EDMONTON -- Oilers captain Connor McDavid and teammate Leon Draisaitl have been named to represent the Pacific Division at the NHL All-Star Weekend.
McDavid will make his fourth All-Star appearance after being voted by fans as the captain of the Pacific Division team. Draisaitl will take part in the All-Star festivities for a second time at the Jan. 24-25 festivities in St. Louis.
The German forward is in the midst of a month-long slump, and is minus 25 in his past 16 outings.
"I've always been good at assessing my own game. I have no probelm saying I haven't been playing to my capabilities," he told reporters Monday.
Draisaitl has 13 points in the team's last 13 games, but the team has only four wins to show over that stretch.
"He's very aware of where he's at," said head coach Dave Tippett. "We've had some good conversations in the last few days."
The Oilers return to action on New Year's Eve when they host the New York Rangers.
Six forwards, three defencemen and two goaltenders were picked from each of the four divisions: the Metropolitan, Atlantic, Central and Pacific. All 31 NHL teams needed to be represented on the initial rosters.
The Oilers, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs each had two players named to NHL All-Star Weekend.The league's hockey operations department filled out the all-star rosters beyond the captains voted in by fans.
Each team has one additional roster spot to be filled in by a fan selection out of a pool of available "last man in" players, including Edmonton's Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2019.
