The National Hockey League revealed the captains for the four divisional teams for the All-Star game being hosted in San Jose on Jan. 26. The captains were chosen by the fans through online voting and coincidentally all the captains are former first overall picks. The four teams for the All-Star game are split up by division, so there is an Atlantic division team, Pacific division team, Metropolitan division team and a Central division team. Each team has one captain that will lead the teams during the 3v3 style All-Star game. According to NBC Sports, the four divisional teams are made up of six forwards, three defensemen and two goalies, so 11 players on each of the teams.
Atlantic Division Captain
Toronto Maple Leafs 21-year old centerman Auston Matthews has been voted the captain of the Atlantic division team. Matthews is in his third season in the NHL. This will be his second NHL All-Star appearance. Matthews won the Calder Memorial Trophy in his rookie season and has been a star performer for the Maple Leafs during his three seasons on the team. He missed all but one game in the month of December due to a shoulder injury from the Oct. 27 game against Winnipeg. In the 23 games he has played this season, Matthews has recorded 19 goals and 15 assists.
Pacific Division Captain
The 21-year old 2015 first overall draft pick Connor McDavid, centerman for the Edmonton Oilers, was voted captain for the Pacific division team. McDavid is currently in his fourth season in the NHL and has collected many awards. In the 2016-17 season, McDavid collected the Art Ross Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and the Hart Memorial Trophy in the same season. In the 2017-28 season, he collected the Art Ross Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award for the second consecutive year. McDavid will be the captain for the Pacific division team for the second year in a row, previously leading the Pacific team to a 5-2 win over the Atlantic team in the finals of last years All-Star game. Currently McDavid has 19 goals and 35 assists in 36 games this season.
Metropolitan Division Captain
Leading the league in goals is 33-year old left-winger Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, who was elected captain of the Metropolitan division team for the second straight year. He currently has 29 goals and 16 assists in 36 games this season. He won his first Stanley cup with the Washington Capitals last year, the first in Capitals franchise history. Ovechkin older than the other three captains by 10 -12 years. He is currently in his fourteenth season and tallied a total 636 goals thus far in his career. He has won many awards in his career including the Conn Smythe Trophy, Calder Memorial Trophy and Art Ross Trophy each once, the Maurice Richard Trophy seven times and the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award three times each. This will be Ovechkin’s seventh All-Star game.
Central Division Captain
Centerman Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche will make his third appearance at the NHL All-Star game and first as the Central division team captain for this year. He currently has 22 goals and 35 assists in the 38 games he has played in this year. He is having a break out season with the Avalanche with the help of Mikko Rantanen, who are paired together on the first line. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy in the 2013-2014 season. MacKinnon currently has 57 points in only 38 games and is on track to record his personal best in points this season.
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