10:00-10:45 a.m.
HNIC Chat Session with George Stroumboulopoulos
Hockey Night in Canada Booth, 3rd Level

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
2012 Scotiabank NHL Fan Fair Dancers

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OTTAWA, Ontario - Marian Hossa is back in Ottawa representing the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2012 NHL All-Star Game, but he still looks back fondly on his time with the Senators organization. That time could have been even better if the Senators were just a little bit luckier, according to Hossa.

"Back then, we had a great team in Ottawa," Hossa said. "Rob Zamuner, who's working for the (players' association), and I sat down yesterday and talked about it. We had such a great team back then. We were missing a little bit of luck, but, like I said, coming back here is always full of great memories."

One of the major reasons for the greatness of that team, in Hossa's mind, was Daniel Alfredsson.

"We don't have to talk about how great he is on the ice, but also outside of the ice. He has charisma, he's a great leader, he's the best person. He made the atmosphere around us much easier. It was always loose, fun, and he's a respectful person. When there were young guys coming in, he'd come in and help them out. When somebody was struggling, he was always the first guy helping out. He's just such a good character."

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OTTAWA, Ontario - Some of the most difficult questions of the afternoon on day two of the All-Star festivities in Ottawa were directed towards Ottawa Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson, but the second-time All-Star didn't shy away, and provided some very clear and telling responses.

"His is longer, for sure," Karlsson said, when asked to gauge whether he or Kris Letang had better hair. "It is now, at least. He has a good flow, and I'm pleased to see someone else is doing that style."

This weekend has been a coming-out party of sorts for Karlsson, as media members from around the league are finally beginning to see the friendly, easy-going personality that Ottawa fans have embraced since he came onto the scene a couple of years ago. Karlsson's happy that people within and outside of Ottawa are getting to see a bit more about the personalities behind the players they watch on TV.

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Since there are a lot of players signing autographs at the Fan Fair today, below is a press release from the NHL outlining some of what's happening at the NHL Fan Fair over the course of the day.

11:30 a.m.
SiriusXM Chat Session with Erik Karlsson, moderated by Nicholas St-Pierre
SiriusXM Theatre, 3rd Level

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Canadian Tire Autograph Session with Curtis Joseph, Patrick Lalime and Shaun Van Allen
Canadian Tire, 3rd Level

(Read more... )

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Daniel Alfredsson took a while to unite his teammates, but he eventually did what he could during 2012 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft by selecting Erik Karlsson (1), Jason Spezza (2), and Milan Michalek (12). He also brought a number of his countrymen on board, with Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, and Alex Edler joining Alfredsson, Karlsson, and Henrik Lundqvist on the team. The lone exception for the Senators: Colin Greening and his rookie teammates were placed on Team Chara.

Alfredsson also picked most of the locally renowned talent, with local boy Claude Giroux, former Ottawa 67 Logan Couture and former Senator Brian Elliott on board. The only local connection on Team Chara (other than Zdeno Chara himself) is former Ottawa 67 Brian Campbell.

Fittingly, all three Maple Leafs are on the opposing squad, with Zdeno Chara and co-captain Joffrey Lupul bringing Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf into the fold on their team. The Boston Bruins were also on that squad, with Tim Thomas and Tyler Seguin joining Chara.

After the jump are the full All-Star Rosters, before rookie assignments:

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The NHL All-Star Game festivities kick off in earnest tonight with the NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft. Who will go first? Who will go last? Will the Ottawa Senators manage to stay together, or will they be broken up? Time will tell. The show kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

As a reminder, here are the players Team Alfredsson and Team Chara will be selecting from:

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Brian Elliott spoke with the media > yesterday, talking a bit about opportunities he was given--with the Ottawa Senators to start his career, and with the St. Louis Blues to get it back on track--and about the way the Canadian media treats goalies (which, in his experience, probably wasn't very friendly).

"Obviously, the Canadian media is pretty harsh on goalies and in Ottawa it's been kind of a focal point for them in years past. They like to throw people under the bus. I try not to think about it too much. I never really read into any of it. The guys know how you are in the locker room and that's all that really matters."

That's a pretty interesting quote, and Elliott's certainly not pulling any punches there. Considering his numbers last season, though, some criticism was certainly warranted: He finished the year with a 15-27-9 record, a GAA of 3.34, and a save percentage of 89.3%. He played for some terrible teams (the Senators and Colorado Avalanche finished 26 and 29 in the league), which certainly didn't help, but I doubt even Elliott would deny it was a bad year last year.

Which just makes his resurgence this year all the more impressive. He's first in league in both save percentage (93.8 per cent) and goals-against average (1.69), and second in shutouts (five) despite playing just 23 games so far. He benefits from Ken Hitchcock's defence-first system, but even before Hitchcock came on board, Elliott's play was incredible considering his numbers last year.

Could anyone have predicted this resurgence? If they did, they weren't talking very loudly.

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