New format for NHL All-Star Game

1998 is the year when NHL players will participate in the Olympic Games for the first time ever, fittingly the league announced its 1998 All-Star Game will feature a unique international format, pitting North American All-Stars against World All-Stars.

The All-Star Game International Showdown will be played on Sunday, Jan. 18, at General Motors Place in Vancouver. Under the new international format, the top NHL players representing Canada and the United States will comprise the North American All-Star team, who will face the top NHL players from the rest of the world.

The starting lineups for both clubs will be selected by All-Star fan balloting. The NHL's Operations Department, in consultation with senior NHL general managers, will select the remaining players on each squad.

A total of 102 players appear on the All-Star ballot, including six goaltenders, 12 centers, 15 defensemen and 18 wingers for each of the North America All-Stars and World All-Stars. At least two players from each of the NHL's 26 teams are represented on the ballot, including a league-high seven from three clubs -- the Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings, the Colorado Avalanche and Phoenix Coyotes. Eight countries will be represented on the World All-Stars ballot -- the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and the Ukraine.
Players on ballot for 1997-98 All-Star Game