Getting named to an NHL All-Star Team is a huge honour.
That's not referring to the teams that go to the mid-season All-Star Game. That's still an honour but it's not the same as the 1st and 2nd All-Star Teams that are named at the end of the season. Getting name a first or second-team All-Star is an acknowledgement that, for at least one season, you were the best or second-best player at your position in the entire NHL.
Prior to the 2023-24 season, just eight members of the Vancouver Canucks have ever made an All-Star Team, as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA): Kirk McLean, Pavel Bure, Alexander Mogilny, Markus Naslund, Roberto Luongo, Daniel Sedin, and Henrik Sedin. The Sedins were named to All-Star Teams twice, while Naslund is the only Canuck with three All-Star Team placements: he was a first-team All-Star three times.
Two more Canucks joined those players this season, as Quinn Hughes was named a first-team All-Star and Thatcher Demko was named a second-team All-Star.
Hughes and Roman Josi were the two defencemen on the first All-Star team, joining goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and forwards Artemi Panarin, Nathan MacKinnon, and Nikita Kucherov.
It's not surprising that Hughes would be a first-team All-Star. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman, which is also voted on by the PHWA, so his place at the top of the All-Star voting makes perfect sense.
Hughes received 185 first-team All-Star votes and two second-team All-Star votes, finishing ahead of Roman Josi and Cale Makar, who received 110 and 76 first-team votes, respectively.
Thatcher Demko's place as a second-team All-Star wasn't as certain. While he finished second in Vezina voting, that award is voted on by the NHL's general managers, so there was no guarantee that their Vezina vote would match that of the PHWA.
Still, his body of work was impressive enough that he also won over the PHWA and joined defencemen Cale Makar and Adam Fox and forwards Filip Forsberg, Connor McDavid, and David Pastrnak on the second All-Star team.
Demko didn't receive any first-team votes but received the vast majority of second-team votes and was on 164 out of 187 ballots.
Hughes and Demko weren't the only Canucks to get votes for the All-Star teams.
Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller each received one vote from PHWA members, who had to name a top-three at each position. Boeser received a third-place vote at right wing, enough to finish eighth in voting at that position.
Oddly, Miller received a second-place vote at left wing, a position he didn't play all season. The PHWA is clear that players are to be voted on based on their position listed with the NHL, which is centre for Miller. For players with some question as to what position they are, the PHWA specifically informs voters of the proper position.
It's entirely likely that whichever PHWA voter gave Miller a second-place vote at left wing had their entire awards ballot invalidated.
In the interests of full disclosure, here are my votes for the first and second-team All-Stars:
Centre
1. Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche
2. Auston Matthews - Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Connor McDavid - Edmonton Oilers
Right Wing
1. Nikita Kucherov - Tampa Bay Lightning
2. David Pastrnak - Boston Bruins
3. Sam Reinhart - Florida Panthers
Left Wing
1. Artemi Panarin - New York Rangers
2. Kirill Kaprizov - Minnesota Wild
3. Jason Robertson - Dallas Stars
Defence
1. Quinn Hughes - Vancouver Canucks
2. Roman Josi - Nashville Predators
3. Evan Bouchard - Edmonton Oilers
4. Gustav Forsling - Florida Panthers
5. Cale Makar - Colorado Avalanche
6. Noah Dobson - New York Islanders
Goaltender
1. Connor Hellebuyck - Winnipeg Jets
2. Thatcher Demko - Vancouver Canucks
3. Jacob Markstrom - Calgary Flames
