LOS ANGELES -- It took less than a season for Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine to become NHL all stars.
The top two picks in the 2016 NHL draft were among the players selected Tuesday to participate in the upcoming 2017 NHL all-star weekend.
Laine, the rookie leading scorer with 21 goals and 37 points, is the lone Winnipeg Jets representative on a Central Division roster also including captain P.K. Subban of Nashville and reigning league MVP Patrick Kane of Chicago.
Laine's participation in the tournament is questionable after he suffered a concussion in a recent game against Buffalo. If he can't go, Winnipeg forwards Mark Scheifele or Nikolaj Ehlers, who share the Jets' scoring lead with Laine, are possible replacements.
"Patrik Laine is kind of an all-star kind of player," Winnipeg's Mathieu Perreault said. "He makes a difference. He's that threat to score at all times, which is something we didn't really have in the past here. Those guys make a big difference. He gives you that goal that you need to either tie a game, win a game. He's already scored some big goals for us."
The 19-year-old Matthews is Toronto's sole representative after scoring 21 goals in his first 39 games to become the Maple Leafs' youngest All-Star since Wendel Clark made it 31 years ago.
Matthews, second in rookie scoring with 35 points, joins a team captained by Montreal goaltender Carey Price that also includes Canadiens defenceman Shea Weber and star Ottawa rearguard Erik Karlsson.
The Pacific Division roster, captained by NHL leading scorer Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, includes Calgary forward Johnny Gaudreau and Vancouver forward Bo Horvat.
Evgeni Malkin joins Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Sidney Crosby on the Metropolitan Division roster, which also includes Washington sniper Alex Ovechkin.
The all-star weekend will be held Jan. 28-29 in Los Angeles. The Kings will be represented by forward Jeff Carter and defenceman Drew Doughty in their home rink.
The game format will again be a 3-on-3 tournament featuring a team from each of the NHL's four divisions. The players also will compete in a skills competition on Saturday, Jan. 28.
The Pacific Division won the tournament last year, but the weekend was dominated by the unlikely story of John Scott. The journeyman enforcer scored two goals and was voted the MVP after an equally improbable grassroots online campaign by fans to vote him into the game as a captain.
Arizona ended up without a player at last year's game after Scott was traded to Montreal. The Coyotes will be represented this time by goalie Mike Smith, an all-star for the first time in his 11-year NHL career.
Among other first-time all-stars is Philadelphia forward Wayne Simmonds, who began his NHL career with Los Angeles before being traded for Mike Richards five years ago.
"It's kind of surreal," Simmonds said after a morning skate in Buffalo. "It makes me think when I was a young kid watching the All-Star games, and watching all the great players who played in it. To even be mentioned in the same breath as All-Stars in the NHL is pretty special, and it's a great accomplishment."
Columbus, which has roared to the top of the overall NHL standings with its recent 16-game winning streak, will send only defenceman Seth Jones and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to the All-Star Game. Forward Cam Atkinson, tied for eighth in the league with 39 points heading into Tuesday's games, was not selected.
The coaches will be Columbus's John Tortorella, Minnesota's Bruce Boudreau, San Jose's Peter DeBoer and Montreal's Michel Therrien.
Although the rosters frequently change due to injury, every team currently has a player representative at the midseason extravaganza, which changed format last season to a four-team tournament of 20-minute games. Each team consists of six forwards, three defencemen and two goalies.
Rosters:
ATLANTIC DIVISION
Goaltenders: Carey Price, Montreal (capt.); Tuukka Rask, Boston
Defence: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay; Erik Karlsson, Ottawa; Shea Weber, Montreal
Forwards: Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay; Brad Marchand, Boston; Auston Matthews, Toronto; Frans Nielsen,Detroit; Kyle Okposo, Buffalo; Vincent Trochek, Florida
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
Goaltenders: Sergei Bobrovski, Columbus; Braden Holtby, Washington
Defence: Justin Faulk, Carolina; Seth Jones, Columbus; Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers
Forwards: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh (capt.); Taylor Hall, New Jersey; Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh; Alex Ovechkin, Washington; Wayne Simmonds, Philadelphia; John Tavares,New York Islanders
CENTRAL DIVISION
Goaltenders: Corey Crawford, Chicago; Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota
Defence: Duncan Keith, Chicago; P.K. Subban, Nashville (capt.); Ryan Suter, Minnesota
Forwards: Patrick Kane, Chicago; Patrik Laine, Winnipeg; Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado; Tyler Seguin, Dallas; Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis; Jonathan Toews, Chicago
PACIFIC DIVISION
Goaltenders: Martin Jones, San Jose; Mike Smith, Arizona
Defence: Brent Burns, San Jose; Drew Doughty, Los Angeles; Cam Fowler, Anaheim
Forwards: Jeff Carter, Los Angeles; Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary; Bo Horvat, Vancouver; Ryan Kesler, Anaheim; Connor McDavid, Edmonton (capt.); Joe Pavelski, San Jose
With files from The Associated Press
