What a weekend!  I started out with high hopes of what I was going to try to accomplish this weekend and I ended up being overwhelmed.  Sure, I had some technical problems at times and I wasn't feeling well on Saturday, but the bottom line is, I was just overwhelmed.

Let me preface this article by saying that I have never been a lover of All Star games, in any sport.  It's hard to get jazzed up about a meaningless game where the players are just going through the motions. 

Also, when I first heard about the concept of the All Star Draft, I had negative feelings about it.  Surely, this was just going to be another predictable, scripted gimmick for the league to promote Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, right?

I couldn't have been more wrong.

What a brilliant idea by Brendan Shanahan and let's give the NHL brass, like Gary Bettman, some credit for being open minded and for allowing Shanahan the freedom to try something new.

When was the last time there was this much buzz before an All Star Game?  Never.  For instance, everyone out there was doing mock drafts.  (Even Henry and Jordan Staal did one!)

While there could always be a couple of tweaks for improvement, (like allowing more attendees), the draft added an element that no other All Star Game has ever had before.      

The media liked it, the players enjoyed it, and the fans loved it.  Soon, the All Star Draft will be an annual event that every hockey fan will be looking forward to.

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The accolades for the Raleigh hockey community are unanimous. Everyone connected to the event deserves to take a bow, not only for the smoothly run professional staging, but for the infectious energy of fun and celebration that seems to have breathed new life into the stale All-Star Game tradition. Even more so, those trite perceptions about hockey in the south are officially dead and buried. We had our shot to show the world of hockey what we got here, and we rocked them like a Hurricane.

Did you watch Eric Staal, the consummate "host with the most" with his remarkably sophisticated on and off-ice performance this weekend, speaking to Jeff Skinner after selecting him the draft Friday night? Video. Read his lips as he offered Jeff this advice while the Carolina fans roared in approval. "Soak it up, they love ya. Soak it up".  Over at CanesNow, the Monday debate is asking fans to try and explain why Skinner is so adored here in Raleigh. It's obviously for a lot of reasons, many of which are hard to put into words. But is it perhaps partly because he seems so much like us? Passionate about and committed to the game of hockey, completely fun-loving, aware and a little nervous about finding our place as the "new kid" in the room of the storied history of the sport, and really, all we really can ask for is a chance to play. 

So if this three-day weekend was our "Celebration of Hockey" hat trick, and those players, fans and media from around the world want to give us a huge cheer for the experience (many players describing their weekend as "a blast"), I say today is the day we can soak it up, Carolina. They love ya.

After the jump is the full retinue of stories and videos about this historic weekend in Carolina hockey. Soak it up.

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For those of you who couldn't make it to the arena today, the open game thread finally makes a timely return.  Hopefully, I will be able to chirp in with comments from the aux press row.

While the game is certainly not a serious affair, there is still pride at stake.  When Ovechkin was asked last night if he had any antics in store for the game tomorrow he replied, "no, no, that's a game."

Most were predicting a Team Lidstrom victory after the draft on Friday night, but perhaps Team Staal will keep up their momentum from the win last night?  One thing for sure, they will have the home ice advantage, and that is an advantage not to be underestimated. 

The crowd was a factor during the skills competition and could very well help the cause again today.

With Skinner's strong resurgence in the numbers he's putting up, among rookies and veterans alike, added to the announcement of his inclusion in Sunday's All-Star game here in Raleigh, there is more buzz than ever about Carolina's favorite rookie. Some stories and audio to hear what they're saying.

Skinner added to All-Star Game roster - 2011 NHL All-Star Game from the NHL's announcement:

• When Jeff Skinner takes the ice Sunday, he'll be just 18 years, 259 days old, making him the youngest person ever to play for the All-Stars in an All-Star Game. Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman had been the youngest, at 18 years, 267 days in 1984.

Canes' Skinner rates among NHL's top rookies -  NewsObserver.com Carolina Hurricanes rookie center Jeff Skinner has shown a flair and creativity that has him at the top of the league among rookies in points and assists.

Shortly after the announcement, Jeff Skinner was trending worldwide on Twitter - from @Tachibana828. That he is trending in Raleigh is just as cool.

Remember that Jeff Skinner is scheduled to be the guest of Mike Maniscalco on the WRAL's "Canes Corner" Thursday night, at 6pm. If you don't feel like camping out at Backyard Bistro all day to get a seat, you can listen on 99.9 ESPN the Fan, streamed here.

UPDATE: Responses to the announcement with these 2 audio clips from Long Island this morning from Paul Maurice [link, 2 minutes] and Jeff Skinner [link, 6:40 minutes].

More on the Skinner and All-Star game details and stories after the jump.

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Prepare yourselves local hockey fans!  You are about to be deluged with all things related to your favorite sport as the full scope of the NHL descends to our fair city within the next couple of days.  Not only will the best players in the world be in town to perform in a skills competition as well as a showcase game, but NHL executives and top end sponsors will be putting on a show as well as a happy face for everyone to see, and happy they should be.   

In a press release sent out on Tuesday, the NHL disclosed some key numbers regarding the league's revenue growth so far this season.  This could end up being a record breaking year.   

Sponsorship revenue is up 32%, advertising on NHL.com and the NHL Network is up 55%, and an all time revenue record is expected as league generated revenue is projected to be up 14% over last year. 

The press release included this quote from the league's commissioner.

 "The League is extremely well positioned," said NHL Commissioner Gary
Bettman.  "The vital signs are good and we anticipate continued growth and
momentum.  The strong numbers are a testament to a great product on the
ice, a growing fan base that loves our game, and a strategy that provided a
path for corporate America to reach that fan base."

Next, we'll look at some of the business highlights so far this season.

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As the City of Raleigh prepares to be the center of the hockey universe for 50 or so hours this weekend, many stories are popping up on what everyone should expect, both those who are lucky enough to attend, and those relying on TV to see the weekend unfold. Here's a list of what they're saying.

Local links

NHL's stars will light up Raleigh - NewsObserver.com If the 58th NHL All-Star Game a week from today at the RBC Center is anything like many of the previous 57, there will be goals galore. Defense will be perfunctory and hitting nonexistent.

Canes Now - Skinner ready for a busy, 'cool' week | He said he did ask goalie Justin Peters for some advice on shootout moves but noted, "I don't know that I have good enough hands to do some of the things he's suggesting.

With Sidney Crosby and the Edmonton Oilers' Ales Hemsky officially bowing out, the NHL has time to find veterans to take their spots for the weekend. If it goes later this week, like in the case of Evgeni Malkin, then  Skinner, other rookies could make big game - NewsObserver.com 

WUNC's The State of Things "Ice Fever" from North Carolina Public Radio: On Hockey's conquest of North Carolina (50 minute audio). Enjoy the NPR-type voice of Frank Stasio with the N&O's Luke DeCock and Canes' in-house game announcer Brian Hoyle.

On what the city has planned this weekend, go to 2011 NHL All-Star Wide Open Celebration which is filled with lots of details and ideas.

And if you were hoping to get in to watch the Friday night draft live, there are no tickets. Instead, "Fans in attendance at NHL Fan Fair at the Raleigh Convention Center will be selected at random during the day to sit in the live studio audience." More here: All-Star Fantasy Draft Audience Information 

After the jump, some informative links from around town, a photo collection displaying how this town is decked out, The League's all out blitz, interviews with the captains, and talking with Brendan Shanahan who is regarded the mastermind of this entirely new format.

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Arguably the most exciting part of the NHL All Star Weekend, the SuperSkills Competition, will have six events this year.  The NHL sent out a press release yesterday with all the details.

Not only will Team Staal will be facing Team Lidstrom for the All Star game, they will be competing against each other in these events as well.  Rookies will participate along with the regular All Stars.

Champions will be crowned in each of the six individual events, with Team Staal going against Team Lidstrom throughout the night for points in the overall team vs. team competition.

Team captains Eric Staal and Nicklas Lidstrom, along with their alternate captains, will lead the team selection process during the new NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft™ powered by Cisco on Jan. 28.  As Captains, Staal and Lidstrom also will set their team rosters for the Honda NHL SuperSkills®.  The selections of which players will participate in each event will be made on Saturday afternoon and order of participation will be determined by the Captains just before the start of each event.  Each All-Star will be involved in no more than three events, excluding the Discover NHL Elimination Shootout™, the event in which every player participates.

Staal will undoubtedly figure out a way to get Jeff Skinner on his team.

The six events are as follows:

·        Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater™
·        BlackBerry NHL Breakaway Challenge™
·        McDonald’s NHL Accuracy Shooting™
·        G Series NHL Skills Challenge Relay™
·        XM NHL Hardest Shot™
·        Discover NHL Elimination Shootout™

Details of each event are listed after the jump, along with links to sample videos.  Any predictions on who will do the best at each?

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