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 superstars such as Roberto Luongo, Ilya Kovalchuk, Dany Heatley, Pavel Datsyuk, Marian Gaborik, and Rick Nash have all played in the YoungStars Game.

52nd National Hockey League All-Star Game (2002)

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 Los Angeles Kings player and current broadcaster Jim Fox and former NHL player, Kings head coach, and current ESPN analyst Barry Melrose.

The Game

Atlanta's 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, and 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 MVP. The 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) - MVP 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 - Brenden 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.
• Krystofer 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.

53rd National Hockey League All-Star Game (2003)

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 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's Brian Sutherby won the MVP award 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 (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) - MVP 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 (Phoenix Coyotes) 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 (2004)

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 were Lou Nanne and Tom Reid, who were both former players of the now-relocated Minnesota North Stars.

The Game

The YoungStars game, featuring rosters composed 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 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 - Matt 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 (2007)

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) - MVP 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 (SHG) 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 (2008)

The Format

The YoungStars game went from three periods to two periods for a total playing time of 20 minutes (10 minutes per 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 MVP 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) - MVP Milan Lucic (Boston Bruins) Defence: Tobias Enstrom (Atlanta Thrashers) Kristopher 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: Alexander 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 (2009)

The Format

The YoungStars game went back to three periods for a total playing time of 18 minutes (6 minutes per period) featuring a three-on-three (four including 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
Head Coaches	Luc Robitaille	Pete Mahovlich
Lineup	Forwards: Patrik Berglund (St. Louis Blues) Mikkel Boedker (Phoenix Coyotes) Michael Frolik (Florida Panthers) James Neal (Dallas Stars) Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning) Kris Versteeg (Chicago Blackhawks) Blake Wheeler (Boston Bruins) - MVP Defence: Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings) Luke Schenn (Toronto Maple Leafs) Goaltender: Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators)	Forwards Dave Bolland (Chicago Blackhawks) Andrew Cogliano (Edmonton Oilers) Brandon Dubinsky (New York Rangers) Bryan Little (Atlanta Thrashers) David Perron (St. Louis Blues) Mason Raymond (Vancouver Canucks) Devin Setoguchi (San Jose Sharks) Defence: Kristopher Letang (Pittsburgh Penguins) Marc Staal (New York Rangers) Goaltender: Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens)
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.

YoungStars Trivia

• Ilya Kovalchuk's performance in 2002 is still in the record books for most goals scored in a game, most goals in a period, most points in a game, and fastest two goals by a player.

References

• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4208189/

External links

• LCSHOCKEY.COM