The new NHL All-Star format and who should represent the Sharks
The NHL has recently announced the new format for the 2027 Honda All-Star Game which will be held in UBS Arena in New York home to the New York Islanders.
Following the 4- Nations tournament from the 2025 season and recently the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, the NHL has been working behind the scenes to bring eyes back to the All- Star event.
2027 Honda NHL All-Star Game
The NHL is bringing back nations facing off against one another as they announced that five teams will play a three-on-three round-robin exhibition style hockey tournament. The five teams include Canada, Sweden, U.S. and the Rest of World Team.
Each team will have nine skaters and two goaltenders for a total of 11 players on each roster. The fans can vote for the first eight players for each team with the final three being selected by the NHL and NHLPA.
The tournament itself will consist of four games each being five minutes with no overtime nor shootout in the event of a tie.
From each game the top two teams will move on to a final round with a point system going as two points for a win, one point for a tie, and zero points given to a loss.
The winning team will receive $2 million USD.
2027 NHL All-Star Skill Competition
The All-Star Skills Competition allows players to showcase individual talent in different aspects of the game with no real pressure from an opposing team.
First major change to the Skills Competition is that only 10 players who are 25 or younger will be eligible and will be selected by the league.
These players will participate in eight total events which consists of Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Passing Challenge, One Timers, Stick Handling and Accuracy Shooting. Each player participating will compete in four of the six events accumulating points and moving on to the Shootout.
From then the top two players from the Shootout will compete in the Obstacle Course Finale where the player with the highest accumulated points will receive $1 million USD.
Who should be selected from the Sharks?
Going off of the requirements for both the Skills Competition as well as the All-Star Game itself, I have chosen at least one player from the San Jose Sharks who meets the criteria to be selected and represent each All-Star team.
Canada- A no brainer that Macklin Celebrini is the perfect candidate to represent the Sharks at the All- Star game. Being the youngest player for team Canada at the Olympics as well as donning the "C" for the 2026 IIHF senior Canada team establishes himself as a vital forward that legends like three-time Stanley Cup winner Sidney Crosby and six-time Art-Ross trophy winner Connor McDavid are familiar with and can count on when representing one of the juggernauts in the sport of hockey.
United States- If the Sharks have another player at the All-Star game who better than Celebrini's own linemate Will Smith. Despite missing out representing the U.S. hockey team in Milan for the Winter Olympics, Smith has still represented the U.S. on multiple large stages. In 2023 Smith was named MVP for the IIHF U18 World Championship helping the U.S. win gold. He has also won gold for the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship as well as the 2025 IIHF Men's World Championship. Additionally, Smith came in second for points on the San Jose roster with 59 points.
Sweden- There are two worthy candidates to be elected to represent Sweden. The league can select Alex Wennberg as he recently participated in the 2026 Winter Olympics and in the NHL has made a strong impression for his two-way capabilities which helped allowed him to receive the "A" and be a member of the Sharks leadership group.
Then there is the more youthful and I believe the more likely selection choice of William Eklund. Despite Wennberg putting up more points (55) than Eklund (53) this past season, I can see the NHL keeping one player that is eligible to participate in both the All-Star Skills Competition as well as the All-Star Game. Eklund is 23 years old making him eligible for both events while Wennberg has unfortunately aged out.
World Team- Considering Canada, Sweden, and the U.S. have their own dedicated teams I would not be surprised if Yaroslav Askarov is in contention to play for the Rest of World team because of his native land being Russia. Askarov, a fan favorite at the Tank for his high energy play style has represented the nation during multiple tournaments before being drafted by the Nashville Predators.
Another Russian that can be selected would be Dmitry Orlov who has provided much needed stability and consistency at the Sharks blue line. Arguably the best defenseman currently on the Sharks, Orlov is seventh on the roster in points with 37. He will be ineligible for the Skills Competition, but he provides stable defense to the Rest of World Team who will compete to win it all.
In the end at most I can see both Celebrini and Smith making the All-Star but the other players mentioned can sneak their way in if the Sharks are a top contending team.
It was not long ago back in 2017 when Team Teal had 4 representatives in the All-Star game with Joe Pavelski, Martin Jones, Brent Burns and head coach Pete DeBoer all being members of the Pacific Team.
The All-Star event will take place on Feb. 5 and Feb. 6 with event times being announced at a later date.
