Interesting gimmick...
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=5788378
NHL players to pick All-Star sides
ESPN.com news services
NEW YORK -- The NHL All-Star Game will look like a schoolyard pickup game this year.
The league announced Wednesday that it is switching from the conference-vs.-conference format it has used for years to a player draft conducted by the All-Stars themselves, in which captains selected by the players will determine the teams.
Given that canceling the event wasn't an option, the NHL made lemonade out of lemons by changing the All-Star Game format, writes ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun.
The 2011 All-Star Weekend will be hosted by Carolina on the last weekend in January.
Under the new format, two captains per team will select the remaining All-Stars in any order they choose. Those teams will compete in the All-Star Game and SuperSkills competition.
NHL vice president Brendan Shanahan says the goal is to "make the game more fun for everyone" and to "inject more excitement and intrigue into all the events."
Fans will vote for a starting team of three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie, regardless of conference. Voting begins Nov. 15 and runs through Jan. 3.
The league's Hockey Operations Department in Toronto will name the remaining 36 All-Stars to form a player pool, along with 12 rookies, for a total of 54 players. The 12 rookies will participate in the skills event, but the rookie game will not be played.
The players will then elect two captains, who will choose sides in a fantasy draft on Jan. 28. Each team must pick three goalies, six defensemen and 23 forwards, but they can pick in any order they choose.
Information from ESPN.com hockey writer Pierre LeBrun and The Associated Press was used in this report.