NHL All-Star Game 2024: Mock Draft for 3-on-3 Format

It's nearly time for a large group of the NHL's best players to gather in Toronto. The 2023-24 season will take a pause later this week for the league's annual All-Star festivities, which will occur Thursday, Friday and Saturday, finishing with the All-Star Game at Scotiabank Arena.

The All-Star Game will again feature four teams battling it out in a 3-on-3 tournament. However, this year's event will mark the return of an All-Star draft, which will decide the rosters on Thursday.

The captains will be the ones picking their teams. The Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews, the Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon and the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid are all serving in that role, while the fourth team will be co-captained by the New Jersey Devils' Jack Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks' Quinn Hughes.

How will the All-Star draft unfold? Here's a mock for the first three rounds in snake format, using the same draft order utilized in a recent NHL.com mock.

Round 1

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TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 14: William Nylander #88 of the Toronto Maple Leafs plays the puck as teammate Auston Matthews #34 skates against the Detroit Red Wingsduring the first period at Scotiabank Arena on January 14, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)

1. Team Matthews: William Nylander, F, Toronto Maple Leafs

2. Team MacKinnon: Nikita Kucherov, F, Tampa Bay Lightning

3. Team McDavid: David Pastrnak, F, Boston Bruins

4. Team Hughes: Sidney Crosby, F, Pittsburgh Penguins

There are numerous ways the No. 1 overall pick could go. But if the selection belongs to Matthews, it could lead to him adding another one of his Toronto teammates to a squad that will already include assistant captain/defenseman Morgan Rielly.

Matthews, Nylander and Rielly have a lot of chemistry on the ice, and they've led the Maple Leafs to a good bit of success this season. It would make sense for them to group together at the All-Star Game.

Also, who wouldn't want to see MacKinnon and Kucherov pair together on the same team? Kucherov leads the NHL with 85 points, while MacKinnon ranks second with 84.

McDavid (tied for fourth in the league with 67 points) and Pastrnak (third with 72) could form another potent duo for the All-Star festivities.

Round 2

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OTTAWA, CANADA - JANUARY 25: Brady Tkachuk #7 of the Ottawa Senators skates against the Boston Bruins at Canadian Tire Centre on January 25, 2024 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)

1. Team Hughes: Brady Tkachuk, F, Ottawa Senators

2. Team McDavid: Mitchell Marner, F, Toronto Maple Leafs

3. Team MacKinnon: Connor Hellebuyck, G, Winnipeg Jets

4. Team Matthews: Sam Reinhart, F, Florida Panthers

It will be interesting to see when the first goalie is selected in the draft. But it should be fairly early, considering the importance of having a strong netminder in the 3-on-3 format.

Hellebuyck has a good chance of being the first goaltender taken, and possibly as early as the second round. The 30-year-old ranks second in the NHL in both goals against average (2.20) and save percentage (.924). He'd be a strong addition to a roster that already featured MacKinnon and Kucherov.

The first non-Toronto player added to Team Matthews in this mock is Reinhart, who ranks second in the NHL with 37 goals. (Matthews leads the league with 40.) He'd be a strong complement to the Maple Leafs' trio already on the team.

Round 3

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VANCOUVER, BC - JANUARY 27: Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) prepares to make a save during an NHL game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, January 27, 2024 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C. (Photo by Ethan Cairns/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

1. Team Matthews: Thatcher Demko, G, Vancouver Canucks

2. Team MacKinnon: Elias Pettersson, F, Vancouver Canucks

3. Team McDavid: Igor Shesterkin, G, New York Rangers

4. Team Hughes: J.T. Miller, F, Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks have been one of the best teams in the NHL this season, as they rank first in the Western Conference with 71 points (tied for the most in the league with the Bruins). Because of that, they'll have a lot of representation at the All-Star Game, and many of their players could be drafted early.

In the third round of this mock, three of the four players selected are from Vancouver. That includes Demko, who should be among the first goaltenders taken. He ranks second in the NHL in wins (26) and fifth in save percentage (.920).

Miller (67 points) and Pettersson (64) have been the top two offensive players for the Canucks. They would be strong additions to All-Star teams in the third round.