In a display of how much Canadians care for their players and came out in droves to vote for the All-Star game, NHL fans have ensured a strong presence for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks at the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend.
The final 12 names were revealed on Saturday as the votes for the rest of the roster were made public. Toronto is sending three more names to the game, while the Canucks got four more names in. Maple Leafs forwards William Nylander and Mitchell Marner, along with defenseman Morgan Rielly will join Auston Matthews. For the Canucks, J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, and goalie Thatcher Demko will join defenseman Quinn Hughes.
These selections were made by online voting. Thatcher Demko got the moves votes overall, with 1,398,699 votes and Nylander was a close second, receiving 1,393,578 votes. Cale Makar came in third.
For both Nylander and Rielly, this will be their first-ever All-Star game, a special honor as they’ll be playing in front of their hometown fans.
A Few All-Stars Left Out That Should Be There
For the most part, the players are the top of the stats sheet in the NHL are going. Among a couple of the names missing are Zach Hyman, who is 6th in goals with 26 and has 42 points. Jake Guentzel is also not going. He’s got 46 points and 19 goals, right at the top of Penguins scoring. Among defenseman — of which only four were chosen to participate — both Noah Dobson of the New York Islanders, Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers, and Victor Hedman were left off of the roster. All rank in the top five in NHL scoring for defenseman this season.
As for who will represent at the All-Star Skills Competition, the 12 players have not all been named. Matthews and Nylander will take part for the Maple Leafs. Pettersson will for the Canucks. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl for the Edmonton Oilers. Again, it’s a pretty good representation from Canada.
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