‘DSC_7711’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

Fan voting for the NHL All-Star game this year opened yesterday. Three Caps players are on the list for fans to select from: Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Ovechkin, and Mike Green. Shockingly, Alexander Semin is missing from the list, a mistake of great proportions. Semin currently ranks second in the league in goals (13) and fourth in points (23) and leads the Caps in goals scored. He was also named one of the NHL’s three stars of last week. It’s a little puzzling, considering there are other less-than-stellar players on the ballot this year. (We’re looking at you, Ilya Kovalchuk…)

This year’s All-Star game will have a different format, featuring an “All-Star Fantasy Draft” where the captains for each side will select from a pool of players chosen by fan balloting and the NHL. Captains will be chosen by the final group of 42 players selected for the All-Star game. (Even odds it’ll be “Ovechkin vs. Crosby.” I’m just sayin’.)

Another notable Caps name missing from the fan ballot is rookie netminder Michal Neuvirth. Tied for the league lead in wins (11), Neuvirth has posted a respectable 2.60 GAA and .910 Save Percentage through 16 games played. Hopefully the league will wise up and allot one of the All-Star slots to the Caps’ latest standout – provided he remains healthy and on top of his game. But it wouldn’t hurt if Caps fans started a write-in campaign to get Neuvirth some votes…

So what say we start a write-in campaign for Alexander Semin?