The NHL All-Star Game draft will be held tonight at 8:00 PM on Versus, and Mike Green will be one of the alternate captains assisting team captain Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes in choosing players to occupy his squad. And so the question must be asked: Will Green lobby Staal to select his Washington Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin? Surely Green doesn't want to have to defend the two-time MVP if Ovechkin were to be selected instead by Nicklas Lidstrom.
According to one mock draft held on the NHL Network earlier today, Staal and Green might not waste any time in selecting Ovechkin. Kevin Weekes, an NHL Network analyst who played with Staal for one season, thinks that his former teammate might draft Ovechkin with his first pick tonight.
"He's one of the most dynamic players in the National Hockey League," [Weekes] said. "Speed, size, laser-like shot, loves to play the game, tons of passion. He brings it each and every night."
We would be surprised to see Ovechkin go first. After all, he's having his worst statistical season in years, and Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning seems to be the consensus No. 1, but we're all curious to see where the Capitals' captain winds up.