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Tuesday, January 8, 2008
No common sense in voting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, we expected this didn’t we? Two-plus weeks before the All-Star game and Ilya Kovalchuk is leading the league in goals and not showing any signs of slowing down, and he will not be starting the NHL All-Star game in front of hometown fans.
Nothing against Sidney Crosby, Vincent Lecavalier (I love saying his name; I’m saying it now), or Daniel Alfredsson, but voters who didn’t have Kovy in their top three are voting with their heart, and their local biases, and not any common sense.
But is this how these things go? Unfortunately for Kovalchuk, is this just another price he has to pay for playing hockey in a Southern town?
So he’ll be on the team and he’ll take it like a gentleman (more to come from him tonight or tomorrow) and perhaps he’ll be a little extra motivated come Jan. 26.
But what doesn’t add up in some ways is that he was the leading vote-getter for the All-Star game in 2003-04. This time he was sixth. What’s happened to the voting populace in the meantime? Was the competition just stiffer?
I’m curious what you guys think about that. And if you think this was at all avoidable or is it just the way it goes. Was there some marketing answer for this? Some creative campaign a fan might have come up with?
Or is it even that big of a deal. You tell me.
In the meantime, Craig is busy working on stories for our All-Star game coverage, and I’ve been watching the team for a couple of days.
Johan Hedberg is in goal tonight. He’s won his last two games, including Sunday vs. Buffalo, and Kari Lehtonen has lost his last two. Don Waddell’s explanation was: “He played well the other night; he deserves a start again.”
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