The National Hockey League (NHL) on Thursday announced the captains of the four divisions for the 2019 North American All-Star Game based on fan balloting. Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche topped the votes. Interestingly, all four were selected as the first pick in the draft when they entered the league.

McDavid, 21, scored 52 points (19 goals, 33 assists) in 35 games, ranking No.4 in the league. On December 13, thanks to another two assists by him, McDavid became the ninth player in the league's history to reach 300 points before the age of 22. Moreover, that game was his 240th NHL game, making him the fifth player since 1998-99 to get 300 points within 250 games.

"That it's fan-voted, it means a lot. I'm very lucky to have the support that I do from fans, not only in Edmonton but around the League. It definitely means a lot," said McDavid.

Ovechkin,33, will play his second straight and eighth All-Star Game. It was also the third time in four years to be voted as the division's captain. Having scored 29 goals that led the league, Ovechkin only needs one more to join Mike Gartner as the only players who have scored 30 goals in 14 straight seasons. In 2018, Ovechkin helped the Capitals win their first Stanley Cup since they entered NHL in 1974 and was named the most valuable player of the postseason.

"To still have respect from the fans is a very important thing…I'm kind of the old horse over there, but still getting recognized by the fans, so it's very important," said Ovechkin.

Matthews, 21, will play his third All-Star Game since he entered NHL with the Maple Leafs in the 2016-17 season. Though he missed 14 games in November because of a left shoulder injury, Matthews scored 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 12 games since he returned on November 28, making his total points 34 (19 goals, 15 assists) after 23 games. The young man got 93 goals, the fourth most of all players since 2016-17, but in only 167 games, at least 24 fewer than the three ahead of him.

"Absolutely it's a big honor. With the way it's set up obviously a lot of very deserving guys won't be able to go but to be selected to compete in the All-Star Game, it's a huge honor, and to be a captain of a division, it's pretty special," said Matthews.

MacKinnon, 23, will play his third consecutive All-Star Game. With 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists), he's No.3 in the league and only three behind his teammate Mikko Rantanen. Last season, MacKinnon scored 97 points (39 goals, 58 assists) in 74 games and ended second in MVP voting next to Taylor Hall of the New Jersey Devils.

"It's cool for sure. It's nice to have the support from the fans. It's obviously pretty cool…(Earlier in his career), I feel like I didn't belong with those group of players, some of the best players in the world. I didn't feel like I belonged in that group. Now I do," said MacKinnon.

The NHL Hockey Operations Department will pick the remaining players of all four All-Star teams that will compete at the SAP Center in San Jose on January 26, 2019.