The 2012 NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft goes tonight in Ottawa.
But that wasn't soon enough for TSN hockey analysts Aaron Ward and Jamie McLennan, who decided to do their own NHL All-Star mock draft on Thursday night's edition of That's Hockey.
And while their selections may not have any effect on the outcome of the real draft, that didn't stop them from stepping into the shoes of team captains Daniel Alfredsson and Zdeno Chara and carefully weighing each and every one of their picks.
For the purposes of the mock draft, Ward acted as if he were Chara and already had Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul on his squad as an alternate captain. McLennan, meanwhile, played the role of Alfredsson with Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist as his alternate captain.
After the official coin flip, Team Ward (aka Team Chara) came away with the top pick. (Ed. Note: There was no actual coin flip; Gino Reda simply elected to give Ward the first pick).
Despite the controversy surrounding his White House snub, Ward decided to go with Bruins goaltender and reigning Vezina trophy winner Tim Thomas with the first pick of the draft.
While Ward elected to shore up his goaltending, McLennan opted for the scoring touch up front with his first selection, choosing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos.
In Round 2, Ward selected Philadelphia Flyers star Claude Giroux and McLennan followed by selecting the Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk.
Ward's next two selections were Evgeni Malkin and Shea Weber. Erik Karlsson and Patrick Kane were McLennan's 3rd and 4th round picks.
The first Sedin off the board came in Round 5 when Ward selected NHL assist leader Henrik. Rather than splitting up the twins, McLennan decided to pick Marian Gaborik with his fifth round selection.
Ward quickly jumped on the chance to keep the dynamic Swedish duo together by picking brother Daniel.
The next man off the board in the mock draft was last year's last man standing, Phil Kessel.
Ryan Suter, Jason Spezza, Brian Elliot, Jimmy Howard, Corey Perry, Keith Yandle, Dion Phaneuf, Alex Edler, Dennis Wideman, James Neal and John Tavares were all selected by Ward in the subsequent rounds.
McLennan, meanwhile, scooped up Brian Campbell, Tyler Seguin, Jonathan Quick, Carey Price, Kris Letang, Jamie Benn, Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, Dan Girardi, Jarome Iginla, Milan Michalek and Jordan Eberle.
That left just two players on the board - Buffalo Sabres forward Jason Pominville and San Jose Sharks centre Logan Couture.
Ward elected to go with Couture, leaving Pominville as the last man in the stands.
If Pominville actually does earn the distinction of being that last player chosen on Friday, it's not all bad. There will be a shiny new car and a donation to a grassroots hockey program of his choice waiting for him.
View the full list of drafted players in the mock draft here.
