Thrashers’ Kovalchuk selected to third All-Star Game

The following comes courtesy of the Atlanta Thrashers:

Atlanta Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk has been selected by the National Hockey League to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2009 NHL All-Star Weekend, which will be held in Montreal on Jan. 24-25.

Kovalchuk has tallied 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) through the team’s first 41 games this season. He is currently tied for 13th in the NHL in assists and shares 18th in overall points.  The 25-year-old left wing leads the Thrashers in points and assists, is tied for second in game-winning goals (two) and shares fourth with four power play tallies.  Kovalchuk appeared in the 2007-08 All-Star Game, held at Philips Arena, as well as the 2003-04 All-Star Game, in which he was named a starter after receiving the most votes in fan balloting.

The Tver, Russia native was selected by the Thrashers first overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft and has appeared in 507 games for the team, recording 506 points (268 goals, 238 assists).  He also tallied two points (one goal, one assist) in four Stanley Cup Playoff games for Atlanta following the 2006-07 season. The 6-1, 230-pound left wing is the all-time franchise leader in games played, points, goals, assists, game-winning goals (33) and power play goals (97).

Kovalchuk highlights the addition 15 players to the Eastern Conference team as selected by the NHL’s Hockey Operations department.  They join the six starters that were selected by fan voting and announced on Jan. 3, which includes Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins who received the most votes (1,713,021) in the history of NHL All-Star fan balloting. 

The 2009 NHL All-Star Weekend in Montreal will celebrate the Montreal Canadiens’ Centennial season with live national broadcasts of the Honda/NHL SuperSkills event on Saturday, Jan. 24 and the NHL All-Star Game on Sunday, Jan. 25, on CBC and RDS in Canada and VERSUS in the United Sates.  NHL Radio will provide exclusive, national radio coverage which can be heard on stations around the United States and Canada as well as on Sirius XM Radio’s NHL Home Ice channel.  NHL.com and the NHL Network will also provide extensive coverage of the All-Star Weekend.