With the announcement of the two captains (Nicklas Lidstrom and the home team?s Eric Staal) that will draft their teams in the first ever NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft, I invited RealGM Executive Editor Christopher Reina to partake in a mock draft with me. Chris was kind enough to allow me to select my captain first, and being the homer I am I chose Lidstrom, letting Chris start with Staal. We followed the true rules, mainly that all goalies had to be selected by the 10th round, and all defensemen by the 15th round. We also went off of the original All-Star rosters, as this was completed prior to Jarome Iginla opting out, Ales Hemsky?s concussion, and before we know Sidney Crosby?s status. I let Chris choose his two alternate captains first, and he elected to take the Pittsburgh duo of Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang to join captain Eric Staal. For my two alternates, I went with the high scoring and electric combo of Steven Stamkos and Alexander Ovechkin to join captain Nicklas Lidstrom. Without further ado... Round 1 Chris: With two centers already on my team, I want to take the top available wing, so I?ll go with Daniel Sedin. Nick: Well, let?s make this interesting right away; and separate the brothers for the first time in their careers. I?ll take Henrik Sedin. Round 2 Chris: Tim Thomas has been much better than every other goalie throughout the first half, so I?ll get the hot hand. Nick: I?ll take Lidstrom?s main competition for the Norris so far and take the highest scoring defenseman up with the second-highest scoring defenseman, Dustin Byfuglien. Round 3 Chris: Rick Nash is another wing and has the type of skills to explode in ASG?s. Nick: I?m going to pair up Stamkos with his good buddy Martin St. Louis. Imagine him getting to set up both Stamkos AND Ovechkin? That?d be fun to watch. Round 4 Chris: Zdeno Chara is my favorite blueliner, have to go with favorites here. Nick: I?ll take my first goalie, who happens to be playing like the best goalie on the planet lately, Anaheim?s Jonas Hiller. Round 5 Chris: ASG's are nothing for Conn Smythe Trophy winners, so I'll go with Jonathan Toews. Nick: Three centers already? Guess I can?t judge because I?m going to take another here as well, though he is tough enough to play the wing: Ryan Kesler, maybe one of the top-5 two-way forwards in the game at this moment. Round 6 Chris: Mike Green was the best offensive blueliner last season, so I'll take him on that reputation more than his current production. Nick: I?ll be the first to nab my second goalie and go with ?King Henry? ? Henrik Lundqvist. Six shutouts, and a huge reason the low-scoring Rangers are in a playoff spot. Round 7 Chris: Like Green, Evgeni Malkin is not having his finest season, but he has enough pure talent to turn it when he gets to this stage. Plus, he is another Conn Smythe guy. Nick: He?s having a rough year, but still has loads of talent; I was hoping to take him here. Give me the high scoring Corey Perry for a right wing spot. Won gold with Team Canada, I?ll take him on my team any day. Round 8 Chris: Duncan Keith is another blueliner who had a better 09-10 than 10-11, but I'm trying to go based on total body of work. Nick: Wow, so you drafted all five skaters voted to start by the fans, you can?t even set up your own lines to start the game! I?ll take Byfuglien?s underrated and smooth-skating teammate Tobias Enstrom. Great year for him so far. Round 9 Chris: I get to plead ignorance and declare myself an unintentional populist by matching up with the fan voting. I'll deviate when it comes to the crease and take Cam Ward instead of Marc-Andre Fleury. Nick: I?m going to try and slow down your Penguins by taking their goalie here, Fleury, who would be my starter if this was real thanks to the fan vote. Round 10 Chris: Carey Price, no choice. Nick: I can?t believe Brad Richards dropped to the tenth round; I will save him from anymore ?Green Room? type embarrassment and gladly snatch him up here. Round 11 Chris: Nice to get a guy who had a walk-off goal to win a Stanley Cup in the 11th round. Add Patrick Kane to my Toews line. Nick: If we were sending out our teams for the skills competitions, this guy would come in handy: the guy who can put a puck through the twine, Shea Weber. Round 12 Chris: Drafting on behalf of Eric Staal, I need to pick up his brother Marc Staal. Nick: Your squad is all about familiarity and being comfortable so far. I?m going to throw a minor wrench into that by taking the other Blackhawk left Patrick Sharp. Round 13 Chris: The Sharks have been underachieving this season, but none of those forwards can at least get by on reputation? I'll take my only hometown option, Dan Boyle. Nick: I?ll grab Richards? Dallas teammate Loui Eriksson. It?s about time this guy gets some league-wide publicity, he?s a great player. Since my next two picks are pre-decided (the only two defensemen left), you may as well grab two in a row here, Chris. Rounds 14 & 15 Chris: Anze Kopitar, Matt Duchene. Nick: The guys I am obligated to take here are Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson. Burns has 13 goals, second among defensemen. Karlsson has an ugly -15 rating for the ugly Sens... Round 16 Chris: With some serious slippage, I'll grab Jarome Iginla next. Nick: I was hoping Iggy would fall back to me, but alas it wasn?t meant to be. Claude Giroux will make a very nice consolation prize though. Round 17 Chris: As a nod to the large Toronto contingent of RealGM, I'll take Phil Kessel next. Nick: I?ll add some gritty two-way play with the Blues? David Backes. OK Chris, last round, who are you going to leave me with for the ever-feared last pick? Round 18 Chris: I'll take the vet, Patrick Elias. Nick: Well, Ales Hemsky, maybe your injury will avoid this unwanted distinction. He?s a real good player, he just can?t stay healthy. That was fun Chris, thanks a lot of playing along. Time for a little breakdown of our teams. Nick?s Team
GoalsAssistsPointsP/MShotsShot%    
Backes14213515116     
Eriksson17324917104     
Giroux182240893     
Hemsky92029364     
Kesler25194415151     
Ovechkin1630469211     
Perry2426505164     
Richards1836549173     
Sedin,H947561590     
Sharp251944-7183     
St. Louis1938573152     
Stamkos35286310172     
TOTAL229338567102167313.69    
Burns131528-679     
Byfuglien1625417196     
Enstrom83240471     
Karlsson81927-1597     
Lidstrom113142-399     
Weber820288149     
TOTAL64142206-56919.26    
           
 GPWinsLossesOTLSOGoalsGAAShotsSavesSV%
Hiller4323153498 13481250 
Lundqvist3619143680 10891009 
Fleury3621112178 1005927 
TOTAL11563408112562.226344231860.926
Chris? Team
GoalsAssistsPointsP/MShotsShot%    
Crosby32346620161     
Duchene1825436115     
Elias102232-8112     
Iginla192342-9170     
Kane132235-5119     
Kessel191231-16186     
Kopitar16314715159     
Malkin152237-2179     
Nash2119401182     
Sedin,D27325917143     
Staal,E222547-9171     
Toews1720379138     
TOTAL22928751619183512.48    
Boyle52631-10136     
Chara10152520154     
Green81321799     
Keith32326-394     
Letang7334022140     
Staal,E611171069     
TOTAL39121160466925.64    
           
 GPWinsLossesOTLShutoutsGoalsGAAShotsSavesSV%
Thomas332246760 10861026 
Ward39191452100 12421142 
Price4223154497 12211124 
TOTAL114643315132572.254354932920.928
I found it fascinating that with such a wide array of talent, both of our forward groups have totalled the exact same number of goals with 229 (stats as of the morning of Wednesday, January 19th). But I ended up with 51 more points than your team, a slightly better shooting percentage, and a huge plus/minus difference of 102 to 19. On defense, my blueline has scored almost double the goals of your squad, but thanks to Burns and Karlsson, my squad ended up with a -5 rating, while yours had a real strong +46 rating. I tried to make up for it with a better shooting percentage. Between the pipes we are nearly dead even across the board, so we will call that a wash. In the end, my offense trumps your defense, and I predict an 11-10 victory for my club with Stamkos taking home the MVP honors. Again, thanks to Chris for partaking in this Fantasy Draft. I hope the captains have as much fun as we had. It?s a fun new idea and the players seem to be excited as well; I hope that carries over to the game. Nick is RealGM?s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email [email protected] or on twitter @NickObergan