Hey Now, Cale Makar’s an All-Star

Colorado Avalanche defensemen Cale Makar has been selected to his second consecutive NHL All-Star game. The team made the announcement via Twitter on Thursday evening.

Cale Makar is only the third member of the Avalanche defensive core to make the All-Star game in consecutive season, joining Rob Blake and Sandis Ozilinsh. Makar currently has 34 points (9 goals, 25 assists) over 36 games and is averaging 27:09 minutes of ice time. He also has two game-winning goals this season for the burgundy and blue. Adding another All-Star game under his belt puts another accolade on the 24-year old’s resumé that already includes a Calder, Conn Smythe, Norris, and Stanley Cup trophy.

The surprising part of this announcement is that Mikko Rantanen is not part of the initial roster for NHL All-Star weekend. Rantanen is the Avs’ leading scorer with 47 points (25g, 22a) over 36 games, and four of those are game winners. A big part of that reason is because the NHL has changed the format for rosters where the league selects one player per team in each division. Those initial rosters have 8 skaters (including one goalie) and then 3 additional players from each division will be added by the fan vote.

That leaves room for Rantanen to join his defensive teammate but the competition will be stiff as he’ll be up against Trevor Zegras, Bo Horvat (who has been linked to the Avalanche in trade rumors), and Leon Draisaitl for votes. In other words, time to rally together and lock in those votes Avs Faithful! It’s also a good idea to make sure you’re following the club account on Twitter to keep updated on the votes for the big moose. Let’s also cheer on Cale Makar as he’s sure to give us some pretty amazing highlights in with the leagues other biggest starts.

The 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend will take place on Feb. 3 and 4, hosted by the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida.