Zemgus Girgensons Leads NHL All-Star Vote

By now, everyone’s heard about Buffalo Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons, and how he leads all NHL players in voting for the 2015 NHL All-Star Game. No doubt many people around the league are scratching their heads – how can this relatively unknown player from the worst team in the league be at the top of the list? – but for Buffalo Sabres fans, it’s quite an incredible thing.

One question some may be asking themselves: why should I vote for Zemgus Girgensons for the 2015 NHL All-Star Game?

Well, first off – without the votes, Zemgus Girgensons is not guaranteed a spot at the All-Star Game, unlike others.

Based on how the All-Star rosters are chosen, it’s pretty much guaranteed that certain players will be picked. Superstars like Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Alexander Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos…. the term “all star” is pretty much synonymous with their names.

Those players don’t need the fan votes to get in; it’s a no-brainer and a given that they’ll make the roster for the 2015 NHL All-Star Game.

But players like Zemgus Girgensons, who have shown potential and are starting to catch eyes around the team, around the community and around the league — that’s where the fan support is needed. I can’t find the comment now, but a poster on NHL.com commented this exact thing — that other players are obviously going to make it to the game, so why not vote for different players, perhaps underrated ones?

Why not give your vote to a player who isn’t guaranteed a spot?

Stemming off of this, wouldn’t it be nice to see some different players at the NHL All-Star Game? While it’s incredible to see the superstars of the league play together on one ice surface for a weekend, why not mix things up a little bit?

As of this week’s most updated polls, Zemgus Girgensons had over 803,000 votes, more than double what he had at last week’s update. He also has more than 428,000 votes more than second-place vote-getter Patrick Kane.

In addition, roughly 82 percent of Zemgus Girgensons’ votes have come from his home country of Latvia, which I think is pretty darn amazing. It’s powerful to see a country’s hockey fans really get behind him and rally for this. Whether you think he’s the best player on the ice or not is irrelevant; you’ve got to commend the people of Latvia for their strong showing of support for one of their hometown players.

When asked what he thought about all this, Girgensons said “it’s crazy” and that the people of Latvia are – and always have been – crazy hockey fans.

So let’s do it, Buffalo Sabres fans — and NHL fans in general. Why not take a minute of your day and give one of your All-Star votes to 19-year-old Buffalo Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons?

Just for kicks, I have to throw in this Tweet from Dave Lozo, if only because it made me laugh, so perhaps it’ll do the same for you. Now, go out and vote for Zemgus (and whoemever else you’d like to vote for!) before the NHL All-Star Game in January.