Minnesota Wild: Making the All-Star Roster Could be Difficult

With the NHL All-Star Game fast approaching it looks as if the Minnesota Wild will see Devan Dubnyk be a shoo in to represent the team in LA. As for the prospect of any other players Wild making the Central Division roster…things might be a little harder to predict.

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The NHL announced Tuesday that the results of the fan voting for 29 January’s All-Star Game to be held in Los Angeles. After about a month long of voting the top vote-getters from each division were given the “C” for their respective division team. The captains will be Sidney Crosby for the Metropolitan Division, Carey Price for the Atlantic, Connor McDavid for the Pacific, and P.K. Subban for the Central.

Although none of the Minnesota Wild players were selected as captains, don’t worry the team hasn’t been snubbed…at least not yet. The division teams are composed of 6 forwards, 3 defensemen, and 2 goaltenders for a total of 11 players to participate in the 3-on-3 tournament, and with 7 teams in the Central Division space per team is at a premium.

Like every other professional All-Star Game, the NHL will be looking to have at least one participant from each of its franchises. That means that the Central Division roster will only have 4 slots open to a team to have more than one player. For the Wild the logic is they will get one player for sure and might get one more but that will still be an uncertainty to get 2 players in.

The easy money on who the one guaranteed slot for the Wild on the Central roster is Devan Dubnyk. He’s having a Veznia worthy season and is easily the best player on the team, the best goaltender in the Division, and in the conversation for the best goaltender in the NHL. No other goaltender in the Central is better than Dubnyk period.

Dec 11, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter (20) waits for the faceoff in the first period against the St Louis Blues at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

As for another player on the Central team, that could be more of a challenge for the Wild. Ryan Suter is leading the league in plus/minus at +26 and really is the next most deserving player for the Wild. The problem is that ahead of him point wise are three great Central defenders in Duncan Keith, Dustin Byfuglien, and Kevin Shattenkrik.

Still none of those players is putting up near the plus/minus of Suter, and only Byfuglien is averaging more minutes a game than Suter (actually Buff is leading the league too). It stands to reason that he might be able to trump Keith, or Shattenkirk, because in the case of St. Louis they will already have a rep in Taresenko and the Hawks will most certainly have Kane and Panarin.

Jan 2, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) skates with the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period in the 2016 Winter Classic ice hockey game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

Bottom line on defense Suter is vying for one of only two slots due to Subban being selected by the fans, so it’s gonna be tight.

Forward wise it gets equally as muddy. Looking at the top 30 in scoring the Jets actually have 3 forwards, and the Hawks have 2. So it’s quite possible that the Jets get one of those forwards in and the Hawks get two forwards, the Avs will most likely see MacKinnon rep for them, the Preds could see Johansen in, a case could be made for both Benn and Seguin in Dallas, and Taresenko will be a shoe in for the Blues. There’s your six forwards and one more for good measure.