The league-best Bruins will have at least two representatives at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game in Sunrise, as goaltender Linus Ullmark and head coach Jim Montgomery have become locks for the event.
In the case of Ullmark, the trip down to Florida during the league’s All-Star weekend pause became officially with the NHL naming him to the Atlantic Division team as the division’s goalie.
Hey, Ully, you're an All-Star ⭐️
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 6, 2023
Congratulations, @Icebeardude!
📰: https://t.co/OzAz5lAFjr pic.twitter.com/cQE4O5MRhpThe nod for Ullmark comes with the 29-year-old in the midst of a downright ridiculous season, with Ullmark leading the league in wins (21), save percentage (.939), and goals against average (1.86).
If that holds, Ullmark would be the first NHL goaltender to win the ‘Triple Crown’ of goaltending since Carey Price in 2014-15, which ended with Price winning the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player.
This nomination was an obvious no-brainer, but Ullmark’s closest competition for the honor of being the division’s starting goaltender would have to be Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has captured 16 wins and posted a .921 save percentage through 26 appearances this season.
(Whenever you’re getting a nod over Vasilevskiy, regular season or not, you’re doing something right.)
🎥 Linus Ullmark on his first career All-Star Game selection: "I think it's kind of surreal. I remember watching when I was young...it was one of the few things that we actually taped when I was younger...it's a little surreal to be here now." pic.twitter.com/VFOJM7uARp
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 6, 2023“I think it’s kind of surreal,” Ullmark said of being named to the All-Star Game roster. “I remember watching when I was young as well. it was one of the few things that we actually taped when I was younger, to watch Peter Forsberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, Joe Sakic and all those guys when they played in the All-Star Game, and it was always fun watching it. it’s a little surreal to be here now.”
This will be Ullmark’s first All-Star Game appearance at the NHL level. The 6-foot-5 Ullmark was a two-time AHL All-Star for Rochester during his time with the Sabres organization.
Ullmark will be the first Bruins netminder to appear in an NHL All-Star Game since Tuukka Rask in 2020.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 01: Head coach Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins during practice for the 2023 Winter Classic at Fenway Park on January 01, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Montgomery, meanwhile, is All-Star Game-bound with the Bruins set to enter the Jan. 11 deadline with the best points percentage among all Atlantic Division teams.
Jim Montgomery will be a first-time NHL All-Star, as Atlantic Division coach.
— matt porter (@mattyports) January 6, 2023
Coaches will be selected by points percentage thru games of Jan. 11. Toronto can't catch Boston before then.
Quite a comeback story for Montgomery, in progress.“It’s a reflection of our team,” Montgomery said. “You know, to have 30 wins in 38 games, it’s a tribute to the entire organization. The pro scouts, the amateur scouts, the players that developed within, and obviously the great job that Don Sweeney has done. [It means] I get to coach a great team.”
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It is a bit hard to imagine that the Bruins’ nominations will end with Ullmark and Montgomery, however, especially with David Pastrnak playing the way he is this season.
Currently fifth in the NHL in goals (27) and seventh in points (52), Pastrnak has put himself in the Hart Trophy discussion, and is one of the game’s true superstars. He’s also a two-time All-Star, and even captured All-Star Game MVP honors in 2020, which tends to count for something when it comes to the public’s voting.
But it will take the fan vote to get No. 88 to Sunrise, as the rest of the roster will be determined through fan voting that runs through Jan. 17.
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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has been covering the Bruins since 2010, and has been a member of the Boston chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.