KHL Announces 2017 All-Star Game Rosters

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The KHL recently announced the 2017 All-Star Game rosters through the event’s official website. The All-Star Game will be different from previous editions. Events will be spread out starting from Jan. 15 with the MHL All-Star Game and will be held in Ufa, home of the 2013 World Junior Championships when the United States won the gold medal against Team Sweden.

The top four juniors from the MHL game will then skate in the KHL All-Star Game, which will be held on Jan. 22. Other events include the “Masters Show” (skills competition) on Jan. 21 and the first-ever Russian Women’s Hockey League All-Star game on Jan. 19.

For the KHL game, the players will be split into four divisional teams, each made up of one goalie, three defensemen, and six forwards. As mentioned, the teams will receive one player each from the MHL game.

The player with the most fan votes was Sergei Mozyakin, with more than 5,800. The most represented teams are CSKA Moscow and SKA St. Petersburg, with four players each.

KHL All-Star Game Rosters

Bobrov Division

Goalie: Igor Shestyorkin (NYR); Defensemen: Matthew Gilroy, Chay Genoway, Vyacheslav Voynov; Forwards: Pavel Datsyuk (C), Ilya Kovalchuk, Matt Ellison, Ryan Stoa, Jonathan Cheechoo, Francis Pare.

Tarasov Division

Goalie: Ilya Sorokin (NYI); Defensemen: Mat Robinson, Igor Ozhiganov, Oscar FantenbergJakub Jerabek; Forwards: Valeri Nichushkin (DAL), Brandon Kozun, Ivan Telegin (WPG), Maxim Afinogenov (C), Dmitri Kagarlitsky, Vladimir GaluzinAlexei Potapov.

Kharlamov Division

Goalie: Pavel Francouz; Defensemen: Chris Lee, Kirill Koltsov; Forwards: Sergei Mozyakin (C), Vladimir Tkachyov, Anatoli Golyshev (NYI), Dan Sexton, Nikita Filatov, Danis Zaripov, Jan Kovar.

Chernyshev Division

Goalie: Igor Bobkov; Defensemen: Evgeny Medvedev (C), Zakhar Arzamastsev, Jan Kolar, Sami Lepisto; Forwards: Linus Omark, Maxim Shalunov (CHI), Vladimir Sobotka (STL)Enver Lisin, Kirill Kaprizov (MIN), Nigel Dawes, Chad Rau.

Highlights from previous KHL All-Star contests can be seen on YouTube, which has received many hits during the different seasons, from Vladimir Tarasenko’s tricky shot (almost 3 million views) to Linus Omark’s stick on fire, to name a couple.

It is expected that this year’s event will be as entertaining as the other ones, especially with the new format that should make the games a bit meaningful for players too.

Probably the best KHL All-Star Game was the very first one, held at the Red Square in Moscow between Team Yashin and Team Jagr, but other events were well-attended too and this year’s event promises to have great attendance as well, as the Ufa-Arena crowd is one of the most passionate in Russia.

There are a good number of NHL prospects featured in the game. The New York Islanders will have two players, as Sorokin and Golyshev made the rosters. Golyshev was called to the game thanks to the fans’ votes.

Metallurg Magnitogorsk star Mozyakin is at his ninth All-Star Game as he skated in every single All-Star event since the league was born. The only other player to do the same is Montreal Canadiens forward Alexander Radulov (although he missed the 14-15 game due to an injury), who will obviously miss this year’s even as he is now skating in the National Hockey League.

You can find more information about the events, including rosters for the MHL and Women’s League All-Star Games, on the event’s official website.