Best player to never participate in an All Star Game?

[Victoire HuGo]

A poster on the Habs board made an interesting observation, Max Pacioretty despite being one of the league's top scorers in the last five years has never participated in an ASG. Now I'm sure there are better players than Pac who never got that opportunity but I was wondering who those players may be.


Note: players before the first ASG (1947) obviously don't count

 

[VoluntaryDom]

Before this year, Hedman and Kucherov. Now, maybe Schiefele? (Or Patches)

 

[MXD]

Before this year, Hedman and Kucherov. Now, maybe Schiefele? (Or Patches)

Schiefele is... quite behind Max Pacioretty career-wise at this point, no? Hell, I can't really see how Kucherov would be considered the better player.
But there has to be someone who is better than Pacioretty.

 

[hototogisu]

Puck Daddy did an article about this a couple years ago, some interesting/surprising names.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...stars-that-never-actually-were-160140916.html

 

[Victoire HuGo]

Puck Daddy did an article about this a couple years ago, some interesting/surprising names.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...stars-that-never-actually-were-160140916.html

Wow, thanks for the link. Nedved is definitely the one that surprised me the most.

 

[Wingsfan 4 life]

Of active players, Zetterberg was selected twice, but didn't participate either time due to injury. Not sure if that counts.

Just wanted to note that from 1947-1968, the format wasn't all star team vs all star team. It was defending champs vs all star team.

 

[c9777666]

Puck Daddy did an article about this a couple years ago, some interesting/surprising names.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...stars-that-never-actually-were-160140916.html

Essensa I could argue had more of a case than Belfour to start the 1992 All-Star Game alongside McLean/Cheveldae or Casey/Vernon in 1993

 

[c9777666]

Kelly Hrudey's an interesting name that popped up on the Puck Daddy article, but I think he got dinged by the '2 Goalies per team rule' that got changed after 1991 (His best season as an Islander was 1988- I think he's probably the third goalie had that rule been difference in the '88 ASG behind Roy/Hextall.

 

[Pominville Knows]

Puck Daddy did an article about this a couple years ago, some interesting/surprising names.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...stars-that-never-actually-were-160140916.html

Nedved might be the player with the best least technically decorated but most interesting career path ever. This due to him also hardly playing for the national team, and when he did he either did it for a foreign country or when being old as a Santa.

 

[Roboturner913]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I do not believe Cory Stillman ever made an All-Star game and he was a 25-goal, 70 point type of player for a while.

 

[GMR]

Zetterberg hands down.

Arguable HHOF player. How many of those never played in an ASG?

 

[hototogisu]

Zetterberg hands down.

Arguable HHOF player. How many of those never played in an ASG?

I guess that raises a question of distinction between "never played in an ASG" and "never selected as an all-star"...because technically he was selected twice, it's not like he was passed over his whole career.

 

[Big Phil]

Wow really? Claude Lemieux never played in an all-star game huh? That surprises me a bit. I guess he never had a season worth it though. Even Dale Hunter got into one of them (as what they called the commissioner's choice in 1997). Think of it as an honourary all-star selection for career acheievement. Which surprises me that Claude never got this.

It would surprise a lot of people that Sidney Crosby has played in just one more all-star game than Auston Matthews. Really.

Adam Foote was often a name bounced around a lot as someone who never played in an all-star game. Not sure he had a career as good as even someone like Nedved or Drury though. With Drury I can see why he was never selected. Nedved you get the feeling 1996 or even 2001 or something like that was a year where he was good enough.

Then again, John Scott has played in an all-star game and Rory Fitzpatrick almost did too. Both from what I remember sort of defended the idea that "Hey, the fans want me so I should be allowed to go". I get that, but it also is one of the reasons the all-star game is so cheapened so really is it considered a knock to never play in one of them?

 

[Big Phil]

Don Sweeney and Ken Daneyko never played in one if you are looking at solid defensive defensemen. Chris Phillips is another name. I mean, these guys played well over 1000 games. Glen Wesley had a good enough career that you figure he'd have played in more than one back in 1989.

I've got another name............Petr Sykora. Never played in one. His career wasn't any worse than Nedved's I don't think. So there you go. We can fight it out with these two because I think that is probably your top two unless we can find someone else. Zetterberg I guess technically would count though right? If so, it's him.

 

[c9777666]

It would surprise a lot of people that Sidney Crosby has played in just one more all-star game than Auston Matthews. Really.

In fairness, a lot of other things got in the way.

Three of Crosby's healthy years (2006, 2010, 2014) were Olympic Seasons. 4 other times, he was injured.

 

[Sentinel]

If Zett is ineligible, I say Lemieux.

 

[crobro]

Larionov?

 

[SidGenoMario]

2015-2016 Sidney Crosby is the best player to not make the all-star game.

 

[crobro]

Maybe should rephrase as which HHOF players never played in an all star game

 

[aemoreira1981]

Puck Daddy did an article about this a couple years ago, some interesting/surprising names.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...stars-that-never-actually-were-160140916.html

The ones that really stand out are Petr Nedved (a surprise actually) and Guy Carbonneau, a defensive specialist, who from 1985-1992 was a perennial finalist for the Selke (winning it 3 times). He should have made it in 1988-89.

 

[VanIslander]

This is a HOCKEY HISTORY board, so...

Not including all those all-time greats in other leagues (e.g., pre-NHL, NHA, PCHA, WHA, Soviet, Czechoslovakian):

1. Claude Lemieux (one of the most clutch playoff scorers in hockey history)

2. Guy Carbonneau (if you can name five better defensive forwards EVER your judgement is **** - or mine is.)

3. Francois Beauchemin (How does a guy get a 2nd team-all star selection and the NHL's top defensive defenseman award and never get invited to the all-star game?)

 

[VanIslander]

Note: Petr Nedved was a ARGGGGHHH> *swear* *swear* (I am from Vancouver, so i had high hopes for him.)

I followed him from his rookie season and the only highlight I can credit him with is as a Pittsburgh player upsetting the Caps in an epic playoff OT game when both Mario and Jagr were effectively being checked by Washington players, leaving Nedved to be the hero!

 

[Big Phil]

2015-2016 Sidney Crosby is the best player to not make the all-star game.

Yes. I mean, this is insane. Crosby was a 1st team all-star that year and finished 2nd in Hart voting. The reason for this was a shockingly bad start to his season. He had 3 points in his first 9 games, and all of them were in one game. Yeah, that was bad, but people act like the season is 30 games. He's never been the fastest starter to the season but this was bad and most of it was because of a terrible coach who didn't know that you just let Crosby do what he has to do on the ice and you'll be successful.

In fairness, a lot of other things got in the way.

Three of Crosby's healthy years (2006, 2010, 2014) were Olympic Seasons. 4 other times, he was injured.

Oh I know, and I don't blame him either.

 

[Nalens Oga]

How about Adam Foote? D Hatcher and Scott Stevens got theres but the cornerstone of the Avs blueline during the dead puck era never did. As an Avs fan, I'd take him over any of Ricci/Lemieux/Drury mentioned in that PuckDaddy article.

 

[Disengage]

Surprised no one has mentioned Anton Stastny. Doesn't have huge career numbers due to a late career but was always a consistent point per game player.