Many complained that Pittsburgh Penguins’ center Sidney Crosby’s absence would take away from the prestige and excitement of the NHL All-Star game. Ohers noted another prominent Penguins’ player, Evgeni Malkin and his absence in Raleigh and it’s effect on the exposure of the game. Well, the haters were absolutely wrong.The NHL All-Star game was phenomenal. The Skills Competition was entertaining and exciting and the actual game itself was high scoring and riveting. However, despite the absence of a certain two all-stars, the real star of the All-Star weekend was the draft. Captains of Team Staal and Team Lidstrom selected players one by one to their respective teams until Phil Kessel was the proverbial cheese standing alone with a new car. The new format made for a great media weekend and great time for the players and fans. The location of the All-Star weekend was equally important. Carolina Hurricane fans are known to tailgate before Canes games and they brought that to this weekend, too. And obviously it wasn’t just Canes fans lighting up the grills and playing a little parking lot puck. Fans from all over came to what was definitely one of the best All-Star weekends in recent memory. So even without all of our boys representing the Pens in Raleigh, the weekend was a success.