The NHL All-Star rosters were finalized last week, and like every other year, many great players were left off the teams. To celebrate those players that weren’t quite able to make the cut, we’ve made a fifth ‘All-Snub’ Team.
Forwards
Steven Stamkos / Kyle Connor
William Nylander / Evgeni Malkin
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins / Brayden Point
This forward group could skate with all four teams at the All-Star game this weekend. All six players are averaging more than a point per game while four of them have totaled more than 55 on the season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is very quietly having a career year in Edmonton and leads the group with 60 points in 50 games. Scoring would not be an issue for the All-Snub Team.
Defencemen
Miro Heiskanen / Rasmus Dahlin / Roman Josi
With only five defencemen chosen to participate in this year’s games, there were plenty of options for our All-Snub team on the blueline. Heiskanen and Josi may not be putting up the most eye-popping numbers this year, but both are still top 10 in the league without much debate. Then there’s Rasmus Dahlin, who somehow didn’t get in despite having 55 points in 48 games this year for the Sabres. If Erik Karlsson wasn’t producing at a record pace, the young Swede would be the top scoring blueliner in the NHL.
Goaltenders
Vitek Vanecek / Jake Oettinger
When looking at how well the Devils have done this year, many people overlook the impact of Vitek Vanecek. The 27-year-old goalie has a record of 21-5-2, an SVP of .917 and the fourth-best GAA in the league at 2.29. As for Oettinger, his stats are even better. The Stars’ netminder is in the league’s top 3 in both GAA and SVP and has four shutouts for Dallas as well. We all saw just how good he can be in last year’s playoffs and his continued dominance this year makes him an easy pick for the All-Snub team.
