An Opportunity to Vote Five Penguins Players to 2009 All-Star Team

The 2009 NHL All-Star ballot was released yesterday (and THANKS to my good buddy, Kena, for the heads-up!). The list of 104 players include five of our very own:

GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury

DEFENSEMEN
Sergei Gonchar
Ryan Whitney

FORWARDS
Sidney Crosby
Evgeni Malkin

Other interesting things to note:

• The Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Redwings top the ballot with a total of six players each followed by the Pittsburgh Penguins with a total of five players.
• Eight of the 10 top-scorers in the NHL are included on this year's ballot (including Evgeni Malkin-18, and Sidney Crosby-15)
• Eight of the top 10 scorers among defensemen made the ballot also (which does not include Sergei Gonchar or Ryan Whitney, but you would think there would be a good possibility they would be if it wasn't for them being sidelined with injuries since the beginning of the season).
• Six of top 10 goalies in GAA are also represented on the 2009 ballot (Marc-Andre Fleury is among those goalies).
• 23 of the players on the 104-player ballot are under the age of 25; and 10 of those players are making their appearance on the ballot for the first time in their NHL careers.

For a list of all the players on the 2008-2009 NHL All-Star Ballot, visit nhl.com.