Remember when we were kids and it was time for a scrimmage at the end of practice? The coach would select two captains and they would get to choose their team in a draft style with the remaining players on the team. The NHL has adopted a different way to play the all-star game this year and we look at the all-star games for other major sports in North America.

We’ll fast forward to 2011 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The NHL is going to have a new format for the all-star game. Retired NHL superstars Brendan Shanahan and Rob Blake put this idea together with the help of others as a way to reach out and attract more fans and to make the game more exciting.

The fans will still have the opportunity to vote the starting 6 into the game (3 forwards, 2 defenceman and a goalie). There will also be a pool of 36 additional players to the starting 6 chosen by fan balloting as well as the NHL Hockey Operations Department. These 42 players will have a vote amongst themselves to decide who shall be the 2 teams captains.

Conferences have nothing to do with the all-star game this year.

There is certainly no doubt that the all-star games throughout major sports could all use an excitement boost, with the NFL Pro Bowl generating the worst audience of the four major sports in North America (hockey, baseball, basketball and football).

The MLB has input a format that the winning team between the National League and the American League will have home-field advantage for the World Series. This is the only incentive-based all-star game in major sports.

It could be argued that the MLB has the most competitive, and quite possibly, the most exciting all-star game. So is it just a matter of time before other sports follow suit and make the talent showcase count for something? Although the NHL is trying to make strides to improve their audience views and ratings, they still have some work to do. More details are to be released closer to the date of the all star-game.

Let us know if you think this will attract more people and make it more exciting, as well as any suggestions you may have.