Kevin Bonneville
Kevin Bonneville
Keith Yandle has been named a NHL All-Star for the second straight season.
The Phoenix defenseman and only person selected from the Coyotes team was one of the 48 members in the player pool that was announced on Thursday. The pool of players will now be narrowed down by two captains ahead of the game that will take place on Jan. 29 in Ottawa. The Bostonian is one of 10 defensemen selected as an All-Star.
Last season, Yandle was picked to the game by captain Niklas Lidstrom. Yandle was held scoreless in his team’s 11-10 win over a team which was led by Eric Staal.
Yandle’s numbers are a bit down compared to the career stats that he put up last season, but he is still having a solid year nevertheless. Yandle has 25 points on the season; five goals and 20 assists. His 20 dishes are second on the team behind only Ray Whitney. The 25-year-old also has 28 penalty minutes and a +2 rating.
As far as the league picking Yandle as the Coyotes only representative, it is hard to argue against them. The only other logical choice probably would have been Mike Smith, but he wasn’t going to get a spot over the Henrik Lundqvist’s and Jonathan Quick’s of the world.
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