Eberle is Kraken's First 'Star'

In a season brimming with firsts, Kraken forward and alternate captain Jordan Eberle will be the inaugural Seattle all-star at the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend Feb. 4 and 5 in Las Vegas. Eberle and the other 43 players were named Thursday.
It is Eberle's third call as an NHL all-star and second time appearing in the game. As a rookie in 2010-11, Eberle led the rebuilding Edmonton Oilers with 18 goals and 25 assists. He was named to the 2011 All-Star Game but missed playing due to injury.

Eberle was selected as an NHL All-Star the following season, playing in that 2012 game during a season in which scored a career-high 34 goals. He is on pace in 2021-22 to reach 30 goals again.
"It's a huge honor being selected as the Kraken's first-ever All-Star," said Eberle. "Our fans have been so amazing this season. Climate Pledge Arena has been one of the loudest buildings in the league. Their support means so much. I'm excited to represent them in Vegas."
The 2022 All-Star Game (ABC, noon, Saturday, Feb. 5) will once again consist of a three-game tournament, played in a 3-on-3 format, featuring four teams, one from each division. Friday's segment of the All-Star Weekend (4:30 PT) features the 2022 NHL All-Star Skills™ Presented by DraftKings Sportsbook event. Eberle and other stars will be showing off speed, stickhandling skills, shot accuracy, physical strength and more during the fun competition.
The four captains for the star showdown were identified by fan vote: Washington's Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan), Toronto's Auston Matthews (Atlantic), Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon (Central) and Edmonton's Connor McDavid (Pacific).

Nine players in each division, including Eberle, were vetted and selected by the league's hockey operations group.
The final player for each division will be determined through "Last Men In" voting, which runs Jan. 17. The Last Men In voting begins now. Kraken Fans can vote up to 10 times daily for "Gio" here:
https://www.nhl.com/kraken/all-star-ballot
. The puck's on your sticks, Seattle and Pacific Northwest fans.
Eberle leads the Kraken with 12 goals and 12 assists. He is closely followed by current linemate Jared McCann (team-leading 15 goals, 23 points overall) and, not far behind, usual but injured linemate Jaden Schwartz (20).
While Eberle has scored those dozen goals, including the first-ever Kraken hat trick (and at Climate Pledge Arena) during an early November win against Buffalo, his work in all three zones is what inspires the All-Star selection.
His forechecking is a role-model example: As a veteran in his 12th NHL season, he hustles like he is in Year 1, disrupting the other team's offensive breakouts and winning back pucks to create scoring chances for teammates. In the defensive zone, he's already blocked 20 shots in 33 games, on pace to surpass his career high of 40 in 80 games during the 2013-14 season.
In the neutral zone, Kraken fans will regularly see Eberle building speed to create time and space for his teammates, especially on the first-unit power play.
It's no mistake McCann and Schwartz rank high among Kraken scorers. Eberle has assisted on multiple goals for each. One need look no further than Wednesday's game in Dallas.

On the Jared McCann goalthat reduced a 3-1 lead to a one-goal margin early in the second period, defenseman Vince Dunn skillfully kept possession of the puck in the offensive zone, sending around the left corner boards to an awaiting Eberle behind the Stars net.
The rest is an All-Star scenario: Eberle has his stick blade down to stop and control the puck. Instead, the puck bounces and hops. Eberle stops the puck with a stationary glove hand, gathering the puck with his stick blade.
Directly behind the net, Eberle glides to the goaltender's right, patiently waits for the right moment before placing a so-called saucer pass across the goal mouth through Dallas defenders to McCann, who finishes with a wrist shot and goal.