Dallas – Tuesday night provided the NHL’s YoungStars Game at the American Airlines Center. Tonight, another young stars game takes place – the league’s regular All-Star Game.
Everything about this year’s all-star festivities seems to be about youth and concessions to a more modern era, with things such as new, streamlined uniforms and a “red carpet” entrance for players before Tuesday’s YoungStars Game and skills competition.
The league is trying to glam it up a bit for its first All-Star Game since the most recent one was played in 2004. Wait a minute – was that Brad and Angelina over there on the red carpet with all those flashing bulbs?
No, but you get the point. The league wants to showcase its hot, young celebrities a lot more to a national audience. Dimpled, teenage heartthrob Sidney Crosby, for instance, makes his first all-star appearance tonight for the Eastern Conference, joining Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, 21. In front of a prime- time TV audience on Versus, the NHL hopes for more and different eyeballs than the usual Sunday afternoon set that dominated the All-Star Game for years.
The players the NHL wants to showcase most are Crosby and Ovechkin. The league would like nothing more than for them to be the next Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, who are retired but probably still are the most identifiable hockey players to the U.S. public.
Neither young star is American, however, which may or may not explain why they still are somewhat modest about themselves and their impact on the new NHL.
“There’s a lot of things that go on and it’s built up every time we play each other,” Crosby said. “But I think we’re both focused on playing hockey. I can’t speak for Alex, but I can speak for myself. We’re both playing hockey. We’re still young. We still have things to prove. We can always get better. So try to approach it when things come. But away from that, I think we’re just worried about playing hockey.”
The NHL’s U.S. exposure problems remain worrisome. TV ratings on Versus have been minuscule, and some newspapers have cut back on coverage of the league, particularly in Los Angeles and New York. But some of the same issues gripped the NBA in the 1970s before two rookies named Larry Bird and Magic Johnson came along.
Can Crosby and Ovechkin make the NHL chic in the United States?
“I feel comfortable and I think Sidney feels comfortable, too,” Ovechkin said. “He’s right. We concentrate on the game and don’t think about our faces, NHL, or Magic Johnson or Larry Bird. We concentrate on our game and our team.”
Said Crosby: “I think we have a strong group of players. We’re able to show what the league’s capable of and bring interest. I don’t think it’s up to one or two guys. I think there’s a group of guys and I think we take it upon our responsibility to be good role models or to bring interest to the game.
“But for the most part it’s going to be our on-ice performance that does that. So the focus has to be on playing, but at the same time you want to bring the fans and the interest. We all love to play. We want to see other people have that same experience when they see games.”
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
All Stars
Game rosters
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: x-Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh; x-Alex Ovechkin, Washington; x-Daniel Briere, Buffalo; Jason Blake, N.Y. Islanders; Simon Gagne, Philadelphia; Dany Heatley, Ottawa; Marian Hossa, Atlanta; Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay; Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay; Brendan Shanahan, N.Y. Rangers; Eric Staal, Carolina; Justin Williams, Carolina.
Defensemen: x-Brian Campbell, Buffalo; x-Sheldon Souray, Montreal; Jay Bouwmeester, Florida; Zdeno Chara, Boston; Tomas Kaberle, Toronto; Brian Rafalski, New Jersey.
Goaltenders: x-Ryan Miller, Buffalo; Martin Brodeur, New Jersey; Cristobal Huet, Montreal.
Coach: Lindy Ruff, Buffalo.
Assistant coach: Bob Hartley, Atlanta.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: x-Joe Thornton, San Jose; x-Joe Sakic, Colorado; x-Jonathan Cheechoo, San Jose; Bill Guerin, St. Louis; Martin Havlat, Chicago; Patrick Marleau, San Jose; z-Andy McDonald, Anaheim; Rick Nash, Columbus; Yanic Perreault, Phoenix; Brian Rolston, Minnesota; Teemu Selanne, Anaheim; Ryan Smyth, Edmonton; y-Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit.
Defensemen: x-y-Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim; x-Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit; Philippe Boucher, Dallas; z-Ed Jovanovski, Phoenix; Dion Phaneuf, Calgary; Kimmo Timonen, Nashville; Lubomir Visnovsky, Los Angeles.
Goaltenders: x-Roberto Luongo, Vancouver; Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary; Marty Turco, Dallas.
Coach: Randy Carlyle, Anaheim.
Assistant coach: Barry Trotz, Nashville.
x-voted starter, y-will not play, z-added to roster
