Over the last few weeks the sport of hockey has made its presence felt once again in the city of Chicago. After nearly a decade and a half of apathy towards the Blackhawks, they've suddenly become the focal point of the Chicago sports scene. The Winter Classic was so hyped around town that camera crews from all the local networks were at Wrigley Field just to see the Zamboni be unloaded off of a truck. Then the game finally came, and it did not disappoint, even if the Hawks did lose to the hated Detroit Red Wings.
Win or lose, though, all that really matters to the Blackhawks and hockey fans is that they matter again, and on Friday the team received another indication that the fans care once more. On January 25th in Montreal the NHL will have its All-Star Game. When the puck drops for that game, there will be not one, not two, but three Blackhawks in the starting lineup for the Western Conference.
Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Brian Campbell were all voted in by the fans, and had some pretty large leads thanks to the fact that the Blackhawks lead the NHL in attendance this season at 22,685 fans a game. All of whom seem to be abiding by the Chicago tradition of voting early and voting often.
Kane received 908,000 votes, Toews got 800,000, and Campbell brought in 775,000. Needless to say, if the state of Illinois does decide to have an election for its vacant senate seat at some point, these three may be wise to throw their names in the ring.
For Kane and Toews it will be their first appearances in the game, while this will be Campbell's third trip, with his first two coming as a member of the Buffalo Sabres. Joining the three Hawks in the starting lineup will be three Anaheim Ducks, as Ryan Getzlaf, Scott Niedermayer, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere were all voted in as well. Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby led all players with 1,650,000.
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