OTTAWATyler Seguin joked a couple of days ago about possibly playing on an All-Star line with the player he essentially replaced in Boston, and it made all kinds of sense tohave the 19-year-old actually skate with Phil Kessel in Sundays All-Star game at Scotiabank Place.
So Claude Julien apparently heard Seguins request, liked it, and will go with the forward combination suggestion in Sundays game. After taking part in the shooting accuracy competition and shootout elimination on Saturday evening, Seguin confirmed hell be centering a line with Maple Leafs Kessel and Joffrey Lupul.
It means Seguin will get the same enemys treatment as the two Toronto players in Ottawa, but hes jazzed about it.
Its out there? I dont know if were going to get booed every time we take the ice because of the OttawaLeafs thing, but I saw that before the game and thought it was pretty funny, said Seguin, who was fed passes from Kessel during the shooting accuracy competition that he failed spectacularly at on Saturday night. Theyve got me at center. Its a little surprising. I was going to ask coach about playing center, but Im looking forward to it. Ill probably just throw the puck at them and watch them go.
Seguin and Kessel, of course, will forever be linked together after the Bs selected Seguin with their 2010 No. 2 overall pick, and it seems the two young players have been compared with each other nearly every time Boston and Toronto suit up against each other. Kessel joked with Seguin that the two players should skate together for the media after they were drafted together for Team Chara on Friday night, and Claude Julien said he was going to tinker with the lines in ways he normally wouldnt during the regular season.
This is a chance for me to relax as well. Were going to do things with our lines that are going to be fun, said Julien. We want the players to enjoy who theyre playing, and some players might have special requests. Were going to listen to them.
Its an opportunity for the players to have their 10 cents worth about who they want to play with. Were going to go into it with an open mind and make the best of it.
Its also a chance for both Bruins and Leafs fans alike to witness a skilled line combo they never thought theyd see: Seguin and Kessel speeding down the ice, wreaking havoc with the non-existent All-Star defense.