KHL All Star game

Here’s what the 2 first lines for the KHL All Star game look like. First line was voted by fans, second by journalists.

The game willbe played on February 5th in the Ice Palace in Saint Petersburg, which is SKA’s home arena.

Team Yashin (West)

1st line:

Aleksei Jashin (SKA) - Maksim Sushinski (SKA) - Sergei Mozjakin (Atlant Mytishtshi)
Aleksandr Guskov (Lokomotiv Jaroslavl) - Sandis Ozolinsh (Riga Dynamo)

2nd line:

Josef Vasicek (Lokomotiv) - Mattias Weinhandl (SKA) - Maxim Afinogenov (SKA)
Karel Rachunek (Lokomotiv) - Denis Grebeshkov (SKA)

Goalies:

Dominik Hasek (Spartak Moscow), Konstantin Barulin (Atlant Mytishtshi)

Coaches

Oleg Znarog (Moscow Dynamo), Vladimir Vujtek (Lokomotiv)

Team Jagr (East)

1st line:

Jaromir Jagr (Avangard Omsk) - Roman Cervenka (Avangard Omsk) - Aleksandr Radulov (Salavat Julajev Ufa)
Martin Skoula (Avangard Omsk) - Ilja Nikulin (Ak Bars Kazan)

2nd line:

Alexei Morozov (Ak Bars Kazan) - Patrick Thoresen (Salavat Julajev Ufa) - Lukas Kaspar (Barys Astana)
Kevin Dallman (Barys Astana) - Janne Niskala (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)

Goalies:

Karri Rämö (Avangard Omsk), Stefan Liv (Sibir Novosibirsk)7

Coaches:

Zinetula Bilyaletdinov (Ak Bars Kazan), Kari Heikkilä (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)

"Big Buf" and "Toby Orr"

Big Buf and Toby

Wonder who's Idefix in this play?

In case you didn't get it, the headline refers to Thrashers defence pair Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enström who are - beside rocking the d-men's scoring list - selected to the All Star game. Since one of them is Swedish, hockeybladet.se decided to make an article of them. And I'm glad they did because now I keep imagining Buf skating on the ice with red hair and blue and white striped pants with no shirt. Wait, actually I am not glad of that... Anyways, here's what they got.

"We are as different as one can be"

Giant Byfuglien and game genius Enström is the hottest defence pair in NHL.

They are as unlikely pair as Asterix and Obelix. But together Atlanta's Big and Small form the hottest defence pair in NHL - 120 kg Dustin Byfuglien leads defencemen in scoring and 80kg Enström is 3rd.
- Yeah, we're as different as one can be but we think hockey the same and have fun together. I really like to play with Toby, says "Big Buf" when Sportblader visited Georgia.

One may search in vain to try to find a more unusual configuration in the NHL than those who represent the Atlanta Thrashers first backpar.

On one side we hace Dustin Byfuglien, a loud african-american who is 198 cm tall and weights 120 kg - and on the other side Tobias Enström, a quiet 178 cm tall and 80kg Ångermanland native.
Furthermore, they are each other's polar opposites as hockey player; one is physical, bushy and unpredictable in his runs over the ice, the other calculating, smart and almost as cool in his action as Nicklas Lidström.

"Complete each other"

Logically they shouldn't fit together better than ketchup and red wine.
- No, says Enström with a smile when we meet the duo in home arena Phillips Arena, I can imagine it may seem bit strange from the crowd. We probably look right out hilarious together. But it works just fine, we complement each other.
Indeed, despite the differencies "Big Buf" and "Toby Orr" are "a marriege made in heaven". No other defence pair in the league can produce anywhere near as much offensively. Byfuglien - who came to Atlanta from championship team Chicago before this season - is the highest scoring defenceman in the league with 16 goals and 25 assists, and Enström holds the 3rd place with 8 goals and 30 assists.

Have fun off the ice too

-"Buf" played as forward before and he still think bit of that way. It feels like he's everywhere on the ice and sometimes it can well turn bit backwards (svänga lite bakåt, not sure how to translate), but it's absolutely no problem. I've said to him that as long as he produces, he can be whatever he want to. He's a really nice guy to play hockey with, continues Enström.
The joy is mutual.
-Yea, I really like to play together with Toby, says Byfuglien.
- We are as different as one can be but we think hockey the same way. I think that's the secret behind our success. And we have fun too, as one must.
The duo has fun off the ice too - and in any other way, if you believe Toby, it can't be when the radar par is nearby.

"Incredibly funny"

-I haven't met many people like him... he's incredibly funny. If something fun happens, one knows to just go to Buf, he stands behind it. I am myself bit calmer, but his manners may have infected a bit...
That confirms the 25 year old Stanley Cup winner.
-yes, Toby can too, don't think anything else. But we know when it's time to have fun and when it's to be serious. It is a one part of success too, says him.
Atlanta has had a much better first half of the season than anyone expected - and therefor comes opportunities for pranks and to laugh more often...
-My past three seasons here have been bit of up and down but now we are winning and it's a big difference in harmony. One plays hockey to win. It will be interesting to see if we can keep it this way and take the playoff spot. I think it looks promising, says Enström.
Yes, Big and Small have found each other.

2011 draft - European skaters

NHL draft is still months away but it's never to early too check how overwhelming Swedes are compared to rest of us losers...

European skaters top 30

Name	Country	Position	Shoot	Height	Weight
Adam Larsson	SWE	D	R	6’3	200
Joel Armia	FIN	RW	R	6’3	191
Mika Zibanejad	SWE	C	R	6’2	191
Jonas Brodin	SWE	D	L	6’1	165
Dmitri Jaskin	CZH	W	L	6’1	196
Max Friberg	SWE	LW	R	5’11	185
Miikka Salomäki	FIN	C	L	5’11	198
Oscar Klefborn	SWE	D	L	6’4	200
Victor Rask	SWE	C	L	6’2	194
Joachim Nermark	SWE	C	L	6’1	187
Zachar Arzamastsev	RUS	D	L	6’2	205
Karl Johansson	SWE	D	L	5’9	167
Oleg Misyul	RUS	D	L	6’1	196
Jeremy Boyce	SWE	LW	L	6’0	169
Ilya Nekolenko	RUS	D	L	6’3	198
Markus Granlund	FIN	C	L	5’10	169
Johan Sundström	SWE	C	R	6’2	196
Anton Saveliev	RUS	D	L	6’4	196
Gregory Hofmann	SUI	C	L	6’0	170
Maxim Shalunov	RUS	RW	L	6’3	185
Alessio Bertaggia	SUI	C	L	5’8	156
Victor Berglind	SWE	D	R	5’11	180
Nikita Zaytsev	RUS	D	R	6’1	172
Peter Ceresnak	SVK	D	R	6’3	209
Ildar Isangulov	RUS	D	L	6’3	226
Rasmus Bengtsson	SWE	D	L	6’3	189
Fredrik Claesson	SWE	D	L	6’0	198
Jyrki Jokipakka	FIN	D	L	6’3	191
Dean Kukan	SUI	D	L	6’1	187
Albert Yarullin	RUS	D	R	6’0	194

• The Swedish invation will apparently continue as 13 of those 30 players are Swedes. 7 of them are in top 10
• Meanwhile Finland has 4 players in top 30, 2 of whom gets into the top 10
• I don't care what it takes, but Finland needs to steal Sweden's junior system.
• Russia has 8 players in the list which is quite nice if their best wouldn't be ranked as number 11
• Completely stunningly Russia has only 2 forwards on the list. And yes, that means 6 of the ranked Russians are defencemen.
  
• This defencemen oriented thing applies to the whole list as it includes 17 defencemen and 13 forwards
• Only two forwards play righthanded
• 3 players from Switzerland while Czech and Slovakia only have one
• Didn't check this but European players seem bit smaller than North Americans