Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson and the All-Star Game Conundrum
As the NHL All-Star teams were announced late last year, anticipation grew as to which player will represent Long Island in St. Louis on Jan. 25. While many players are performing exceptionally for the Islanders, Mathew Barzal was selected to go to this year’s All-Star Game.
Chosen for his second All-Star Game, Barzal has been able to produce at a near .90 point per game rate. The option to send a second Islander is also a possibility, as Brock Nelson, who is producing near .80 points per game, is the Islanders “Last Men In” selection. “Last Men in” is where fans vote to send one last player from a select group of eight from each division to participate in the All-Star Game.
While Islanders fans should be proud of Barzal, is hard to not notice the glaring amount of talented players who were passed up to entice casual fans with flashier names. While one could argue that the NHL is moving away from that narrative, as Tyler Bertuzzi was selected over Dylan Larkin as an All-Star, many notable names diminish that potential point. Using the Islanders as an example, Semyon Varlamov has been producing at an exceptional rate this season, recording a better save percentage and goals-against average compared to the two goalies chosen for the Metropolitan Division. The goalies chosen were Joonas Korpisalo and Braden Holtby, both have another teammate going with them to the All-Star game, so it is not like their respective teams have no one to send.
With Braden Holtby going, it further helps prove the narrative that the NHL All-Star game is a popularity contest instead of sending the most deserving athletes, as, at the time of writing, Braden Holtby has put up an egregious save percentage of .905. A save percentage that should make all hockey fans cringe at the sight of it. Although, aside from the Islanders, many other notable stars have been snubbed.
Take Quinn Hughes in the pacific division, a rookie defenceman quarterbacking one of the league’s top power plays and producing at an astonishing rate for a defenceman of his age, was not selected as Mark Giordano was sent instead. The former Norris winner has seen a steep dropoff from the previous year, producing at just over .5 points per game. While points aren’t everything in terms of a defencemen’s play, it is clear that Quinn Hughes was a major snub. Other notable names not going to this year’s games include Johnny Gaudreau, Brad Marchand, Mark Scheifele, and many more not getting the recognition they deserve.
Mathew Barzal was the correct choice for New York. But as a whole, many NHL fans just want to see the best on-ice product possible. Unfortunately, as long as the NHL opts to send its big names of old, the newer, lesser-known names will never be able to become notable, household names to the casual fans.
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