2019 All-Star Diary: Gabriel Landeskog

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog was awarded one of the final roster spots in the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS) as a result of the Last Men In presented by adidas fan vote, giving him the first all-star nod of his NHL career. The forward, who will play for the Central Division, is keeping a diary of his experiences throughout the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend and 2019 SAP NHL All-Star Skills. In his second entry, Landeskog reflects on his experience in the Skills event, including watching the sons of San Jose Sharks players Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns participate. He also compares this experience to 2012, when, as a rookie, he was invited to the skills competition for the All-Star Game in Ottawa, and looks forward to Saturday.

SAN JOSE --It was a great night from start to finish. It was a really good event put on by the Sharks and the NHL and the NHL Players Association and everybody. It was a lot of fun to get to spend some time on the bench or on the ice with a lot of the guys, and it was real cool to be on the ice for everything and be a part of it.
I was having a blast watching little Pavelski and little Burns Jr. They were buzzing around on the ice and having a lot of fun, so that was cool and obviously seeing [St. Louis Blues forward] Ryan O'Reilly [bring] his kid out on the ice as well. I think that's a really cool part of the process and the whole event, is that families are welcome, and families are involved. But the whole event, and just hanging out with the guys in the dressing room or whatever it is, it's been a lot of fun so far.

I didn't say much my rookie year. I didn't want to step on any toes, but now a few years in I'm getting to know some of the guys off the ice, and getting to know some of the guys, whether they are Swedish or guys that you played with. It's been awesome spending some time with even these new guys that I've never met before.
I'm looking forward to the games themselves. I'm excited to get going and play some 3-on-3. The fan support has been awesome, from walking the red carpet, to seeing all the kids that are here, and all the fans. It was cool, and I think tomorrow I'm sure will be sort of the same, and the game should be a lot of fun.