NHL All-Star Game

One name that you might not know is Jeremy Morin from Auburn, who plays in the NHL. Just recently, he played the wing position for the Chicago Blackhawks. He hasn’t gotten much playing time recently with the return of superstar Patrick Sharp after an injury.

On December 9, the Blackhawks announced they sent Morin to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford Icehogs (located in Illinois). On December 14, Morin was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman, Tim Erixon.

Jeremy Morin, who has 299 games in the Pro Hockey League as of December 16, and a total of 83 goals, isn’t that bad of a player. Sure, he isn’t going to be on the first shifts with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp, but he is a solid third shift player.

Despite the trade, Jeremy Morin is still one of those select few athletes that are able to make the pros. Morin will most likely have a successful time with the Blue Jackets and when in doubt he will be sent to their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons.

Moving onto the NHL All-Star Roster, on January 10, the National Hockey league finally announced the official roster for the Honda 2015 NHL All-Star Game, which is being hosted by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Jackets are being represented fairly well, by having two forwards and a goalie in the game. Forwards, Ryan Johansen, and Nick Foligno, who is from Buffalo, New York. Goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky was also voted in by the fans; he has a 15-12 record as of January 12.

Another team well represented is the Chicago Blackhawks. They have five members in the game in Columbus – two forwards, two defensmen, and one goalie. The two defensmen are Duncan Keith (1,193,173 votes) and Brent Seabrook (1,016,992 votes), who have both had successful seasons; while the forwards are Patrick Kane (1,232,201 votes) and Jonathan Toews (1,207,210 votes), also known as the “Dynamic Duo” from the Blackhawks organization. Toews is originally from Buffalo, New York, as well. The goalie is Corey Crawford (1,099,5440 votes), with 17-8 on the season.

With a more local look at some of the players, former Syracuse Crunch forward, and current Tampa Bay Lightning forward, Tyler Johnson was voted in by the NHL Board, as well as Captain Steven Stamkos, to represent the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stamkos is one of the top scorers this season, while Tyler Johnson is racking a good amount of points as well.

Top rookie, Jonathan Drouin, was also voted to show of his stick skills in the 2015 NHL Honda All-Star Skills Competition, along with five other rookies: Calgary Flames Left Winger, Johnny Gaudreau; Nashville Predators Center, Filip Forsberg; Florida Panthers Defenseman (who was the first overall pick), Aaron Ekblad; Ottawa Senators Left Winger, Mike Hoffman; and Los Angeles Kings Left Winger, Tanner Pearson.

A sort of local player, who will be stopping as many pucks as he can is goalie, is Jimmy Howard, of the Detroit Red Wings. He was born in Syracuse, New York but moved to Ogdensburg, New York; which is right near the border of Canada. He is the only Red Wings player to be voted in.

The All-Star Fantasy Draft Day will be on January 23, to decide who is on which team. Then the big game is on January 25, in Columbus, Ohio. The skills competition will take place on January 24. This will surely be a big weekend for hockey!