The All-Star rosters were announced this afternoon, and the Ottawa Senator representation was increased to 5 with the addition of winger Colin Greening as one of the 12 rookie picks. The rookies participate in the skills competition, so Greening might get to participate in his specialty, the fastest skater.
Other surprises on the rosters were the absence of super-veterans Teemu Selanne and Nick Lidstrom, but word is that both asked to be excluded in order to get a few days rest. I believe they are entitled, and they have put in their time to the All-Star Weekends past.
Three former Senators will be participating: Marian Hossa (CHI), Zdeno Chara (BOS), and Brian Elliott (STL). Dany Heatley was excluded from the game (and rightly so).
All-Star weekend kicks off with the drafting of players that will take place Thursday Jan 26th at 8pm, with the Skills Competition Saturday and then the actual game on Sunday. Daniel Alfredsson will likely be named a captain, and for the sake of “friendly” competition it would be fitting for either Phil Kessel or Dion Phaneuf to captain the other side.
The Full lisitng of players named today can be found HERE.