‘98 All-Star Game Is Going Global

Emphasizing a theme of international growth, the NHL on Monday announced this season’s All-Star Game will match players from North America against players from the rest of the world.

The All-Star Game will be played at Vancouver’s GM Place on Jan. 18. Less than three weeks later, the league will take a 16-day break to allow players to represent their homelands in the Olympic Games at Nagano, Japan.

Instead of pitting players from the Eastern Conference against the West, the new All-Star format will have players from Canada and the United States facing players from Europe. As in the past, fan balloting will determine the starting lineups for both teams. Voting will begin Oct. 15 in NHL arenas, selected stores and on the Internet.

Mighty Duck goalie Guy Hebert and left wing Paul Kariya are on the North American ballot, as is King defenseman Rob Blake. Duck right wing Teemu Selanne, goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov and defenseman Dmitri Mironov are on the World ballot, as is King center Jozef Stumpel. The Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, Colorado Avalanche and Phoenix Coyotes each have seven representatives on the ballots.

Among the All-Star weekend festivities will be an exhibition game between the U.S. and Canadian women’s Olympic teams. Women’s hockey will be a medal sport for the first time at the Nagano Games.