Anyway, he was in Atlanta for the All-Star festivities and wrote about it on NHL Connect.

I was going to write a post listing my five favorite moments from All-star Weekend but there are just too many to limit it to the top five. Here are my highlights by category.

Best On-Ice Hockey Moments

Evgeni Nabokov's incredible second period saves on Ilya Kovalchuk in the All-star Game that prompted him to collapse on the ice and then hug Nabokov after the first stop and throw his stick and then kick it after the second. what a great display of personality and goaltending.

Tim Thomas' stick save in the third period of the All-Star Game. The puck got past him but he somehow reached behind himself with his stick to make the save and then cleared the puck out of his crease by firing it between his own legs, all in one clean motion.

Rick Nash's hat trick. The kid can flat out play. Back when he signed his five-year deal with Columbus before the 2005-06 season people decried it as an overpayment. Now Nash is a bargain at $5.4 million per year (cap hit) through 2009-2010. All three of his goals were highlight reel quality, but his second was the best of the bunch. The third was pretty close though. If Rick Nash played in a bigger market he'd be an NHL poster boy.

Ilya Kovalchuk in the breakaway challenge. His first attempt was terrible, but then he tried to ply the judges with Gatorade and handshakes. then he skated to center ice and flapped his arms, encouraging the crowd to make some noise before he broke in on goal, dropped to his knees, and actually got a shot off. There wasn't a high degree of difficulty involved but it was a surprising and almost effective move. Kovy the showman.

The YoungStars Game. Last year this game was terrible and give the NHL credit for trying to make it better. For the most part they succeeded, and it was a nice way to showcase just how talented these rookies are. Tobias Enstrom didn't have the best of games but the event was a passing clinic.

Best Off-Ice Hockey Moments

Ilya Kovalchuk's post-All-Star Game press conference. Kovalchuk is usually fairly reserved around the media but on Sunday night he was relaxed and in a joking mood. Those moods are rare when the cameras are rolling and that made it all the more enjoyable. The quips didn't stop, but you should just watch it yourself instead of having me try to do it justice. Kovy's press conference starts 12:14  into this video.

The celebration of Willie O'Ree's accomplishments. The man broke the NHL color barrier 50 years ago and he doesn't get nearly enough recognition for it. I've spoken to him several times and he's an incredible man. It was a nice gesture by the crowd to give him a standing ovation when he was recognized during one of the intermissions on Sunday night. I was also moved by how well he was received at the NHL's Diversity Luncheon on Friday afternoon. A lot of people in attendance weren't familiar with his story and they were blown away by him.

The red carpet arrivals. Most of the players ate this event up, or at last pretended they were enjoying it. It took some players like Hossa and Kovalchuk upwards of 30 minutes to get form the bus to the door because they stopped to sign anything that was put in front of them. Several players including Ilya made a point of mentioning that they were impressed by the fan turnout.

Best People Moments

I'll openly admit that being six feet away from Alyssa Milano was a treat. She was accommodating when talking to the media and wasn't one of those celebrities that's a let down when you actually meet them.

Talking to David Boreanaz. I'm a fan of Bones, as is my wife. The picture I got of 'Booth' for her balances the one I got of Milano for myself.

Chatting with Scott Mellanby. It wasn't an official all-Star event but the Legends of Hockey wine-tasting at TJ's on Thursday was a treat and I got a chance to talk to Scott Mellanby for the first time since he retired. Mell was the first hockey player I ever interviewed and when I told them that he remembered it, even though it was two and a half years ago at an insignificant practice up in Duluth. Mell always treated me well.

Meeting Bob McFarlane. I interviewed Todd McFarlane the week before the All-star Game but I didn't have a chance to meet him on the weekend. I did get to meet his father though. Great man with a great personality. He has to be pushing 70 and he still plays hockey on a regular basis. He's not big but he's barrel-chested, like a miniature Brad McCrimmon. I bet he can still throw a hit.

The post-game VIP party hosted by Versus. It was a ticket-only deal after the game and a surprising number of players were there mixing and mingling with everyone else. Being able to talk to some of them in a non-hockey environment was special.

Honorable Mentions

Hearing people from other cities talk about how impressed they were with the facilities and the events. Everyone seemed to have a good time and I heard very few complaints from anyone about anything.

The reception at the Georgia Aquarium was also a highlight, as was the whole media setup down in the Hawks practice court. The NHL put that media headquarters together without a hitch and it was pretty impressive to see.

Biggest Regret

In all the craziness I forgot to stop by the Stanley Cup in CNN Center. I won't touch it until the day the Thrashers win it, but I still love looking at it.

My second biggest regret is not getting this written sooner, because it looks like Craig Custance had the same idea as I did and he got his favorite moment piece up before me. It looks like we saw the weekend the same way. The weekend was easily one of the highlight of me covering the Thrashers so far and it's hard to imagine anything short of a deep playoff run topping it.

What were your highlights?

I've gotta say, this city knows how to throw a party. I didn't make it to the party after the SuperSkills competition on Saturday but from anything I've heard it was outstanding. I did make it to the pre-All-Star Game reception at the Georgia Aquarium though and that was fantastic. If you've never been to the aquarium you're missing out. Before today I'd been pretty much everywhere in the building that a person can go (thanks to a membership and multiple behind-the-scenes tours with Hossa's Heroes) but I'd never been to an event in the full ballroom. I can scratch that off my to-do list now.

I'm horrible at estimating crowd sizes but there was well over a thousand people at the reception. Sponsors, fans, media and all sorts of hockey folks. Gary Bettman was there. So was Glen Sather. Thrashers owners Michael Gearon Jr. and Bruce Levenson. Everyone was mixing and mingling and enjoying the awesome spread put out by Wolfgang Puck's catering service. Nachos. Pasta. Roast beef. Chinese noodles (true fact- pasta was invented in China- not Italy. Marco Polo took it back to Europe with him after a trip to the orient). The desserts were great too, and I'm sure the open bar was well appreciated by those who weren't on their way to work like me.

Admission to the reception also got you into the aquarium itself , but you didn't even need to leave the ballroom to see the whale shark and beluga whale tanks. There are huge viewing windows right in the ballroom looking into each tank. The reception itself happened to be during feeding time, and you haven't truly seen the Ocean Explorer exhibit until you've seen a whale shark eat 15 feet in front of you. It's an incredible sight.

Hats off to the NHL, the Georgia Aquarium and all of their partners for putting together a great spread.

The NHL has a pitchman in David Boreanaz. The star of the TV show Bones and cult favorite Angel was born in Buffalo but moved to Pennsylvania when he was young and grew up a Flyers fan. I had a chance to talk with him briefly on the red carpet on Saturday and he was impressed with the fan turnout for the All-Star Game events.

"The outpour of the support for the NHL here in the city of Atlanta is great. It's amazing to see the big huge red carpet and all the fans for the All-Star game. This is all a good thing."

I asked him what he was most looking forward too this weekend and he didn't hesitate. Watching the young players.

"I can't wait to see all the young players, especially at the skills competition. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do. What some of them can do with the puck is unbelievable. The way they pass, move and shoot- the way these young guys can play it's going to be a whole different game in 10 years. It's cool to see all that."

It's not hard to tell the celebrities that are out to be seen from the ones who are genuine fans, and Boreanaz is definitely a fan.

After his comments about the young players I did a few minutes worth of digging and it's interesting to note that 24 of the 42 All-Stars are under the age of 30, and a good chunk of that group is closer to 20 than 30. There's definitely a youth movement afoot in the NHL, and they're bringing a new enthusiasm and creativity to the game.

Here's the skills competition lineup for tonight.

Obstacle Course

East:

Round 1: Spezza, Savard, Gonchar, Thomas
Round 2: Malkin, Richards, Markov, DiPietro

West:

Round 1: Sedin, Thornton, Pronger, Osgood
Round 2: Perry Datsyuk, Jovanovski, Nabokov

Fastest Skater

East: Campbell, St. Louis, Kovalchuk
West: Keith, Kopitar, Horcoff

Elimination Shootout

East: Hossa, Lecavalier, Gomez, Malkin, Staal, Timonen
West: Nash, Phaneuf, Ribeiro, Gaborik, Perry, Lidstrom

Accuracy

East: Kaberle, Staal, Alfredsson, Hossa
West: Arnott, Lidstrom, Niedermayer, Iginla

Hardest Shot

East: Ovechkin, Lecavalier, Markov, Chara
West: Arnott, Iginla, Paneuf, Pronger

Breakaway Challenge

East: St. Louis, Kovalchuk, Ovechkin
West: Datsyuk, Getzlaf, Gaborik,

You can forgive the hockey media for being a little tongue-tied. They're used to dealing with players. 19-40 year old men (46 in the case of Chris Chelios) normally dressed in smelly hockey gear who are desperately in need of a shower.

Enter Alyssa Milano, who is just about as far from all of that as a person can be. The actress turned fashion designer recently launched a new clothing line for female hockey fans and is in Atlanta to help promote the line. She was also a co-host for this morning's Rockin' Skate.

As she left the media room's NHL Network stage a small crowd of media approached her, unsure of what to ask her about but sure that she was a nice change of pace from hockey players.

It turns out that Milano is a huge hockey fan. She named Luc Robitaille as her favorite player and boasted that she has one of his rookie jerseys. If you want to do the math, she was about 14 years old when he made his NHL debut for the Kings, but she'd been doing "Who's The Boss" for two years by then. She was also proud to point out that she was a Kings season ticket holder back then- back before Gretzky and before they switched away from the classic gold and purple uniforms.

Milano had great things to say about what she's seen so far of Atlanta's hockey fans. You can check out her thoughts on the All-Star festivities on her NHL Connects blog.

After talking to the media Milano went upstairs to sign autographs at the Team Gear Store where her new NHL apparel line is on sale. She said her intention in designing the clothes was to make something form-fitting that isn't pink.

It was a hectic morning here at Philips Arena but it's finally time to breath. I spent most of the morning on the Hawks practice court which is media central. XM Radio, the NHL Network and NHL.com are all set up down there as well as enough interview stations for a whole team's worth of All-Stars to talk to the media at once. There's also a studio set that was used for the coaches round table and a few different setups for player photo portraits. The NHL has done an incredible job setting this place up. I'll put up some pictures later this afternoon.

The players have been incredibly accommodating when it comes to dealing with the media, even though they're often answering the same questions over and over again. Ilya Kovalchuk has been asked at least a dozen times what he plans to do in the shootout and every time he laughs and shrugs it off. For the record, he says he'll try to do something but that he fully expects Alex Ovechkin to represent the East in the final- not him. Kovy also said that he's looking forward to playing in front of the Atlanta fans. Any time the media insinuates that this isn't a hockey city or that it's not a strong market he jumps to the defense of Atlanta and Thrashers fans.

"It may not be the biggest hockey market, but I'm proud of where I play and I like it here," he said. "I want to win here and when we win this will be a great hockey city."

Someone asked Kovy about not being mentioned frequently for Hart Trophy consideration and he shrugged it off, saying that he's not concerned about winning individual awards or being the league's poster boy.

"That's not who I am. It's quiet here and I like it. Some guys look for attention and like it. that's not me."

The NHL All-Star Game has a history of hometown players stepping up and winning the MVP award. Ray Bourque in Boston and Owen Nolan in San Jose come instantly to mind. Kovy promised he'd do his best to put on a good show for Atlanta fans. For those who are curious he'll be playing with Marc Savard and Eric Staal. Guess which guy is expected to shoot on that line?

Marian Hossa will be playing with Scott Gomez and Mike Richards. Another sniper playing with a pair of natural centers. Hossa will be taking part in the breakaway contest tonight and will also be defending his crown in the accuracy contest which he won last year. If you aren't familiar with the skills format here's how it is set up. Hossa continues to get asked about his contract situation and he insists that his priority is to re-sign with the Thrashers. He's trying not to let it be a distraction and he says he's prepared for whatever happens.

My favorite candid Thrasher moment so far this weekend came when someone asked Tobias Enstrom how tall he is, suggesting that he might be about 5'8".

"No, no. I'm 5'10", he laughed.

"And what do you weigh- 160?"

"No. I'm 175 or 180. Right?" he asked me as he laughed. For the record he's listed at 175 on the roster.

You can't blame the young Swede for not being sure. Afterall, Sweden is on the metric system.

Toby was also asked if he knew what the Calder Trophy was. He feigned ignorance for a moment before laughing that he knows what they give it out for, but that he's not concerned about it. Enstrom actually gets tired of being asked about his rookie success because he doesn't consider himself a rookie. He might be playing his first season in the NHL but he's been a professional hockey player since he was 17.

So that's your Thrashers news so far. More soon on the person that drew one of the biggest crowds this morning other than Ilya. I'll give you a hint- she isn't an NHL player.
 

The legendary Gordie Howe was the center of attention at TJ's on Thursday

On Tuesday afternoon some of the all-time greats from the hockey world converged on TJ's in Alpharetta. They were there to launch the Alumni Wine Series but but the hundreds of fans that came through the doors just wanted to see their heroes from the days of their youth. Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Bobby Hull, Tony Esposito, Rob Ray, Bobby Clarke, Dave Schultz, Clark Gillies, Frank Mahovlich, Johnny Bower, Pat Quinn, Scott Mellanby, Willi Plett, Eric Vail and host and former Atlanta Flames captain Tim Ecclestone.

The chatter in the bar and outside was the same no matter who was talking.

"Can you believe his many people are here?"

"Wow. What a turnout. And for a hockey event on a weekday afternoon."

Despite the event being advertised as a "no autograph" occasion the legends of hockey obliged the fans. Some signed for a few minutes while others, like Bobby "The Golden Jet" Hull signed shirts, pucks, jerseys and anything else put in front of him for more than three hours.

While being interviewed on 680 The Fan 79 year-old Gordie Howe recounted how his wife used to tell his sons that if someone eve wanted their autograph they ought to take the time to sign it legibly. Many of the aging stars of the past took that sentiment to heart, even though they are long past the point where they owe the fans anything. If anything the fans in attendance are indebted to the elder statesmen of the game like Howe, Esposito and Lindsey and the more recent local alumni like Ecclestone, Vail and Plett who worked hard to build and the sell the game long before it was what it is now. Without ambassadors for the game like them there wouldn't be hockey in Atlanta today.

The gratitude of the fans was obvious, whether it was when Clark Gillies mingled at the bar, Scott Mellanby chatted with Thrashers and Flyers fans or when Tony Esposito gave goaltending advice to a six year old, passing the torch to a new generation of fans who might not fully grasp what they were a part of.

Bobby Hull signs autographs for fans.

One fan shows off his signed jersey to his friends, one of whom won an autographed legends jersey.

There will be plenty of live video throughout the weekend. Here's what's on the schedule:

LIVE STREAM SCHEDULE FROM 2008 NHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND

EVENT: All-Star Coaches' Show and YoungStars Availability
DATE/TIME: Friday, Jan. 25, 4-6 p.m. ET

EVENT: NHL All-Star Practice and Player Media Availability
DATE/TIME: Saturday, Jan. 26, 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET

EVENT: Red Carpet All-Star Player Arrivals
DATE/TIME: Saturday, Jan. 26, 4:30-5:30 p.m. ET

EVENT: Cisco 2008 All-Star All-Access Show
DATE/TIME: Sunday, Jan. 27, 3:30-4:30 p.m. ET (Show is 30 minutes long and will repeat at 4 p.m.)

EVENT: NHL Network All-Star Pregame Show
DATE/TIME: Sunday, Jan. 27, 4:30-5:30 p.m. ET

EVENT: All-Star Postgame Press Conferences
DATE/TIME: Sunday, Jan. 27 approx. 8:30 p.m. ET (will run for 45-60 minutes once it starts)

It's the last day of McFarlane/Hossa trivia so dont expect today's question to be a gimme. Good luck, and if you don't win you can always try to get a figure on Saturday or Sunday at the card and memorabilia show at CNN Center.

If you're familiar with our game day trivia you know the rules. Otherwise just check the post below for all of the details. Simply put, answer the question below between now and 2 p.m. today and if your answer is correct you will be entered into a draw to win one of two McFarlane limited edition Marian Hossa All-Star figures, which don't go on sale to the public until Saturday. Please read the official rules before submitting your response to thrashers.mailbag@atlantaspirit.com. the contest is only open to Georgia residents who are 18 or older and live within 75 miles of Philips Arena.

Thank you to McFarlane Toys for providing the figures.

BLUELAND BLOG MCFARLANE TOYS TRIVIA CONTEST
ABBREVIATED RULES

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The Blueland Blog MacFarlane Toys Trivia Contest (the "Contest") is open to legal residents of the U.S. and Georgia who are at least 18 years of age at the time of entry, reside within 75 miles of Philips Arena and have Internet access as of the date and time the Contest is first made known to the public. Subject to additional terms and conditions of the Official Rules. Click here for Official Rules. One (1) entry per person per Entry Period. Entry Period is from 10AM EST to 2PM EST each of the following days: January 23, 2008; January 24, 2008; and January 25, 2008. Odds of winning depend on number of correct entries received. Total AMV of prizes: $90.00. Void wherever prohibited. Entry forms must be filled out in full. Contest ends January 25, 2008 at 2:00 PM EST.

Versus and their marketing partner (Sinuate Media) want bloggers to help them promote the All-Star Game. If you have a blog you can win cool prizes, including All-Star jerseys, just by posting the code they give you. How easy is that? Thanks to James Mirtle for the tip.

It's McFarlane/Hossa trivia time. If you're familiar with our game day trivia you know the rules. Otherwise just check the post below this one for all of the details. Simply put, answer the question below between now and 2 p.m. today and if your answer is correct you will be entered into a draw to win one of two McFarlane limited edition Marian Hossa All-Star figures, which don't go on sale to the public until Saturday. Please read the official rules before submitting your response to thrashers.mailbag@atlantaspirit.com.

BLUELAND BLOG MCFARLANE TOYS TRIVIA CONTEST
ABBREVIATED RULES

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The Blueland Blog MacFarlane Toys Trivia Contest (the "Contest") is open to legal residents of the U.S. and Georgia who are at least 18 years of age at the time of entry, reside within 75 miles of Philips Arena and have Internet access as of the date and time the Contest is first made known to the public. Subject to additional terms and conditions of the Official Rules. Click here for Official Rules. One (1) entry per person per Entry Period. Entry Period is from 10AM EST to 2PM EST each of the following days: January 23, 2008; January 24, 2008; and January 25, 2008. Odds of winning depend on number of correct entries received. Total AMV of prizes: $90.00. Void wherever prohibited. Entry forms must be filled out in full. Contest ends January 25, 2008 at 2:00 PM EST.

This Saturday McFarlane Toys will be one of the main sponsors (along with Upper Deck) of the 2008 NHL All-Star Game Trading Card and Memorabilia Show at CNN Center. One of the highlights of the show will be the debut of the McFarlane limited edition Marian Hossa All-Star figure. Only 3,000 of them were made and there will be slightly less than that available at the memorabilia show because we have six of them.

McFarlane Toys generously offered them to us to use as giveaway items leading up to All-Star Weekend and we're happy to oblige. Here's how it will work.

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we will hold a trivia contest here on the Blueland Blog. It will open at 10 a.m. and close at 2 p.m. Each day one trivia question will be asked and entrants can submit their answer (one per day) to thrashers.mailbag@atlantaspirit.com. Two winners will be drawn randomly from the correct responses and each winner will receive one of the McFarlane limited edition Marian Hossa All-Star figures. As stated in the official rules, the contest is only open to residents of Georgia, 18 years of age or older, who live within 75 miles of Philips Arena. Here's what's on the line:

Good luck.

We're in full All-Star mode around here, so here's some All-star news.

First off, the NHL announced five additions to the All-star rosters today to make up for some absences. Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh) and Tim Thomas (Boston) were added to the East to replace Sidney Crosby and Martin Brodeur. Crosby is out with an ankle sprain but there's no word on why Brodeur is missing the game. In the West Mike Ribeiro (Dallas), Corey Perry (Anaheim) and Scott Niedermayer (Anaheim) were added to fill in for Paul Stastny, Henrik Zetterberg and Sergei Zubov. Stastny is recovering from surgery, Zetterberg has a wonky back and Zubov has a sore groin. As TSN points out, it's interesting that the NHL opted to add Niedermayer even though he sat out the first half of the season. So far Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson is still scheduled to appear, even though he has been out of commission. It's interesting to note that both goalies voted into the starting lineup are passing on the game.

In other news, Alyssa Milano has inked a deal with the NHL and G-III Sports to launch a new "Touch" female fashion line. From the press release:

That in itself might not be a big deal, but to help promote the launch Milano has been added as a co-host for the Rockin' Skate on Saturday and will be signing autographs at the Team Gear Store:

The ladies get Taylor Kitsch. The gentlemen get Alyssa Milano. Sounds fair to me.

The next time you're in the Philips Arena area (perhaps Sunday before the Edmonton game) take a look towards The Westin.

Biggest Kovalchuk ever? He's a dozen stories tall, and he's not even standing up straight.

• Former Thrasher Marc Savard is replacing Dany Heatley in the All-star Game. Heatley is out 4-6 weeks with a separated shoulder.
  
• The YoungStars will be unveiled tomorrow LIVE on XM Radio and streamed on NHL.com at 12 noon ET. A press release will follow at 12:15.