Coming into the All-Star Game today, we knew it was going to be awesome, from the warmups and the whole day leading into it. This morning came very fast because it was a late night last night. So, it came fast today, but we were able to just go out there and have some fun.
The first few shifts playing with my
brother Brady
of the Ottawa Senators was just an awesome experience. I love playing with Aleksander Barkov as well, which just made it extra special but I had never played with Brady ever at any level -- nothing. I had just played against him, so this was a great first time. Hopefully, we'll get to do it again because this was a great experience, and if we could do this a few more times, it would be unreal. And, scoring right away in our first game, a 10-6 win against the Metropolitan Division, was awesome. It was a great play by "Barky," who kind of sprung me and that first one always feels good.
I've been fortunate to score in my two All-Star Games, but I think the settings I've been in really have helped. The first one was in St. Louis in 2020, where my parents live. This one was in obviously my new home with the hometown crowd, so I had to try to do everything I could for them.
In the second game, a 7-5 victory against the Central Division in the final, it was cool to hear the crowd chant "M-V-P" when I touched the puck. I've never got close to something like that before, so that was cool and it gave them something to cheer for in the second game too. And then I was told I was the MVP a little bit before it was announced, so I was ready for it. But when you hear it, it's a very cool feeling because there were so many great players here. I don't think I necessarily deserved it at all; there were a lot of great performances. My vote would have probably gone to Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings. But it was awesome.
My biggest takeaway from the week will be having all my friends and family here and being able to celebrate. Tonight is an earlier night, so we're going to end up having a great night with them. All in all, it was a great weekend, but now that the All-Star Game is over, I'm sure the page will be turned tomorrow and we'll get ready for the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. But the All-Star week definitely surpassed my expectations and it was an unreal week. I knew it was going to be special being here, but you never know until you go through it and it was amazing.
