Montreal Canadiens: Nick Suzuki Drafted By Team McDavid, Draisaitl

Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki is making his third consecutive NHL All-Star game appearance - and on Thursday evening he was drafted by team Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Suzuki will don a crisp white sweater, alongside 97 and 29. The 24-year-old London, Ontario native joins the likely favourite to win it all. Below are Suzuki’s teammates for the weekend.

Forwards: McDavid, Draisaitl, David Pastrnak, Boone Jenner, Robert Thomas, Sam Reinhart, Tomas Hertl and Suzuki

Defence: Rasmus Dahlin

Goaltenders: Connor Hellebuyck, Sergei Bobrovsky, Jeremy Swayman

The Canadiens resident Iron Man has played the most of any of his teammates. With back-to-back 82 game seasons, and another one loading, he has played a ton of hockey. His third All-Star appearance is sure to be a thrill, with two of the league’s top players.

Suzuki’s Schedule

The ivory sweatered squad will take battle on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Team MacKinnon. 

The matchup is sure to be a fast-paced affair against MacKinnon, Cale Makar and their star-studded roster. Fellow Nova Scotian Sidney Crosby was the first selection for MacKinnon and Makar’s squad. Alexandar Georgiev will get the start against McDavid’s starter Hellebuyck.

Ahead of his All-Star selection, Suzuki leads the Canadiens in points with 42, three ahead of Cole Caufield. He sits seconds in goals with 13, behind Caufield’s 17. He also sat second in faceoff percentage at 53% behind the recently traded Sean Monahan’s 54% rate. 

The festivities kick off on Friday night with the skills competition - featuring the fastest skater, hardest shot and accuracy shooting. It’s hard to imagine Suzuki’s team not doing well in shooting and skating drills. As for any stickhandling or passing drills, you’d be hard-pressed to assemble a roster superior to McDavid’s.

To be noted: Both Suzuki and McDavid grew up in the Toronto area - Richmond Hill and London respectively. So there’s a little extra excitement built up ahead of the commencement of the festivities. Surely, the hometown guys will have their own fan sections.

Throw Pastrnak and Reinhart into the one-timer shooting event and you have a fair chance to win the event. Draisaitl, McDavid and Suzuki are great passers and 97 is the fastest straight-line skater with the puck on his stick in the world. What a combination of talent and speed that this team has.