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| Ryan GETZLAF (GEHTZ-laf, RIGH-uhn) |
Anaheim Ducks |
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All-Star selection a first for Ducks' Getzlaf;
The young center, who has 48 points in 44 games, and veteran defenseman Pronger have been selected to represent the Ducks in the Jan. 27 game.
DAN WOOD, Orange County Register – January 11, 2008
ANAHEIM – If Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf's arrival among the NHL's elite was not complete last season, when he led the club in scoring during its drive to a Stanley Cup championship, it certainly is now.
On Thursday Getzlaf received his first invitation to an NHL All-Star Game. He and teammate Chris Pronger were among players selected by the league's hockey operations department to the Western Conference team for the Jan. 27 event at Atlanta's Philips Arena.
While Pronger, one of four defensemen named to join starters Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings and Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames on the Western Conference blue line, will make his fifth All-Star Game appearance, such recognition is a first for Getzlaf, who is in his third NHL season.
"Obviously, it's an honor to be selected. It's an exciting day," Getzlaf said on a conference call. "I'm just going to go in and enjoy it. I think it's all about the whole experience. There are going to be a lot of guys there that I've looked up to for a long time. It's going to be exciting to be on the ice with them, interact with them and hear about their experiences."
Getzlaf, 22, led the Ducks with 17 points, including seven goals, during last season's playoffs, and has followed that performance with more impressive numbers this season. He is the club's top scorer with 48 points, including 17 goals, in 44 games and was tied for 13th in the league, and fourth in the Western Conference, in scoring through Wednesday.
Getzlaf is riding a nine-game point streak that is one better than his previous career-high, established earlier this season, and that matched Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby for the NHL's longest active run entering Thursday's action. Getzlaf also has a team-high plus-20 mark that ranked fifth-highest in the league.
The only down side for Getzlaf was the exclusion of right wing Corey Perry, his sidekick on the Ducks' top line. Perry did not receive an All-Star Game berth despite being tied for eighth in the NHL with 23 goals and ranking higher in that category than every player named to the Western Conference squad except Calgary's Jarome Iginla and Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg, each of whom fans voted in as a starter.
"Corey is a hell of a player," Getzlaf said. "I've been fortunate enough to be able to play with him for the last three years. It's unfortunate that he isn't able to be part of it. You have to tip your cap to the rest of the league, I guess. There are a few other guys who could have been there, too. I would have loved to see Corey there and be able to experience it with him."
Pronger, whose previous all-star appearances came as a member of the St. Louis Blues, leads all NHL skaters with an average ice time of 27 minutes, 40 seconds per game. In his first season as Ducks captain, having succeeded Scott Niedermayer, Pronger ranked fourth among NHL defensemen with nine goals and fifth with 32 points in 46 games before Thursday's action.
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