All-Star Reserves: Big Names MIA

Here's part two of the coverage of the 2007 NHL All-Star game, the first one in 3 years no less. On Saturday, the NHL released the rest of the All-Star rosters, as were chosen by the respective coaches of each side. We've got a lot of players to get to so let's jump in shall we?

EAST RESERVES - As selected by coach Lindy Ruff

Forwards

1. Jason Blake - Having a great year on the Island, understandable pick
2. Simon Gagne - Terribly underachieving on an awful team, makes little sense
3. Dany Heatley - Has his team going strong again with 58 points
4. Marian Hossa - Very deserving, outplaying superstar Kovalchuk
5. Vincent Lecavalier - Hate his guts but have to admit he deserves it
6. Martin St. Louis - Has just as many crazy points as Lecavalier, only in miniature form
7. Brendan Shanahan - Way outdoing himself in the late 30's
8. Eric Staal - Not truly deserving compared to teammate Whitney, having a slumped year
9. Justin Williams - Not quite as good as Brind'Amour thus far but good player (read: diver) in his own right

Defensemen

1. Jay Bouwmeester - Great choice (yes biased sorry) but still one of the best young defensemen in the league and possibly the best skating one there is
2. Zdeno Chara - Not quite lighting the world on fire but keeping his Bruins in there and as the captain no less
3. Tomas Kaberle - Nice to see them pick the much better Toronto defenseman
4. Brian Rafalski - I'm not overly impressed by him but the East's defense is left wanting anyway

Goalies

1. Martin Brodeur - Total no-brainer, should have been the starter
2. Cristobal Huet - Many might be confused by this pick but he is quietly making an amazing season for himself

WEST RESERVES - As selected by coach Randy Carlyle

Forwards

1. Bill Guerin - Having a pretty good season but not so sure if he's worthy
2. Martin Havlat - Though oft-injured he certainly does have point per game potential
3. Patrick Marleau - Nice to see him recognized in the shadow of Thornton
4. Rick Nash - Seriously? I know what he's done before but he's SUPER underachieving, for a guy who won the Rocket Richard trophy not so long ago
5. Yannic Perreault - This one really reeks of desperation. I know he's done great stuff since signing a month into the season but is he really an All-Star?
6. Brian Rolston - Yes, thank you for not ignoring the Wild's real star (ahem Mr. Gaborik)
7. Teemu Selanne - What can I say, having a ridiculously good season, he's still got it
8. Ryan Smyth - Numbers aren't amazing except that he's missed at least 10 or more games with almost a point per game pace himself
9. Henrik Zetterberg - No offense to him and his talent, but his awful start to the year has made him only above average

Defensemen

1. Phillipe Boucher - Hell of a season and virtually outdueling Sergei Zubov
2. Dion Phaneuf - The first of many, a force to be reckoned with
3. Kimmo Timonen - A captain now and rising above partner Zidlicky
4. Lubomir Visnovsky - Once again let's the new NHL flourish with him

Goalies

1. Miikka Kiprusoff - Pretty good season, Vezina winner, finally gets here
2. Marty Turco - A good season but nothing like Giguere or Hasek

Well there you have the rosters completed. What's ultimately shocking is that players like Jagr, Kovalchuk, Pronger, Iginla, Hasek, Giguere, Afinogenov, Jokinen and more were not invited, and some especially in the West are very questionable choices. To say the least many of these are puzzling although to be fair some of those that would be chosen will be injured like Pronger. The game should be very interesting and I also look forward to the skills competition. I hope to have my thoughts on the game's result after next week.

See you at the red line, questionable All-Star choices.