first time a non-McDrai Oiler has gone to the All-Star game since 2016 when Taylor Hall was the Oilers’ representative.
So who on the Oilers was snubbed this year? We reached out to Oil Country to see who you all thought it was.
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @oilrigEDM. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
Hyman deserved to be at the All-Star Game
Unsurprisingly, Zach Hyman lead the poll with a whopping 86.5% of the votes. Hyman is tied for fifth in the NHL in goals with 27 in 40 games, but is actually third in goals per game behind only Auston Matthews and Sam Reinhart.
His 27 goals ties the amount he scored over the entire 2021–22 season, his first with the Oilers, and is only nine away from his career high 36 goals last season.
Hyman isn’t alone in being a top goal scorer who was snubbed at least. Artemi Panarin, who also has 27 goals, also wasn’t selected or voted in either, which is questionable given that the New York Rangers selection, Igor Shesterkin, has been nowhere as good as he usually is.
At least Hyman’s teammates are deserving to go, if it’s any consolation.
Is Bouchard to join in the upcoming years?
Evan Bouchard was a distant, yet firm second place with 11%.
Like Hyman, Bouchard is having a career year that sees him at the top of the scoring leaders as well. His 42 points in 41 games is good for fifth in defencemen scoring, while his 11 goals is second behind only Rasmus Dahlin’s 13. He is also first in powerplay goals (5) and second in powerplay points (20).
Also like Hyman, Bouchard is not the only high scoring defenceman to be snubbed, as Noah Dobson, Victor Hedman, Roman Josi, Filip Hronek, and Vince Dunn all were not selected either, despite being in the top-10 in defensive scoring.
This is where the NHL’s one player per team rule really ruins things, as all those defencemen have more points than “All-Star” forwards Frank Vatrano, Elias Lindholm, Connor Bedard (who granted is now injured), Boone Jenner, Tomas Hertl, and Tom Wilson; Brady Tkachuk, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Nick Suzuki just narrowly miss being on this list by one, one, and two points respectively.
But to be fair, it’s an All-Star Game, where scoring is not the objective whatsoever.
Nugent-Hopkins not a fan favourite this time
With 1.9% of the vote (or approximately three votes), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins comes in third. While Nuge is having a good season with 39 points in 41 games, it is nowhere near his career year last year that saw him set career highs in goals (37), assists (67), and points (104), where he also didn’t make the team.
But at least Nuge has been to the All-Star Game before, having played in the 2015 game. He also was going to be named to the 2012 team in his rookie season, but unfortunately his injury prevented him from going.
Not a second appearance for Skinner
With exactly one vote, Stuart Skinner brings up the rear. The fact that he got a vote (or even was in this poll) is surprising, given how terribly he started the season. Skinner has rounded into form recently though, having won 16 of his last 18 starts, including nine straight, which has boosted him to fifth in the NHL in wins.
It’s not just Skinner benefiting from a good team in front of him though. Since Jack Campbell was demoted to the AHL on November 9, Skinner has a 0.918 save percentage, good for 11th amongst goalies who started at least 10 games during that stretch, and a 2.19 GAA, 5th lowest in the NHL. He’s tied for 21st in points in that stretch though, so that definitely hurts his case.
Like Nuge, Skinner has one All-Star Game under his belt already, so at least he isn’t missing out as much.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
