- NHL.com projects Ovechkin, Kucherov and Draisaitl to headline the World team for the 2027 All-Star Game
- The forward-loaded roster carries zero defensemen, with Vasilevskiy and Shesterkin sharing the net
- Read below for the full projected World roster and how the new five-team format works
The World team at the 2027 NHL All-Star Game might not bother with a blue line.
NHL.com rolled out its first projected World roster on Sunday, and the group is stacked up front. Alex Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov and Leon Draisaitl headline nine forwards, with Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin splitting the crease. Not one defenseman made the cut.
That group rounds out the five projected rosters NHL editors have assembled, joining Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden. It pulls from the best players born in countries outside those four.
Kucherov anchors the whole thing. He put up 130 points last season and grabbed his second Hart Trophy as league MVP in June.
Watch the NHL make it official back in June:
Ovechkin brings the goal record along for the ride. His 32 goals last season pushed his NHL-record total to 929, and he is not done adding to it.
Here is the full projected World roster:
- Forwards: Leon Draisaitl (EDM), Nico Hischier (NJD), Kirill Kaprizov (MIN), Nikita Kucherov (TBL), Martin Necas (COL), Alex Ovechkin (WSH), Artemi Panarin (LAK), David Pastrnak (BOS), Juraj Slafkovsky (MTL)
- Goalies: Andrei Vasilevskiy (TBL), Igor Shesterkin (NYR)
Pastrnak and Necas each hit 100 points, and Kaprizov tied for fourth in the league in goals. Together the nine skaters accounted for 803 points last season.
Russia owns the crease. Vasilevskiy, a two-time Vezina winner, went 39-15-4 with a 2.31 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. Shesterkin, who won the Vezina in 2021-22, gives the World team maybe the best goalie tandem in the field.
Then there is the back end, or the lack of one. Moritz Seider and Roman Josi drew votes but missed, and the editors leaned all-in on scoring for a 3-on-3 sprint.
Long Island hosts the 2027 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Feb. 5-6, where five teams play a 3-on-3 round robin, each carrying 11 players. Check out the event mark the league unveiled:
Fan voting opens in December. The NHL and NHLPA will name 30 players per team, fans pick eight, and the league and union fill the final three spots.
It is only a projection eight months out, but a World team built around Ovechkin, Kucherov and two Vezina goalies would be a nightmare draw for the other four.
