Last season, the Blackhawks didn’t get a representative at the NHL All-Star Game after Connor Bedard suffered a broken jaw. This year will mark the second winter in a row where Chicago won’t be represented at the All-Star Game, but neither will the rest of the league. The NHL will be holding an international tournament between NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States instead of All-Star Weekend.
When team selections are announced on Wednesday, there’s a decent chance that multiple Blackhawks could make the list. Teuvo Teravainen is a virtual lock to make Team Finland, Connor Bedard could sneak onto Team Canada and Alex Vlasic could make Team USA.
There was never much doubt that Teravainen would make Team Finland, and he’ll probably be on their top six. The team has plenty of top talent like Aleksander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen, Artturi Lehkonen and others, but not as much depth as the others in the tournament. Teravainen hasn’t found much that much success this year with six goals and 12 points in 24 games, but he’ll hear his name called Wednesday.
Team Canada is once again expected to be a favorite/highly competitive group. As a result, Bedard could become the most polarizing player of the roster announcements. On one hand, he’s the “future of hockey” and an immensely talented player who would be representing Canada as a pro for the first time. On the other hand, he’s still 19 years old and has a ways to go before he can be labeled a perennial superstar. With multiple long scoring slumps this season, he hasn’t made the best closing arguments. Still, there’s a decent chance he makes the roster, even as an extra skater.
Meanwhile, one skater who isn’t getting nearly as much consideration as he should is Alex Vlasic, who has a case to be on Team USA in February. The big defenseman has gradually turned into one of the best blueliners in the entire NHL, especially at stopping the puck. This season hasn’t been a great case for Vlasic, who hasn’t scored a goal just yet and is -5 on the year. However, there’s no question he’s one of the most valuable Blackhawks and one of the best defensemen in the league. It looks like there will be more of an emphasis on two-way talent for Team USA, but the squad could use Vlasic’s talents. With plenty of offensive firepower on every team in the competition, a defensive defenseman like Vlasic could be the key to finding success. He’s probably on the outside looking in at this point, but he should at least be considered more than he currently is.
