NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft: Who Will Be Picked Last?

The NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft is an exciting new way to spice up the dying interest in the NHL All-Star game. 

Team Captains Daniel Alfredsson and Nicklas Lidstrom will pick the players they want from the all-star roster in order. This process will remind many hockey fans of picking teams on the frozen pond or the playground back in school.

Just like in the good old days, someone will be first pick, and someone will be last.

The last pick will enjoy a short moment of embarrassment, although they likely won't take it too hard, they are still the best of the best.

Last year Phil Kessel was the last pick. To make his awkward moment of being last even more enjoyable for the rest of us, Alex Ovechkin took pictures of the embarrassed Kessel to play up the moment even a bit more.

It seems unlikely that Kessel will once again be picked last due to his sold performance this season. Here are five candidates for that not so coveted last pick.

Kimmo Timonen

With Chris Pronger out for the year with injury, Kimmo Timonen has been the leader of the Flyers defense corps. 

While Timonen is a solid defenseman and moves the puck quite well, Timonen doesn't pack the scoring punch of many of the other all-star defensemen.

Timonen does have his veteran presence in the league going for him though, and even that alone might be enough to get him out of his seat before everyone else has departed.

He is not known as an offensive force, nor is he known as a defensive force. It's possible that this sort of "jack-of-all-trades" player may find himself sitting in the last spot when it comes draft time. 

Carey Price

Carey Price is having a somewhat disappointing season.

Price is not anywhere close to the league leaders with his .914 save percentage and 2.41 goals against average. His 17 wins in 42 games played also won't help his case at all, though that really can't be considered his fault playing on a struggling team.

Price has an extremely bright future ahead of him, and possibly even a very bright second half. But for right now, Price is underperforming, and we may see the effects of that in the draft tonight.

I don't know if the captains will be willing to pick a goalie last, but if they do, I'll place my bets on Price.

Scott Hartnell

A last minute addition to the All-Star roster, Scott Hartnell certainly deserves his spot. The veteran forward has had a marvelous season thus far, putting up 25 goals and 44 points.

But the question is, would you not expect that from anyone playing with Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr and superstar Claude Giroux?

Now, Hartnell is definitely a skilled player and a better two-way player than many players on the All-Star roster, but how valuable will Hartnell be in the eyes of Alfredsson and Lidstrom when their decision time comes?

I think Hartnell may find himself toward the back end of the draft, if not finishing it off.

Tyler Seguin

How fitting would it be for the guy who was essentially swapped for last year's last-round pick to be picked last this year? Well, it would be interesting at least.

Tyler Seguin was the first-round pick that the Bruins received when they sent Phil Kessel to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2009. 

Seguin is a budding superstar, but wasn't Phil Kessel just the same thing last year? Seguin has 19 goals and 43 points thus far on his campaign. Those are extremely impressive numbers from a second-year player, but will Seguin's inexperience hurt him?

Youth is a great thing to have on a hockey team, but when you have two veteran players picking the teams, it may come around to hurt you. We'll see if that's the case for Tyler Seguin. 

Milan Michalek

Milan Michalek got off to a torrid start. As a member of the Ottawa Senators who has performed well, Michalek was almost guaranteed a fan-vote entry, and that's exactly what he got.

Leading the league in scoring at several points this year, Michalek's success finding the back of the net got him a lot of attention this year. 

He has since cooled off considerably, having not scored in his last seven games. While he did miss some time with a concussion, Michalek's production has trailed in the recent weeks.

Also, aside from Michalek's goal scoring, he doesn't bring much to the table. Michalek only has nine assists to go along with his 23 goals. Thirty-two points in 49 games might not help his case to be drafted early on tonight.

Michalek is a prime candidate to be taken last in the NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft.