NHL YoungStars Game

The NHL YoungStars Game started in 2002, to replace the Heroes of Hockey Old-Timers game during the All-Star Weekend activities. The first four games were played as separate games to the actual All-Star Game, but starting in 2008 it was changed to become part of the NHL Super Skills Competition with the winning team gaining a point for their conference. Through the years the game had implemented different formats and rules, which still continues today. Many NHL Super Stars like Roberto Luongo, Ilya Kovalchuk, Dany Heatley, Pavel Datsyuk, Marian Gaborik and Rick Nash have played in the YoungStars Game.
== 52nd National Hockey League All-Star Game ==
====The Format====
The game's format: 
* Four skaters (and one goaltender) per side. 
* The duration of the first and second periods will be 12 minutes, running time. The third period will be 11 minutes, running time, plus a final minute of stop time. There will be a four-minute break between periods. 
* If the score is tied after three periods, a sudden-death shootout will determine the winner.
The players will be divided into two teams and led behind the bench by former Kings player and current broadcaster Jim Fox and former NHL player, Kings head coach and current ESPN analyst Barry Melrose.
====The Game====
Atlanta Thrashers' rookie phenom Ilya Kovalchuk scored a half-dozen goals to pace Team Melrose to a 13–7 victory over Team Fox in the four-on-four exhibition between the league's up-and-coming stars. Kovalchuk scored four times at even strength, once short-handed, once on a penalty shot. His sixth goal came against an empty net at the end of the game, Kovalchuk was named as the first-ever YoungStars M.V.P. Edmonton Oilers' forward Mike Comrie scored three goals and added an assist to lead Team Fox in scoring.
 	Team Melrose 	Team Fox
Final Score 	13 	7
Head Coach 	Barry Melrose 	Jim Fox
Lineup 	Forwards:
* 13 - Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings)-y
* 15 - Dany Heatley (Atlanta Thrashers)
* 17 - Scott Hartnell (Nashville Predators)
* 22 - Kristian Huselius (Florida Panthers)
* 17 - Ilya Kovalchuk (Atlanta Thrashers) - M.V.P.
* 11 - David Legwand (Nashville Predators)
* 19 - Brad Richards (Tampa Bay Lightning)
* 14 - Justin Williams (Philadelphia Flyers)
Defence:
* 23 - Paul Mara (Phoenix Coyotes)-y
* 28 - Robyn Regehr (Calgary Flames)
* 45 - David Tanabe (Carolina Hurricanes) 
Goaltender:
* 1 - Roberto Luongo (Florida Panthers)	Forwards:
* 19 - Kyle Calder (Chicago Blackhawks) 
* 89 - Mike Comrie (Edmonton Oilers)
* 18 - Tim Connolly (Buffalo Sabres)
* 12 - Mike Fisher (Ottawa Senators)-y
* 10 - Marian Gaborik (Minnesota Wild)
* 10 - Brendan Morrow (Dallas Stars)
* 71 - Mike Ribeiro (Montreal Canadiens)
Defence:
* 44 - Nick Boynton (Boston Bruins)
* 7 - Andrew Ference (Pittsburgh Penguins)
* 23 - Karel Rachunek (Ottawa Senators)
Goaltender:
* 31 - Dan Blackburn (New York Rangers)
Scoring Summary	
* Heatley (Datsyuk) 4:19 1st
* Hartnell (Tanabe) 5:13 1st
* Kovalchuk (Richards, Hartnell) 5:37 1st
* Kovalchuk 2 (Tanabe) 10:24 1st
* Richards (Kovalchuk) 11:59 1st
* Kovalchuk 3 (Legwand, Williams) 0:22 2nd
* Legwand (Mara) 1:27 2nd
* Huselius (Richards, Datsyuk) 3:44 2nd (GWG)
* Legwand (Mara, Heatley) 7:17 2nd
* Kovalchuk 4 (unassisted) 10:42 2nd (SHG) 
* Huselius (Legwand, Heatley) 7:47 3rd
* Kovalchuk 5 (penalty shot) 9:48 3rd
* Kovalchuk 6 (Williams, Mara) 11:38 3rd (ENG)	
* Comrie (Ribeiro, Gaborik) 1:38 1st
* Connolly (Comrie) 4:31 1st
* Comrie (unassisted) 4:46 1st
* Calder (Fisher, Rachunek) 5:56 2nd
* Morrow (Ribeiro) 11:52 2nd
* Comrie (Ribeiro) 6:35 3rd
* Ribeiro (Calder) 11:48 3rd
Penalties 	
* Luongo (delay of game) 9:24 2nd	
none
Shots on Goal 	10–9–10–26 	18–13–13–43
Win/Loss 	W - Roberto Luongo	L - Dan Blackburn
====Notes====
* y - were named as injury replacements.
* Krys Kolanos (Phoenix Coyotes) and Rostislav Klesla (Columbus Blue Jackets) were selected to play for Team Melrose, but were unable to play due to injury. 
* Martin Havlat (Ottawa Senators) and Alex Tanguay (Colorado Avalanche) were selected to play for Team Fox, but were unable to play due to injury.
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==53rd National Hockey League All-Star Game==
====The Format====
It was decided that the assistant coaches of the team with the best points percentages in their respective conferences through the games of Wednesday, January 8, were selected as coaches for the Eastern Conference and Western Conference YoungStars, respectively.
The YoungStars players were selected by the NHL's Hockey Operations Department, in consultation with League General Managers.
The game's format: 
* The game will be played using five skaters and one goaltender per team.
* The duration will consist of three 10-minute periods, running time with 15-second stops after goals. 
* There will be a four-minute break between periods. 
* If the score is tied after three periods, a sudden-death shootout will determine the winner.
* The Eastern Conference is considered as the home team.
====The Game====
Washington Capitals' Brian Sutherby won the Most Valuable Player for the Eastern Conference YoungStars by scoring two goals and an assist as the East cruised to an easy 8–3 victory. Hometown favourite Stephen Weiss also scored a goal and an assist for the East to thrill the Panthers fans in attendance.
 	East 	West
Final Score 	8 	3
Head Coaches 	Roger Neilson, Perry Pearn, Don Jackson (Ottawa Senators)	Jack McIlhargey, Mike Johnson </br>(Vancouver Canucks)
Lineup 	Forwards:
* 55 - Pavel Brendl (Philadelphia Flyers)
* 14 - Niklas Hagman (Florida Panthers)
* 81 - Marcel Hossa (Montreal Canadiens)
* 24 - Taylor Pyatt (Buffalo Sabres)
* 46 - Brian Sutherby (Washington Capitals) - M.V.P. 
* 16 - Alexander Svitov (Tampa Bay Lightning)
* 11 - Mattias Weinhandl (New York Islanders)
* 9 - Stephen Weiss (Florida Panthers)
Defence:
* 4 - Jay Bouwmeester (Florida Panthers) 
* 36 - Dennis Seidenberg (Philadelphia Flyers)
* 10 - Henrik Tallinder (Buffalo Sabres)
* 24 - Anton Volchenkov (Ottawa Senators) 
Goaltender:
* 30 - Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres)	Forwards:
* 39 - Tyler Arnason (Chicago Blackhawks)
* 23 - Stanislav Chistov (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) 
* 24 - Alexander Frolov (Los Angeles Kings)
* 18 - Adam Hall (Nashville Predators)
* 10 - Shawn Horcoff (Edmonton Oilers)
* 39 - Niko Kapanen (Dallas Stars)
* 61 - Rick Nash (Columbus Blue Jackets)
* 29 - Branko Radivojevic (Minnesota Wild)
Defence:
* 5 - Barret Jackman (St. Louis Blues) 
* 44 - Rostislav Klesla (Columbus Blue Jackets) 
* 4 - Jordan Leopold (Calgary Flames)
* 55 - Nick Schultz (Minnesota Wild)
* 4 - Ossi Vaananen (Phoenix Coyotes)
Goaltender:
* 1 - David Aebischer (Colorado Avalanche)
Scoring Summary	
* Brendl (Svitov, Hossa) 2:28 1st
* Volchenkov (Weinhandl,Weiss) 6:26 1st
* Weiss (unassisted) 7:06 1st
* Sutherby (Seidenberg, Hossa) 7:58 1st (GWG)
* Weinhandl (unassisted) 2:40 3rd
* Pyatt (Sutherby) 7:59 3rd 
* Sutherby (Bouwmeester, Seidenberg) 9:05 3rd
* Brendl (unassisted) 9:45 3rd	
* Hall (Nash, Schultz) 9:06 1st
* Nash (Arnason, Hall) 9:26 1st
* Nash (Radivojevic, Horcoff) 6:48 2nd
Penalties 	
none 	
none
Shots on Goal 	11–7–11–29 	3–5–5–13
Win/Loss 	W - Ryan Miller 	L - David Aebischer
==54th National Hockey League All-Star Game==
====The Format====
Instead of a regular 5-on-5 hockey game, the YoungStars game went back to the four-on-four format with each roster consisting of six forwards, four defencemen, and one goaltender. The game was played in three 10-minute running-clock periods and a four-minute intermission between each period. In addition, the head coaches of the game was Lou Nanne and Tom Reid who were former players of the Minnesota North Stars.
====The Game====
The YoungStars game, featuring rosters comprised entirely of rookies and some second-year players, saw the Western Conference YoungStars defeat the Eastern Conference 7–3. Anaheim's Joffrey Lupul scored a hat trick, San Jose's Jonathan Cheechoo picked up four assists and Colorado Avalanche goaltender Philippe Sauve was named the Game MVP, stopping 18 of 21 shots.
 	West 	East
Final score 	7 	3
Head coaches 	Lou Nanne 	Tom Reid
Lineup 	Forwards:
* 96 - Pierre-Marc Bouchard (Minnesota Wild)
* 14 - Jonathan Cheechoo (San Jose Sharks)
* 18 - Matthew Lombardi (Calgary Flames)
* 15 - Joffrey Lupul (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
* 15 - Tuomo Ruutu (Chicago Blackhawks) 
* 14 - Raffi Torres (Edmonton Oilers)
* 13 - Nikolai Zherdev (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Defence:
* 44 - Christian Ehrhoff (San Jose Sharks)
* 2 - Dan Hamhuis (Nashville Predators)
* 5 - Alexei Semenov (Edmonton Oilers) 
Goaltender:
* 30 - Philippe Sauve (Colorado Avalanche) - M.V.P.	Forwards:
* 37 - Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
* 7 - Trent Hunter (New York Islanders)
* 12 - Ryan Malone (Pittsburgh Penguins)
* 9 - Derek Roy (Buffalo Sabres)
* 73 - Michael Ryder (Montreal Canadiens)
* 12 - Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes)
* 14 - Matthew Stajan (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Defence:
* 44 - Joni Pitkanen (Philadelphia Flyers)
* 7 - Paul Martin (New Jersey Devils) 
* 44 - Brooks Orpik (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Goaltender:
* 1 - Andrew Raycroft (Boston Bruins)
Scoring summary	
* Torres (Cheechoo) 6:45 1st
* Zherdev (Ruutu) 9:35 1st
* Ehrhoff (Zherdev) 1:35 2nd
* Lupul (Cheechoo) 8:22 2nd (GWG)
* Lupul (Cheechoo) 2:05 3rd
* Bouchard (unassisted) 4:31 3rd
* Lupul (Cheechoo) 6:42 3rd	
* Staal (Bergeron, Ryder) 5:24 1st
* Malone (Stajan, Martin) 2:23 2nd
* Stajan (Hunter) 8:52 3rd
Penalties 	
none 	
none
Shots on goal 	8–6–10–24 	9–9–3–21
Win/Loss 	W - Philippe Sauve	L - Andrew Raycroft
==55th National Hockey League All-Star Game==
====The Format====
The YoungStars game continued playing the same format from the last All-Star weekend. The only change was that the head coaches that were named as assistant coaches in the NHL All-Star Game were chosen as the head coaches of the YoungStars Game.
====The Game====
The East's win was spurred by the six points from YoungStars MVP Zach Parise of the New Jersey Devils who had two goals and four assists, while Boston's Phil Kessel recorded a hat-trick just one month removed from undergoing successful surgery for testicular cancer.
 	East 	West 	
Final Score 	9 	8 	
Head Coaches 	Bob Hartley (Atlanta Thrashers)	Barry Trotz (Nashville Predators)	
Lineup 	Forwards:
* 44 - Patrick Eaves (Ottawa Senators)
* 81 - Phil Kessel (Boston Bruins)
* 71 - Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)
* 9 - Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils) - M.V.P.
* 11 - Jordan Staal (Pittsburgh Penguins) 
* 10 - Alex Steen (Toronto Maple Leafs)
* 26 - Thomas Vanek (Buffalo Sabres)
Defence:
* 52 - Mike Green (Washington Capitals) 
* 14 - Andrej Meszaros (Ottawa Senators)
* 54 - Paul Ranger (Tampa Bay Lightning)
* 19 - Ryan Whitney (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Goaltender:
* 32 - Kari Lehtonen (Atlanta Thrashers)	Forwards:
* 15 - Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks)
* 36 - Jussi Jokinen (Dallas Stars)
* 11 - Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles Kings)
* 47 - Alexander Radulov (Nashville Predators)
* 12 - Lee Stempniak (St. Louis Blues)
* 8 - Wojtek Wolski (Colorado Avalanche)
Defence:
* 18 - Matt Carle (San Jose Sharks)
* 7 - Brent Seabrook (Chicago Blackhawks) 
* 5 - Ladislav Smid (Edmonton Oilers)
* 6 - Shea Weber (Nashville Predators)
Goaltender:
* 31 - Peter Budaj (Colorado Avalanche)	
Scoring Summary	
* Parise (Vanek, Lehtonen) 1:32 1st
* Whitney (Staal, Steen) 3:35 1st
* Meszaros (Green, Steen) 9:47 1st
* Kessel (Ranger, Vanek) 0:26 2nd 
* Ranger (Green, Parise) 7:39 2nd
* Meszaros 2 (Steen, Parise) 9:22 2nd
* Kessel 2 (Green, Parise) 1:57 3rd
* Parise 2 (Ranger, Kessel) 2:41 3rd
* Kessel 3 (Staal, Parise) 4:00 3rd (PPG, GWG)	
* Kopitar (Weber, Jokinen) 0:27 1st
* Jokinen (Kopitar, Budaj) 4:30 1st
* Kopitar 2 (Smid) 3:35 2nd
* Carle (Wolski, Stempniak) 3:39 3rd
* Getzlaf (Kopitar, Weber) 4:15 3rd
* Getzlaf 2 (Kopitar) 5:39 3rd
* Carle 2 (Stempniak, Wolski) 7:01 3rd
* Radulov (unassisted) 7:51 3rd	
Penalties 	
none 	
* Seabrook (hooking) 3:02 3rd 	
Shots on Goal 	
8-13-6-28 	
8-7-9-24 	
Win/Loss 	W - Kari Lehtonen 	L - Peter Budaj 	
==56th National Hockey League All-Star Game==
====The Format====
The YoungStars game went from three periods to two periods for a total playing time of 20 minutes (10 minutes/period). In addition, the NHL made the YoungStars game to be part of the NHL SuperSkills Competition instead of making it a separate game and that no M.V.P. was going to be named. Furthermore, rookie goaltenders did not participate in the game, instead it was the actual veterans that were selected to play in the regular All-Star game. Coaches for the two teams are the same head coaches that were named in the All-Star game. 
====The Game====
Two first period goals and an assist by Brandon Dubinsky gave the East a 6-2 lead. Nicklas Backstrom added one more for the East in the second period, before the West YoungStars made it a close game by scoring four consecutive goals in less than three minutes. Dubinsky was named the MVP of the game. 
 	East 	West 	
Final Score 	7 	6 	
Head Coaches 	John Paddock (Ottawa Senators)	Mike Babcock (Detroit Red Wings)	
Lineup 	Forwards:
* Nicklas Backstrom (Washington Capitals)
* David Clarkson (New Jersey Devils)
* Brandon Dubinsky (New York Rangers) - M.V.P.
* Milan Lucic (Boston Bruins) 
Defence:
* Tobias Enstrom (Atlanta Thrashers) 
* Kris Letang (Pittsburgh Penguins)
* Mike Lundin (Tampa Bay Lightning)
* Marc Staal (New York Rangers)
Goaltender:
* Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins)
* Tomas Vokoun (Florida Panthers)	Forwards:
* Sam Gagner (Edmonton Oilers)
* Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks)
* Peter Mueller (Phoenix Coyotes)
* David Perron (St. Louis Blues)
Defence:
* Alex Edler (Vancouver Canucks)
* Erik Johnson (St. Louis Blues) 
* Jack Johnson (Los Angeles Kings)
* Matt Niskanen (Dallas Stars)
Goaltender:
* Chris Osgood (Detroit Red Wings)
* Manny Legace (St. Louis Blues)	
Scoring Summary	
* Clarkson (Enstrom) 0:18 1st
* Backstrom (Dubinsky) 2:26 1st
* Dubinsky (unassisted) 3:14 1st
* Staal (Clarkson) 4:11 1st
* Lucic (unassisted) 4:56 1st
* Dubinsky 2 (Lundin) 5:41 1st
* Backstrom 2 (unassisted) 0:34 2nd	
* Kane (unassisted) 2:57 1st
* Mueller (Niskanen) 5:29 1st
* Kane 2 (unassisted) 1:50 2nd
* E. Johnson (unassisted) 3:19 2nd
* Perron (Mueller) 3:44 2nd
* Gagner (E. Johnson) 4:30 2nd	
Penalties 	
none 	
none 	
Shots on Goal 	
12-9-21 	
6-10-16 	
Win/Loss 	W - Tim Thomas 	L - Chris Osgood 	
==57th National Hockey League All-Star Game==
====The Format====
The YoungStars game went back to three periods for a total playing time of 18 minutes (6 minutes/period) featuring a three-on-three (four inclduing the goalkeeper) rookies versus sophomores format, consisting of three six-minute periods with the clock stopping only within the last minute of each game. Coaching the rookies was Luc Robitaille and for the sophomores was Pete Mahovlich. Unlike last year, YoungStars goaltenders have been named, though sophomore goaltender Carey Price has volunteered to do double duty after Erik Ersberg withdrew from the game due to injury. The game saw rookie goaltender Pekka Rinne (who replaced Steve Mason) make 20 saves in a 9-5 victory for the rookies. Rookie Blake Wheeler was named the MVP of the YoungStars game after scoring four goals.
====The Game====
 	Rookie YoungStars	Sophomore YoungStars	
Final Score 	9 	5 	
Coaches 	Luc Robitaille 	Pete Mahovlich 	
Roster 	
 35 – G Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators)
 8 – D Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings)
 2 – D Luke Schenn (Toronto Maple Leafs)
 21 – F Patrik Berglund (St. Louis Blues)
 19 – F Mikkel Boedker (Phoenix Coyotes)
 67 – F Michael Frolik (Florida Panthers)
 18 – F James Neal (Dallas Stars)
 91 – F Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning)
 32 – F Kris Versteeg (Chicago Blackhawks)
 26 – F Blake Wheeler (Boston Bruins) - M.V.P.	
 31 – G Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens)
 58 – D Kris Letang (Pittsburgh Penguins)
 18 – D Marc Staal (New York Rangers)
 36 – F Dave Bolland (Chicago Blackhawks)
 13 – F Andrew Cogliano (Edmonton Oilers)
 17 – F Brandon Dubinsky (New York Rangers)
 10 – F Bryan Little (Atlanta Thrashers)
 57 – F David Perron (St. Louis Blues)
 21 – F Mason Raymond (Vancouver Canucks)
 16 – F Devin Setoguchi (San Jose Sharks)	
Scoring Summary	
* Berglund (Wheeler, Schenn) 1st
* Wheeler (Neal) 1st
* Stamkos (Schenn, Boedker) 1st
* Wheeler 2 (Doughty) 2nd
* Wheeler 3 (Boedker, Stamkos) 2nd
* Schenn (Berglund) 2nd
* Stamkos 2 (Boedker) 2nd
* Wheeler 4 (Boedker, Neal) 3rd
* Doughty (Neal) 3rd	
* Bolland (Raymond) 1st
* Staal (Cogliano) 2nd
* Raymond (Perron, Bolland) 2nd
* Staal 2 (Letang) 2nd
* Setoguchi (Little) 3rd	
Penalties 	
none 	
none 	
Shots on Goal 	
11-10-4-25 	
6-5-13-24 	
Win/Loss 	W - Pekka Rinne 	L - Carey Price 	
* Milan Lucic was named to the YoungStars game, but did not play.
* Erik Ersberg was named to the YoungStars game, but did not play.
* Steve Mason was named to the YoungStars game, but did not play.
* Nicklas Backstrom was named to the YoungStars game, but did not play.
* Kris Versteeg was named to the YoungStars game, but did not dress.
==References==
* http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4208189/
==External links==
* LCSHOCKEY.COM
YoungStars Game