Victor Hedman, the Deer Park Chiefs’ Swedish-born star, remains a man of few words as he learns English and its tricky nuances.
One subject, though, gets him talking, and a lot: the Vancouver Heroes, the opponent the 19-year-old Hedman already loves to hate.
The young, talented defenseman still talks about the matchup against the Heroes in the pre-season, how the Heroes bullied the Chiefs and got them off their game by inducing fights. In an additional indignity, he remembers popcorn being dumped on the Chiefs’ bench by rowdy fans.
“That’s one of the teams that it’s really not a pleasure to play against,” Hedman said. “I really don’t like playing against them.
“I don’t like that team.”
Don’t like the Heroes? Join the crowd, Victor – most Chiefs fans haven’t since the 17th Round of the ’09 Draft this past summer.
In their pre-season game back in September, for example, Hedman received a nasty cut on his left cheek from the skate of the Heroes’ Simon Gagne, and the two teams began fighting less than a minute into the game.
Now, the AFHL’s first rivalry is taking a turn in Week 14 as the Heroes and Chiefs meet in a regular season game for the first time. With the Chiefs looking for a playoff seed, and the Heroes trying to stay on top of the Canadian Conference, this matchup is certain to be competitive, contentious and colourful.
They don’t like each other? No kidding.
“What else can you ask for?” Heroes goalie Ryan Miller said. “It’s going to be a battle, it’s going to be fun and, as a hockey player, you want to play in and be a part of.”
“There’s some extra spice to it when it’s Deer Park and Vancouver,” Chiefs forward Corey Perry said. “It will be intense.”
The following players are eligible to play in the 2010 AFHL All-Star Game based on Olympic Rosters. All-Star Coaches must select: 3 Centers, 3 Left Wingers, 3 Right Wingers, 1 Utility, 4 Defensemen, and 2 Goalies.
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Head Coach: Daryn Beckman – Phantoms
Assistant Coach: Mike Bassett – Stars
Saku Koivu (C) Stars
Mikko Koivu (C) Killers
Sidney Crosby (C) Phantoms
Evgeni Malkin (C) Giants
Patrick Marleau (C) Phantoms
Joe Pavelski (C) Chiefs
Ryan Kesler (C) Killers
Mike Richards (C) Power
Niklas Backstrom (C) Leg Hounds
Bobby Ryan (LW) Supermen
Ilya Kovalchuk (LW) Killers
Marco Sturm (LW) Bruins
Patrik Elias (LW) Supermen
Brendan Morrow (LW) Gladiators
Corey Perry (RW) Chiefs
Teemu Selanne (RW) Stars
Jarome Iginla (RW) Stars
Marian Hossa (RW) Phantoms
Maxim Afinogenov (RW) Bruins
Loui Eriksson (RW) Phantoms
J. Langenbrunner (RW) Supermen
Marian Gaborik (RW) Giants
Phil Kessel (RW) Gladiators
Pavel Kubina (D) Chiefs
Tobias Enstrom (D) Giants
Scott Niedermayer (D) Supermen
Brent Seabrook (D) Chiefs
Brian Rafalski (D) Stars
Nicklas Lidstrom (D) Phantoms
Marek Zidlicky (D) Giants
Mark Streit (D) Supermen
Chris Pronger (D) Stars
Sergei Gonchar (D) Supermen
Erik Johnson (D) Power
Tim Thomas (G) Bruins
Miikka Kiprusoff (G) Killers
Nicklas Backstrom (G) Giants
Martin Brodeur (G) Stars
Henrik Lundqvist (G) Chiefs
Roberto Luongo (G) Supermen
CANADIAN CONFERENCE
Head Coach: Ben Rauscher – Heroes
Assistant Coach: Blake Wilson – Mustangs
Ryan Getzlaf (C) Hellstars
Patrice Bergeron (C) Mustangs
Olli Jokinen (C) Wolves
Eric Staal (C) Heroes
Jonathan Toews (C) Red Wings
Henrik Zetterberg (C) Red Wings
Pavel Datsyuk (C) Red Wings
Michal Handzus (C) Wolves
Joe Thornton (C) Outlaws
Henrik Sedin (C) Heroes
Rick Nash (LW) Mustangs
Zach Parise (LW) Mustangs
Dany Heatley (LW) Storm
Daniel Sedin (LW) Heroes
Patrick Kane (RW) Kings
Dustin Brown (RW) Red Wings
Antti Miettinen (RW) Heroes
Alexander Ovechkin (RW) Leafs
Tomas Holmstrom (RW) Outlaws
Zdeno Chara (D) Leafs
Joni Pitkanen (D) Leafs
Drew Doughty (D) Kings
Duncan Keith (D) Red Wings
Jack Johnson (D) Red Wings
Andrei Markov (D) Wolves
Shea Weber (D) Hellstars
Ryan Suter (D) Storm
Kimmo Timonen (D) Leafs
Dan Boyle (D) Heroes
Tomas Kaberle (D) Heroes
Jonas Hiller (G) Mustangs
Ryan Miller (G) Heroes
Jon Quick (G) Hellstars
Marc-Andre Fleury (G) Red Wings
Ilya Bryzgalov (G) Heroes
Evgeni Nabokov (G) Leafs
Ben Rauscher and Daryn Beckman announced their starting lineups Wednesday for the midseason classic, and the star players that were chosen truly are amazing.
Alexander Ovechkin, the AFHL’s leading point-getter, was one of three Oshawa City Leafs chosen to represent the Canadian Conference at the All-Star Game next week. He was chosen along with teammates Zdeno Chara and goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.
Joining Ovechkin on offense are Joe Thornton and Henrik Sedin, giving the Canadian Conference three of the top four point-getters in the league this season.
“This is an unbelievable honor,” said Thornton, who was given an All-Star jersey Wednesday at the Outlaws’ morning skate in Hamilton, Ontario. “It’s going to be a great experience to play in the first ever AFHL All-Star Game and it will be a lot of fun.”
The American Conference starting lineup, announced late last night, consists of forwards Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa of the Phantoms, and goalie Martin Brodeur, defensemen Chris Pronger and Sergei Gonchar, and forward Marian Gaborik of the Giants.
“Next week, the world’s greatest players will go to Detroit, one of the world’s great hockey cities, to help celebrate the first ever AFHL All-Star Game,” Phantoms coach Daryn Beckman said in announcing the American Conference lineup. “I had the pleasure of choosing 16 players to represent our conference and I can tell you it was an absolute honor. I look forward to watching the stars of today.”
Here’s a look at the rest of the starting lineups for both teams:
American Conference All-Star Team Starting Lineup
FORWARDS:
Ilya Kovalchuk – Sidney Crosby – Marian Gaborik
Loui Eriksson – Evgeni Malkin – Corey Perry
Bobby Ryan – Niklas Backstrom – Marian Hossa
DEFENSEMEN:
Nicklas Lidstrom – Chris Pronger
Sergei Gonchar – Scott Niedermayer
GOALTENDERS:
Martin Brodeur
Henrik Lundqvist
UTILITY:
Jarome Iginla
RESERVES (5):
Teemu Selanne (RW), Tobias Enstrom (D), Paul Stastny (C),
Phil Kessel (RW), Patrik Elias (LW)
Canadian Conference All-Star Team Starting Lineup
FORWARDS:
Alex Ovechkin – Joe Thornton – Patrick Kane
Zach Parise – Henrik Sedin – Alexander Semin
Daniel Sedin – Pavel Datsyuk – Dustin Brown
DEFENSEMEN:
Dan Boyle – Andrei Markov
Tomas Kaberle – Zdeno Chara
GOALTENDERS:
Ryan Miller
Evgeni Nabokov
UTILITY
Dany Heatley
RESERVES (5):
Ryan Getzlaf (C), Patrick Marleau (C), Anze Kopitar (C),
Antti Miettinen (RW), Drew Doughty (D)