For Aho, it will be his second appearance at the event, also skating for the Metropolitan Division in 2019. Currently leading the team in points, the selection wasn't surprising to anyone who has watched the Canes this season. The driving force to the team's offense, the 24-year-old has 37 points in the team's 31 games.
"Very deserving. He's a very special player," his All-Star counterpart, Andersen, said of the news. "He sees the game really well. That's the one thing that I've always been impressed with by him, even before I got to play with him. Just getting to see how smart of a player he is and he's extremely skilled as well. Every fundamental, he has. He's an extremely good player and I'm so happy to see him going as well."
As for the netminder, it's also his second trip to the All-Star Game, previously representing the Toronto Maple Leafs for the Atlantic Division in 2019. Entering Saturday's meeting with Vancouver, Andersen currently ranks tied for third in wins (18), sixth in save percentage (.926%). "He's been really good, every start," Brind'Amour began when speaking about his netminder getting the nod.
"He's kept us in games to get us going. There've been times where we haven't been sharp and he's held us in there and we were able to get to our games. There's a lot of victories that you could accredit him for his play. If we have a win, you can say 'our goalie was good'. That's how good he has been. He's been super, super, solid for us."
Despite how strong he's been for his club this year, Andersen's nomination was arguably more difficult to achieve, given the strength of Metropolitan Division goaltending and the league's desire to have every team represented. Notable omissions from "The Metro" goaltenders were New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who leads the league with a .939 save percentage and Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders, whose .925 ranks seventh.
Andersen becomes the third goalie in organization history to make the event, etching his name alongside Arturs Irbe (1999) and Cam Ward (2011).
Looking at the bigger picture, the Canes are just one of two Metropolitan Division teams to have two players, joining the Rangers, who will be represented by Chris Kreider and Adam Fox. It's the first time since 2011 that Carolina has had more than one player at the All-Star Game. League-wide, Carolina is one of just eight teams with multiple players going to the event and sit with the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights as the only clubs to have two players and a coach at the event.
There's a chance that the team can join an even more exclusive club, should they be able to send a third member of the team to Sin City. Andrei Svechnikov was named as Carolina's representative for the "Last Men In" contest, which runs until January 17. Fans can vote up to ten times per day
here
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