NHL All-Star Game 2022 Rosters: Breaking Down All 4 Divisions

The NHL brings together its All-Stars in the most unique fashion of North America's four major sports leagues. 

Instead of breaking its All-Star Game into rosters from two conferences, the NHL opted to give teams to all four of its divisions starting with the 2016 edition. 

The Atlantic, Central, Metropolitan and Pacific divisions compete in a three-on-three tournament in which a majority of the NHL's top players are on display. 

The Pacific Division, which features Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, won the current All-Star Game format on three occasions. 

McDavid and Draisaitl are among the biggest stars playing in Saturday's event in Las Vegas. The competition is missing some star power due to the absences of Nathan MacKinnion for Central and Alexander Ovechkin from the Metropolitan roster. 

Atlantic Division

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Forwards: Auston Matthews (Toronto), Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa), Patrice Bergeron (Boston), Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida), Dylan Larkin (Detroit), Nick Suzuki (Montreal), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay)

Defensemen: Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo), Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay)

Goalies: Jack Campbell (Toronto), Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay) 

     

Auston Matthews and Steven Stamkos are the most notable names on the Atlantic roster, but neither may be the most impactful player on the division's roster. 

Florida Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau leads the NHL in points and assists. His passing ability could be vital to the Atlantic in the three-on-three format. 

Huberdeau's distribution could help Matthews, Stamkos, or his other line mates score in the fast-paced environment. 

Atlantic also boasts two goalies that rank inside the top 10 in goals against average. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jack Campbell could be crucial to limiting the output of the superstars on other teams. 

The one concern with the Atlantic roster is the lack of teammates playing alongside each other. Stamkos and Victor Hedman are the only skaters that are teammates. 

The chemistry of the Tampa Bay Lighting duo could be vital to the line depth inside the Atlantic squad. Hedman is sixth in the NHL in assists. 

Hedman and Huberdeau should be split up so that the Atlantic has at least one of the league's best passers on the ice at most times. 

The all-around nature of the Atlantic roster could help it reach the final and potentially win its first-ever All-Star Game in this format. 

Central Division

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Forwards: Clayton Keller (Arizona), Alex DeBrincat (Chicago), Nazem Kadri (Colorado), Joe Pavelski (Dallas), Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota), Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis), Kyle Connor (Winnipeg)

Defensemen: Cale Makar (Colorado), Roman Josi (Nashville)

Goalies: Cam Talbot (Minnesota), Juuse Saros (Nashville) 

   

The Central squad still possesses star power despite the absence of Nathan MacKinnon, who is out due to a concussion. 

Central features two of the NHL's top young stars in Minnesota's Kiriil Kaprizov and MacKinnon's Colorado teammate Cale Makar. 

Makar has the most goals of all NHL defensemen with 18 and he is third behind Victor Hedman and Adam Fox in points earned by players at his position. 

The 23-year-old's scoring ability gives Central an advantage at the position compared to other divisions. He could be utilized more as a forward because of that skill. 

Kaprizov ranks 10th in assists and he has the potential to lead the All-Star Game in assists because of the scorers around him.

Alex DeBrincat and Kyle Connor rank fifth and sixth, respectively, on the NHL scoring chart, and they will be asked to be the top Central scorers with MacKinnon off the roster. 

Like Atlantic, Central is in search of its first All-Star Game victory in the three-on-three format. It reached the championship game in 2019 where it lost to Metropolitan. 

Metropolitan Division

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Forwards: Claude Giroux (Philadelphia), Sebastian Aho (Carolina), Tom Wilson (Washington), Jake Guentzel (Pittsburgh), Jack Hughes (New Jersey), Chris Kreider (New York Rangers), Evgeny Kuznetsov (Washington)

Defensemen: Adam Pelech (New York Islanders), Zach Werenski (Columbus)

Goalies: Frederik Andersen (Carolina), Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh) 

   

Metropolitan, a two-time champion of the All-Star Game, will be without its biggest star in Alexander Ovechkin. He was ruled out due to a positive COVID-19 test. 

The Washington Capitals will still make their presence felt on the ice with Tom Wilson and Evgeny Kuznetsov on the roster. Kuznetsov ranks 20th in the NHL in points, while Wilson has 13 goals and 18 assists. 

Without Ovechkin, Metropolitan will turn to Chris Kreider to produce the majority of its goals. The New York Rangers forward leads the NHL with 33 goals. 

Kreider is the only player on the Metropolitan roster with over 25 goals. Jake Guentzel is second on that list with 23 tallies. 

Metropolitan needs a few of its other forwards to step up in the goal-scoring department to support Kreider and Guentzel. 

If that does not happen, Metropolitan is the best built team to win a low-scoring contest. Goalies Frederik Andersen and Tristan Jarry rank in the top six of goals against average. 

Andersen has a GAA of 2.01 and Jarry sits sixth with a 2.21 GAA. The two shot-stoppers could be the X-factors for a third Metropolitan victory. 

Pacific Division

Corey Sipkin/Associated Press

Forwards: Connor McDavid (Edmonton), Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton), Jordan Eberle (Seattle), Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary), Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles), Timo Meier (San Jose), Mark Stone (Vegas), Jonathan Marchessault (Las Vegas). Troy Terry (Anaheim)

Defenseman: Alex Pietrangelo (Las Vegas)

Goalies: Thatcher Demko (Vancouver), John Gibson (Anaheim)

   

Pacific comes into the All-Star Game as the favorite because of its success in previous three-on-three tournaments. 

Pacific won the event in 2016, 2018 and 2020. It won the 2020 competition by scoring 15 goals over two games. 

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl provide the perfect foundation for a high-scoring team. The Edmonton duo ranks second and fourth, respectively, on the NHL points list. 

McDavid and Draisaitl have a strong supporting cast around them to score a high total of goals in Las Vegas. 

Troy Terry is one of seven skaters with 25 goals in the regular season. Timo Meier entered the top 20 of that list with help from a five-goal performance on January 17. Johnny Gaudreau sits eighth in assists. 

Additionally, the Pacific squad has three members of the Vegas Golden Knights who could have extra motivation to win inside their home arena. 

Pacific's offensive firepower could place it in the final alone. It has scored nine or 10 goals in three of its five semifinal contests in the current format.