nhl

Three first overall NHL draft picks. Two Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik. And don't forget Pavel Datsyuk, who is regarded by his colleagues as one of the game's best all-around players. In the absence of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, the NHL's All-Star festivities in Ottawa this weekend aren't exactly bereft of talent.

A Ukrainian hockey coach charged with fondling a teen player in Philadelphia will remain in custody until a bail hearing next week.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

When 21-year old Tony Nelin and 20-year old Timmy Ryan were in dire need of water in order to help build a backyard rink, they figured using a garden hose would end up being too expensive, so they decided to hook up a fire hose to a hydrant on Tinley Park High School property to complete the 91-by-43 foot rink.

They were caught by the school's janitor and on Friday were sentenced to 16 hours of community service each, along with paying off the $127.44 water bill. The judge who sentenced the pair understood their plight and offered a suggestion of civic duty.

From the Chicago Tribune:

The two, along with three friends, had constructed a 91-by-43-foot rink in the backyard of one of their homes in December so they and others would have a place to skate.

"I understand what your purpose was; the problem was how you went about it," Cook County Judge Daniel Lawrence Peters said at the Bridgeview courthouse. "If you have contacts with the Park District, you may be able to do something with the rink."

Their time on the ice could count toward their required hours if Nelin and Ryan can arrange to host a skating program for kids through their local park district, Peters said.

According to the Tribune, the publicity from the story last month earned the two an invite to the U.S. Pond Hockey Championship in Minnesota and a liner for the rink from a company in Wisconsin.

Nelin and Ryan, along with two other friends who helped build the rink will split the $127.44 water bill.

Like the pair's original idea of creating a backyard rink, hopefully the judge's suggestion of opening it up up to the community becomes a reality.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

It's a (gettin' down on) Friday edition of Marek vs. Wyshynski beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, and we're talking about the following and more:

Special Guest Stars: Perhaps an NHL All-Star. Perhaps not.

• In which Marek and Wysh discuss the NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft and its various charms.

• Brian Burke's CBA harbingers of doom.

• The Blue Jackets' owner sends a letter to the fans.

• Puck Headlines and Talking Points

Question of the Day: "What was your favo(u)rite and most most awkward All Star draft moment last night?"

Email your answers to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or tweet them with the hashtag #MvsW to either @jeffmarek or @wyshynski.

Click here for the Sportsnet live stream or click the play button above! Click here to download podcasts from the show each day Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or Feedburner.

Hockey fans in the U.S. take what we can get when it comes to validation of our sport's popularity.

We celebrate minimal upticks in television ratings that still put the NHL behind children's cartoon shows on cable. We beam when there's an NHL jersey or reference spotted in a mainstream sitcom or movie. We treat that Sports Illustrated cover story from nearly 20 years ago — "Why The NHL's Hot and the NBA's Not" — as proof that we were one lockout away from capturing the hearts and minds of U.S. sports fans.

So allow us the delusion that this new Harris Poll provides. In its annual examination of what American fans deem their "favorite" sports, football is king, baseball is fading, and hockey has just as many favorites as basketball — pro or college. Huzzah!

Here's how the new poll shakes out, via Harris Interactive's 2,237 adults surveyed online:

Over one-third of adults who follow at least one sport (36%) say professional football is their favorite sport while just 13% say baseball is their favorite. The gap between the two sports has widened in the past year — last year 31% said pro football was their favorite while 17% said baseball was their favorite sport.

Looking at how other sports fared, just over one in ten sports fans (13%) say college football is their favorite sport while 8% say it is auto racing, 5% each say men's professional basketball, men's college basketball and hockey. All other sports are favorites for 2% or less of sports fans.

Check out the full charts here.

This is hockey's popularity tracking since 1985 for fans that are asked the question: "If you had to choose, which ONE of these sports would you say is your favorite?"

So what does this prove?

For one, that hockey has developed a core group of fans who will support the game with fervor. Since 2004, hockey hasn't dipped below 4-percent support.

So hockey has a devoted following, much like auto racing. Unlike auto racing, it hasn't had peak year where popularity spiked.

The poll also concerns "favorite sport"; not "favorite to watch" or "favorite to play," but one assumes a combination of the two. Might hockey's uptick in recent years have anything to do with increased popularity as a participatory sport in the U.S.?

But insofar as the popularity of hockey vs. basketball … OK, it's a bit of wishful thinking to say pucks are as popular as roundball. The more accurate headline might have been: "Don't tell ESPN, but new poll finds hockey as popular as basketball in U.S. (in that they're both not as popular as football)"

Every metric from TV ratings to gate attendance to national media attention to star power tips in the favor of pro hoops. And while the Stanley Cup Playoffs are, in our completely biased opinion, the greatest annual tournament in sports, there are probably a few more March Madness brackets in circulation inside U.S. offices than Stanley Cup fantasy pools.

So while hockey has as many "favorites" as basketball, the evidence points to basketball being more popular — be it pro, college or on a participatory level.

The point, however, is that hockey is in the national sports conversation while some media consider it an afterthought. Like, for example, the television folks in Bristol.

The Fame Makers, a.k.a. Neil Campbell and Mike Hanford, have performed a public service to hockey on Funny or Die: Teaching Mike Richards, Anze Kopitar, Matt Greene and Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings how to be famous sports celebrities so ESPN will finally take notice.

The following video runs over 4:30, but there's a lot of gold here. Check it out:

As few reactions to this instant classic:

• Drew Doughty engages in some deep meta humor here as he (a) takes a puck off the noggin, having been concussed earlier this season and (b) does the Dustin Brown reverse water bottle gag. Or maybe we're giving him too much credit.

• Assuming the Sacramento Kings gambit worked, what would Anze Kopitar's celebrity couple name have been? Kopidashian? Kanze? These are really the essential issues.

• For the video impaired, the lyrics from Mike Richards' soon-to-be No. 1 hip hop single:

I like skating on the ice/ Coach Sutter is very nice/ Slap shots are very nice/ Breakdown! Wrist shot, slap shot, backhand goal/

• There's every chance that Matt Greene is a Justin Bieber fan. Two words: Cupcake Wars.

OTTAWA — Along with the ignominious label of Mr. Irrelevant and a new Honda Crossfire, Logan Couture was given something else as the last pick of the 2012 NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft: All of the questions Phil Kessel has had to answer for the last year.

Kessel's off the hook, giving up the sash and crown of last pick in the All-Star Draft to the San Jose Sharks sophomore, and not a moment too soon.

"It's dumb. It's stupid. People take it for too much, right?" said Kessel after Thursday's night's All-Star Draft.

"People" of course being media, fans and one curmudgeonly general manager in Toronto who felt the Draft needed to be reformatted after his guy was picked last.

"People" not being the NHL players in the draft, who find the whole thing rather amusing.

"I don't think anyone really cares where they get picked. The media really makes a big deal about it. In talking to Kessel, he really didn't care where he got picked," said Jason Pominville of the Buffalo Sabres, who was among the last four players picked along with Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Couture.

"But [Kessel] said he at least got a car out of it," said Pominville. "I was thinking maybe I'd get a car out of it, towards the end. I guess I'll have to fly back home."

Couture's bounty for being the last pick included a new Honda Crosstour, which was a car with which he was unfamiliar. He's also currently driving a Mercedes Ranger Rover, so perhaps one of the dozens of friends and family that texted him after the draft will end up with a new ride.

"Couture's gonna do a good job with that car," said Scott Hartnell.

He also did a good job with being the last pick in the Draft. He was jovial, self-deprecating and understanding of his lot in life. He's a player that "gets it," and that's the kind of player that'll handle being the last man standing.

"I had a feeling it would be me, quite honestly. Playing on the West Coast in San Jose, it doesn't get too much TV coverage on East Coast channels. Especially being young, too, and not even being one of the bigger names on my own team," he said, noting that many other players were taken based on relationships with the team's captains and assistant captains.

"I gotta get to know all these guys in case I'm back here another year."

Kessel said Couture shouldn't think twice about being the last pick.

"He's a great player. He's young. You could see the young players going later. He's not going to be the last pick again. It's not a big deal," said the Toronto Maple Leafs forward.

It was enough of a big deal for the NHL and the NHLPA that there was a subtle tweak of the All-Star Fantasy Draft format so no player was placed in a negative spotlight. The players mulled around backstage rather than being seated in front of the podiums.

The bottom four went onstage together, so there wasn't the awkward moment of having one of them sitting alone in the dark like Kessel in 2011, with some Ovechkin-ish rascal snapping a TwitPic of their shame with his smart phone.

The NHL softened the blow of being the final pick since the Kessel Affair, even if the players said there wasn't really a need to. They support the Fantasy Draft format, and the odd little moments that emerge from it. (Seriously, how great was Spezza last night?)

For a player like Couture, last picked is still picked.

"It's the All-Star Game. I'm 22 years old. I never thought I'd be here at this age."

When we last left former NHL goaltender and frequent NHL Network analyst Marty Turco, he had signed a short-term contract with EC Salzburg to play in the European Trophy Finals in December. Turco suited up for three games with Salzburg and later was a member of Team Canada in the Spengler Cup.

After a month off, Turco is back in the game after signing a deal with Salzburg for the remainder of the Erste Bank Hockey League (Austria) season.

From Salzburg's website (via a Google translation):

The EC Red Bull Salzburg is pleased to announce the signing of Marty Turco for the remainder of the season known. The 36-year-old former NHL goalie - even in the 2010/2011 season he started 29 times for the Chicago Blackhawks (for details see Statistics ) - had until mid-December 2011 caused a furor when he was with the Red Bulls, the Red Bulls Salute 2011 in Salzburg and Vienna and won it excelled in all three games with a great performance. After that, the Canadians have participated with Team Canada at the Spengler Cup in Davos (SUI) and was subsequently returned to America. Now, Marty Turco has decided to play with the Salzburg also the season in the Erste Bank Hockey League to an end. Marty Turco will arrive tomorrow afternoon in Salzburg and to complete Saturday, his first training session with the Red Bulls. His first assignment at the reigning champion in the Erste Bank Hockey League still depends on a number of formalities and is not expected next week. The Red Bulls have completed the third and final exchange transaction completed, what player in his place from the current squad is logged off, is still open.

According to TSN's Darren Dreger, Turco has an NHL out-clause in the deal that lasts until the trade deadline on Feb. 27.

If he posts decent numbers in Austria, would any NHL team decide to inquire about his services?

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

OTTAWA — It's no secret the NHL has made a brazen endorsement of Jersey Fouls lately, what with a recent commercial that enables these affronts to fandom.

But this really ups the ante. Introducing the Incredible NHL Jersey Fouls Machine, seen at the NHL All-Star Game FanFest in Ottawa this week.

OK, it's really just a bunch of people with heat presses and the kind of big mechanical clothing carousel found at any local dry cleaner, but the whole thing looks gigantic inside one of the rooms at the FanFest.

For those who protect the sanctity of the sweater, the real menace of this devious contraption is automation:

Yes, creating a Jersey Foul just became as easy as ordering a breakfast sandwich at Sheetz or Wawa (or insert your own reference to a gas/food establishment with touch-screen ordering).

You choose your color, your size, your name and number, the patch of the team you want on the shoulder and BOOM, you have a jersey being made on-site. Depending on how nimble your fingers are, the Jersey Foul can go from concept to execution in under a minute.

Scary times.

The blue adult Zach Parise All-Star jersey I created (but did not purchase, for it would be blasphemy) came to $249.99. Then I used some Purell on my hands to wash away the Foul.

So congratulations, guy in the "CROSBYSUX 69" jersey. Life just a little more easier for you.

Meanwhile, your friends at Puck Daddy are currently in the planning stages of a full-on assault of the device, like GI Joe soldiers taking down Cobra Commander's Incredible Weather Machine...

(Meaning that the Jersey Fouls Creator will explode into three primary pieces that travel to the jungle, the arctic and under the ocean, where they must then be retrieved before COBRA, er, the NHL gets them first. Yo Joe!)

OTTAWA — Joey Junior Blackhawks Reporter, the precocious scamp who rocketed to fame by asking "Who do biggest tuwh-key on da team?", has taken his talents to Ottawa for the 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend. And by talents, we mean his disarming taunts of opposing fans and Roger Sterling-like charisma with the ladies.

Here's JJBR at the NHL All-Star Fan Fest, chatting with Keeper of the Cup Phil Pritchard, as well as Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers fans; while also being dazzled by dancing girls. Oh, how quickly they grow up ...

"Are you a Maple Leafs fan?" "How's that going for you?" Classic.

Meanwhile, Joey Junior Blackhawks Reporter had some one-on-one time with Heidi Androl of NHL Network, cutting right to the chase by asking her out for a steak dinner:

Chicago: The city of young men who boldly flirt with female reporters on camera. We're actually rather surprised we never saw Patrick Kane use that body language in an interview before.

If there was one NHL player besides Zdeno Chara (obviously) you'd want Joey to interview, who would it be?

A few text messages from San Jose Sharks teammate Joe Thornton helped Logan Couture avoid feeling unwanted when he was the last man standing in the NHL All-Star draft. "Oh yeah, Jumbo is all over me. He loves it," Couture said with a smile, while noting he also got a few texts from the Sharks training staff on Thursday night.

Daniel Alfredsson's kids should be happy. And so should be much of Ottawa and Sweden with the team the Senators captain put together in making his selections in the NHL All-Star draft on Thursday night.

GATINEAU, Que. — Tyler Seguin of the Boston Bruins was among the final four picks in the 2012 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft, staring down the potential for considerable irony: That he could be the last player taken one year after Phil Kessel of the Toronto Maple Leafs — with whom he's forever linked — was the last pick.

Luckily, Seguin had friends in high places. Or, at the very least, a really tall dude that captained one of the All-Star teams.

Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara selected his teammate Seguin with his next-to-last pick, sparing him from being in the final two. Undoing any undue stress, the two then hugged it out "Entourage" style.

"I don't think he was sweating," said Chara. "He knew I would pick him. I made some picks first. I wouldn't let him sneak away from me."

Seguin, however, said things were a little tense, as was evident in a nervous TV interview during the Draft.

"I was definitely getting hot back there and I don't know if I could say it was the lights," he said. "I was a little nervous — all four of us were went we went on the stage — we were not embarrassed because everyone should have a good time but anytime it's a draft like that you're not wanting to go on the bottom like that."

Of course, it helps when you can win a car for going last.

"I told a couple guys that I just think I'll take the left wheel of the car, that's all I really wanted," Seguin joked. "Can't say I wanted the whole thing."

s/t to James Murphy of ESPN Boston.

GATINEAU, QUE. -- When Tim Thomas said on Monday evening that his statement on Facebook would be his final comment on the issue of him skipping the Boston Bruins' trip to the White House to celebrate their Stanley Cup championship, he meant it.

Thomas didn't play Tuesday against the Washington Capitals and wasn't available to speak to the media before or after the game.

On Thursday night, after Team Chara selected Thomas with their second pick in the 2012 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft, TSN's James Duthie opened up his interview with the Bruins goaltender by asking about the biggest story of the week and if he believed the issue would get as big as it did.

"I followed my conscience," said Thomas. "I'm extremely grateful for all the support I've gotten from my teammates, fans and friends. I said in that statement that would be the only time I would be addressing that topic. We're here in Ottawa to celebrate the game of hockey and I'm just extremely excited to be a part of that."

Thomas wasn't done being questioned. During a post-Draft media availability, three of his five questions were on the subject.

When asked if his teammates have ribbed him at all since Monday, Thomas cut off ESPN's Scott Burnside, saying very directly,"They've given me their full and unwavering support and I really appreciate that."

Despite Thomas' obvious desire to move on, the very next question, about the issue taking on a life of its own, was met with a very sharp "no comment."

And when the final question came, again about the White House snub, Thomas stuck to his guns.

"I did address it," said Thomas. "Everything I said in my statement was what I believe to be absolute truth."

"I don't believe I need to revisit something that I stated so clearly."

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

GATINEAU, QUE. — The 2012 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft featured a relaxed setting for the players waiting to be selected by Teams Alfredsson and Chara.

Well, save for the bathrooms.

With 46 players in the draft — including the rookies — the men's room facilities weren't exactly ample.

"How was the battle behind the scenes for the bathrooms?" asked Ryan Rishaug of TSN to Scott Hartnell of the Philadelphia Flyers, drafted to Team Alfredsson.

"As soon as there was a TV timeout, it was just like during a game: You had about 2 and a half minutes to get the job done and get back to your seats and pretend like nothing happened. It was pretty funny," said Hartnell.

The word after the Draft, however, was that Team Chara's Joffrey Lupul used his assistant captaincy to cut the line for the bathroom, specifically in front of his old Flyers teammate Hartnell.

Hartnell denied Lupul pulled rank to get into the men's room. Because … well ...

"Let's just say we shared the same bathroom at one time. He had to get out there quick. Everyone likes to play swords I guess," he said, with a laugh.

"I don't know if I can say that or not. I don't know if he'll be embarrassed or not."

OK, so did the co-mingling in the facilities take place?

"That may be true," said Lupul, a forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs. "It was a mad scramble, and I'm not exactly sure what happened. Uh … uh … it's probably something I didn't want people to find out.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. I've showered with him before in Philadelphia. So it wasn't too weird."

Was fellow NHL All-Star Game assistant captain Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers aware he had the ability to dictate bathroom line policy? Has he abused said privilege?

"Not yet, but the weekend just started," said Lundqvist. "I didn't know about it. But now that you told me, I'm probably going to use it."

Thus is the excitement of the NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft. It'll leave you feeling flushed.

GATINEAU, QUE. -- The dust has settled and the 2012 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft is complete. No big snubs or dramatic teammate double-crosses. No trade between the two sides, the Sedins stick together and Logan Couture goes home with a new car.

But we did get lots of booing of Joffrey Lupul and his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates from the Ottawa crowd, so that was fun.

Here's the final breakdown of the 38 selections, including the group of rookies placed on each squad.

Team Zdeno Chara (alternate captain Joffrey Lupul)

1. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings (No. 1 overall) 2. Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins 3. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins 4. Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks 5. Kimmo Timonen, Philadelphia Flyers 6. Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks 7. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens 8. Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs 9. Ryan Suter, Nashville Predators 10. Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings 11. Brian Campbell, Florida Panthers 12. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks 13. Dion Phaneuf, Toronto Maple Leafs 14. Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames 15. Dennis Wideman, Washington Capitals 16. Marian Gaborik, New York Rangers 17. Jordan Eberle, Edmonton Oilers 18. Tyler Seguin, Boston Bruins 19. Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars

Rookies: Colin Greening, Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan Johansen, Cody Hodgson, Luke Adam, Raphael Diaz

Team Daniel Alfredsson (alternate captain Henrik Lundqvist)

1. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators 2. Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators 3. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings 4. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers 5. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins 6. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning 7. Brian Elliott, St. Louis Blues 8. Shea Weber, Nashville Predators 9. Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks 10. Dan Girardi, New York Rangers 11. Keith Yandle, Phoenix Coyotes 12. Milan Michalek, Ottawa Senators 13. Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks 14. James Neal, Pittsburgh Penguins 15. Alex Edler, Vancouver Canucks 16. John Tavares, New York Islanders 17. Scott Hartnell, Philadelphia Flyers 18. Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres 19. Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks (final selection)

Rookies: Sean Couturier, Carl Hagelin, Nick Johnson, Matt Read, Craig Smith, Justin Faulk

So how do these rosters stack up as we look ahead to some of the more anticipated Skills Competition events on Saturday night?

Hardest Shot - Team Alfie has to have the slight edge this year with two of the top three finishers in last year's competition on their side in Steven Stamkos and Shea Weber. Of course, both lost to Chara's record-breaking 105.9 mph attempt. Dustin Byfuglien's absence, as the only other All-Star in 2011 to break 100 mph will be sorely missed, so we'll just have to settled for a three-way dance.

Advantage: Team Chara

Accuracy Shootout - Steven Stamkos, Scott Hartnell and Milan Michalek are the top three All-Stars in the shooting percentage category and Daniel Sedin, last year's champion give Team Alfie the edge here. While it's a bit different trying to hit four round targets in each corner of a goal, it has to be some sort of advantage, yeah?

Advantage: Team Alfredsson

Fastest Skater - We'll have a new champion this year with Michael Grabner's absence, and Stamkos is the only All-Star back from last year who posted a sub-15 second time. Gritty veteran Martin St. Louis is also missing, so young legs will likely once again dominate in this category as both teams are flush with that kind of talent.

Advantage: Even

Fastest Goalie - Alfredsson and Chara still have to choose which All-Stars will perform in what events, but if we had our way, we'd like to see Tim Thomas defend his honor (no, not from this past week's events) from his stumble while racing Cam Ward a year ago.

Advantage: N/A

Trick Shot Competition - No Alex Ovechkin means someone else is going to have to break out the fishing hat and Canadian flags this year. Between Stamkos, Claude Giroux, John Tavares, the Sedins, you might as well call them the "All-Hands Team". Chara's squad, with the likes of Eberle, Seguin and Malkin, should give them a good push, but this one is a landslide.

Advantage: Team Alfredsson

Who do you like for each of the top Skills events on Saturday?

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Daniel Alfredsson stuck close to home - both his native Sweden and his adopted home of Ottawa - in making his selections in the NHL All-Star draft on Thursday night.

With their seventh pick of the 2012 NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft, captain Zdeno Chara and assistant Joffrey Lupul wanted to take a goaltender. Lupul, a Toronto Maple Leafs forward, decided to reach across enemy lines and select Carey Price from the arch rival Montreal Canadiens.

Needless to say, Price may not have anticipated the selection:

Nothing like getting your name pulled with a mouth full of, ahem, beverage. Alas, the greatest spit-take in recent sports history did not come to pass.

Now where's the handshake for Captain Chara, Mr. Price? We'll just chalk it up to the confusion in the moment, not the bitter and deep animosity between the Bruins and Habs. Right?

Daniel Alfredsson's kids should be happy. And so should be much of Ottawa and Sweden with the team the Senators captain put together in making his selections in the NHL All-Star draft on Thursday night. Alfredsson completed a double sweep, picking all available Senators and Swedish-born players in building a roster that will take on Zdeno Chara's team in the skills competition on Saturday...