until a 5,000-seat arena can be built
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:51 amWho will be the first selection? Who will find themselves in Phil Kessels position from a year ago as the last player picked? These are the questions, as 50 of the best hockey players in the world - 38 veterans and 12 rookies - are up for grabs tonight in the NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft. . You can watch the draft live on TSN and TSN Mobile TV at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Fans can also join in our Live Blog on TSN.ca to discuss each and every pick. The two All-Star teams will be captained by Ottawa Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson and Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara. Along with their assistant captains; Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers and Joffrey Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs, they will divide the remaining All-Stars to form the two teams. Teammates could become opponents and brothers could become combatants as captains Alfredsson and Chara look to stack their teams. The first selection will be determined by a coin flip, with Alfredsson and Chara then alternating picks until the final All-Star is left sitting alone in the stands. Each team must be made up of three goaltenders, six defencemen and 12 forwards. And to make sure that the final draft picks are true selections and not simply predetermined by position requirements, the NHL has set rules as to when each teams positional limits must be reached. Each teams three goalies must be picked by the end of Round 10 while each teams six defencemen must be selected by the end of Round 15. The teams will compete in the NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday and the 2012 NHL All-Star Game on Sunday. The 12 rookies participating in the skills competition will be divided by the NHL into two groups of six. At the end of the 15th round of the Fantasy Draft, one rookie will be selected to choose which All-Star team his group will join for the skills competition. Last years draft saw captain Eric Staal select his teammate Cam Ward with the first pick, while Nicklas Lidstrom chose Steven Stamkos with his first selection. The dubious honour of being the final player chosen last year went to Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel. It wasnt all bad for Kessel though, as he took home a brand new car and had a donation made in his name to a charity of his choice for being the last man in the stands. This year, the NHL Foundation and the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund each will donate $10,000 on behalf of the All-Star selected with the final pick to the grassroots hockey program of his choice. Kessel is unlikely to be selected last again with the way he has played in the first half of the season, and the fact that his linemate Lupul is an alternate captain on the Chara team. So in all likelihood, it will be another player sitting up there all by his lonesome. The only question is: who will it be? .Bruno Halkiadakis opened the scoring for Ergotelis in the 13th minute from long range, and Nikos Kaltsas equalized with a free kick four minutes later. .With Paes serving for the match, Hingis, a five-time singles champion, hit a hard overhead to Mladenovic, who netted a half volley from near the baseline.Hingis, who won three singles and six doubles titles at Melbourne Park, returned to the tour to play doubles in 2013 and teamed with the 41-year-old Paes for the first time at the Australian Open. .com) - Sam Gagner and Devan Dubnyk, two former Oilers, led the Arizona Coyotes to a 5-1 win in Edmonton Tuesday.HARTFORD, Conn. - Connecticut brought Hockey East to Hartford with a big upset Wednesday night.Playing their first season in one of the nations premier conferences, the Huskies stunned No. 3 Boston College 1-0 before 8,089 fans who turned out for the teams home opener at the XL Center.Rob Nichols made 35 saves for UConn (2-4-2, 1-2 Hockey East) against the five-time national champions.Evan Richardson, a BC transfer, had the only goal. He stepped into the left faceoff circle and beat goalie Thatcher Demko on a power play in the first period. The crowd broke into towel-waving cheers as Brass Bonanza, the old Hartford Whalers fight song, blared from the speakers.Fans were on their feet for the last 2 minutes of the game, as Nichols faced a barrage of shots from the Eagles (4-3, 1-2) before being mobbed by his teammates at the final horn.That was pretty special to be a part of, Richardson said. As a player, you try not to let that get into your head, but youve got to kind of take a minute, look around and realize what youre doing is pretty fun.The win was the Huskies first in Hockey East and the first time they beat a top-5 opponent.Boston College had not been shut out in 106 games, since January 2012. UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh was an assistant coach on that BC team.Tonight was a really amazing night, Cavanaugh said.His mentor, Boston College coach Jerry York, agreed.We saw a fan base tonight that was very excited. We saw a venue that was difficult to play in because of that, he said.UConn plans to play in Hartford for the next several years, until a 5,000-seat arena can be built on the schools campus in Storrs, abouut 30 miles away. . The downtown arena, which hosts some Huskies basketball games and was once home to the Whalers, underwent a $35 million renovation this summer. The building seats 15,000, but UConn was turning fans away at the door. The school has the arena configured for about 6,000 fans, with giant curtains blocking access to much of the upper bowl in an attempt to create a more intimate atmosphere.I dont think it fills the void of the Whalers, but this is definitely a plus for us, said 27-year-old Sloan Sandler of Bloomfield, who wore a Whalers jersey to her first UConn game. Were going to try and come as often as possible.Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who graduated from Boston College, attended the game with his family. He said he will push for UConn to continue to play the bulk of its Hockey East games in Hartford, even after the on-campus arena is built.I think tonight is a great demonstration of why — the ability to draw more people here than are going to be drawn for hockey out there, he said.UConn has spent two years making the transition to Hockey East from a non-scholarship Division I program in the Atlantic Hockey Association. Since 1998, the Huskies had played in a 2,000-seat, on-campus rink with metal bleachers.Cavanaugh said he believes the school, which has won 13 national mens and womens basketball championships, has the potential to be a hockey draw wherever it plays and for a long time.I dont want to be the Macarena or the Hustle or a one-hit wonder, he said. I want to be the team thats continually packing this building and a team thats competing for national championships. ' ' '