Carolina Hurricanes: Dougie Hamilton Named to 2020 All Star Game

The Carolina Hurricanes are officially sending Dougie Hamilton to the All Star Game in St. Louis late next month. Is there a chance of sending more players?

The All Star Game is right around the corner. A time of fun festivities and hockey showcasing the best players in the league. The rules dictate that each team sends at least one player to the the game and Hurricanes player Dougie Hamilton has been the selection from Carolina. There is no doubt he deserves to be there, but perhaps other players from the Canes also deserved to go?

Before we get into that lets quickly talk about the All Star game. It has seen many variations and currently is a two day event that starts with a skills competition on day one and a 3v3 tournament between the four divisions on the second day. Each day is surrounded with fan engagement and secondary events like the mascot game.

There are many mixed feelings about the tournament. Some believe that it is critical to fan development and the creation of something more in the league. Others believe that the showcase has turned into a useless paltry trick of an event. A dog and pony show that needn’t happen. Some will point out that the league values the ASG over the Olympics as evidence that it needs to stop.

But that is neither here nor there. For now Dougie Hamilton is the single lone contributer to the All Star Game from the Carolina Hurricanes. Hamilton was the obvious choice. His 13 goals and 23 assists put him tied for second in goal scoring and fourth in overall points among NHL defensemen.

There is no doubt that Hamilton deserves to head to the ASG this season. If he keeps this pace he might be heading for a Norris Trophy winning season. But there are other Carolina Hurricanes that also deserve to be named to this event as well. Namely Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, and Andrei Svechnikov. The fact that none of them are going is a serious crime.

The bigger of the three crimes is Sebastian Aho. Aho is currently FIFTH in the NHL in goal scoring. Fifth. The fact that he isn’t one of the SIX forwards from the Metro going to the ASG is straight up egregious. Not only does he deserve a second appearance at the ASG, but it should have been an automatic choice.

Lets put it this way, without Ovechkin, Sebastian Aho is the best available goal scorer for the Metro. 

He has as many goals as Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Nathan MacKinnon. He is second in the Metro only to Alex Ovechkin, who we will get to in a bit. The evidence is there. Its a sham that Aho was not selected, even with the tough competition in the division.

Teuvo Teravainen on the other hand leads the Metro Divison in assists and is eight overall in the league. The man is probably the best passer in the league and is currently not going to the ASG. He was on the fan choice last season as the additional player and failed to produce the necessary votes. This year he deserves to go on the initial vote but will once again be a last man in vote:

Then comes Andrei Svechnikov, who has the leagues only two Lacrosse style goals, leads the Carolina Hurricanes in points, and is fourth in the Metro in points as well. That is a lot when you think of just how much talent is in this division. Not to mention that he is probably the most exciting young player to watch this season.

When it came time to look at potential All Star names to send to the game, we had predicted that Carolina would send two or three players, perhaps even four. They were taking the league by storm and playing really well, even when they were on the wrong end of some bad scores, they were generating good play and have generally been one the best teams in the league.

The only good news to consider is that there is a vacancy on forwards left behind by one Alex Ovechkin, who was voted captain but decided to sit out the All-Star game once again in some sort of partial protest against the game or the league and to rest his body for the second half of the season.

With Washington already getting two players named to the All Star Game, perhaps its time for the league to wake up and smell the incoming storm. There are many who predict that the spot should rightfully go to another Washington Capital. But I say that they should go down the scoring stats from Alex Ovechkin down to Sebastian Aho no vote needed.

Lets put it this way, without Ovechkin, Sebastian Aho is the best available goal scorer for the Metro. Why on earth would they not vote to send him? What insane math would force them to send someone else?

More from Cardiac Cane

• 2023 Southeast Rookie Showcase: Takeaways from the Canes’ Strong Showing in Florida
• Week Two Coverage Of College Hockey In NC
• Derek Stepan Ends His On Ice Career As A Hurricane
• The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
• Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes

In fact if they are going to have another fan vote Andrei Svechnikov should be on the ballot with the promise that he will attempt the “svech” at least three times in the tournament. If the All Star Game is going to be about the best players in the league competing, perhaps the best players in the league should go. That includes players like Aho, Teravainen, and Svechnikov.

It remains to be seen if any of these players will be invited to go to replace Ovechkin. For now all we can do is congratulate Dougie Hamilton and wait with baited breath to see what the new Jerseys will look like so we can all go buy #19 Jerseys. Perhaps we will get another chance to buy All Star #20 jerseys once again.

Question for CC Readers: Did Aho, Teravainen, or Svechnikov get snubbed from the ASG?