On Tuesday, January 10 the National Hockey League (NHL) announced the roster for the NHL All-Star Game on January 29, 2017. The roster consists of 40 of the best current players in the NHL who have been split up into four distinct teams based on their geographical region: Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central, and Pacific. A few notable names that have been selected to participate are Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Tyler Seguin (Dallas Stars).

Rookie Auston Matthews is only 19 but has made massive waves throughout the NHL during the season. Drafted 1 overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Matthews has scored 21 goals and 14 assists, making for a total of 35 points: a ridiculously high total for half of a rookie season.

Matthews also received massive hype even before he was drafted. This article by ESPN is from 2015, a full year before he was drafted, and makes the massive claim that he is “the best player not in the NHL”.  While nobody can really be sure how high his meteoric rise will go, Matthews is undeniably a force to be reckoned with.

Sidney Crosby is an old pro with 11 seasons under his belt. He, like Auston, was drafted 1 overall back in 2005 to the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he continues to play. He has an astounding 364 goals and 619 assists making for a total of 983 points. Crosby is an astounding master at his craft who continues to outperform the competition while still being under 30.

Tyler Seguin is currently in his sixth season, third with the Dallas Stars, and has a nice 178 goals and 218 assists to make up 396 points. Seguin is a fierce competitor who was drafted 2 overall to the Boston Bruins in 2010. That same year, he would lead the team to win the Stanley Cup, the “Super Bowl of hockey”. While he has stumbled along the way with a shocking trade from the Bruins to the Stars (which has been highly rumored to be surrounding his former party-boy attitude), Seguin has consistently been pulling his weight – and then some.

Overall, the game is shaping up to be a white-knuckle event with America on the edge of its seat as the best of the best go head to head. The NHL All-Star Game will be broadcast on January 29, 2017 at 4:30 p.m. EST. For more NHL updates, stick with the Raider Wire.