West is best: just in case there was any doubt left in your mind about which conference is dominating the NHL, chew on this—10 of the 12 players on our All-NHL team hail from the West - All-NHL Team

Hockey Digest, Summer, 2003 by Keith Loria

SIX PLAYERS FROM SIX DIFFERent teams are represented in this year's HOCKEY DIGEST All-NHL First Team, although five do come from the Western Conference. All are members of teams that finished with 100 points or more, and each obviously was a major factor in their team's success.

Goalie Martin Brodeur is the sole member from the East, and he may very well be facing the scoring touch of any one of the other five First Team members in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Second Team also has five representatives from the West, with Washington's Sergei Gonchar the only representative from the East. He's also the only skater on either squad whose team did not reach the 100-point plateau, but again, he is a prime reason why his team is in the playoffs.

Several of the Second Team members were this close to finishing as a First Team member and so many other players have played such an important role for their squads that several well-deserving stars had to be left off. Sure Mario Lemieux and Joe Thornton were among the top players in the game all season long, but when you have centers such as Sergei Fedorov and Peter Forsberg, tough decisions have to be made.

Here's a look at our picks.

FIRST TEAM

Center: Sergei Fedorov

Detroit Red Wings

The Stanley Cup champions looked a lot different at the beginning of the season than when they were hoisting the Cup last June. Coach Scotty Bowman retired and was replaced with assistant Dave Lewis. Goalie Dominik Hasek also called it a career, so the team brought in Curtis Joseph in net. Then there were major injuries to captain Steve Yzerman and defensive specialist Jiri Fischer. Luckily, Detroit could count on--as usual--Sergei Fedorov.

Having one of his best seasons in years, Fedorov established himself once again as a natural leader who shines under pressure. He finished with 36 goals and 83 points and was impressive in all areas of his game--especially on the power play. Even though the team still has an striking array of stars, it was undoubtedly Fedorov who helped Detroit win its division and finish second overall in the West.

Although he did not finish in the top 10 in scoring, Fedorov brought more intangibles to his team this year than any other player in the league.

Left wing: Madras Naslund Vancouver Canucks

The lone returning member from last year's First Team squad, Vancouver's Naslund improved on last year's amazing season and is one of the favorites for this year's Hart Trophy as league MVP and Art Ross Trophy as the top scorer.

Naslund and his laser-like wrist shot finished second in the NHL in scoring with 104 points, while his 48 goals and 56 assists made him the only player to finish in the top 10 in both those categories.

The Swedish sensation came just two goals short of becoming the first Swede in 14 years--the last was Hakan Loob--to score 50 in a season. Loob was rooting for his fellow countryman saying that "it would be good for the game and good for Swedish hockey."

It's certainly was good for the Canucks, who reached the 100-point plateau for the first time in a decade, thanks in large part to Naslund and his linemates Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison.

"You can't say enough about those guys," Vancouver coach Marc Crawford says. "There's a lot of confidence around here."

Right wing: Milan Hejduk Colorado Avalanche

Things looked bleak for the Avalanche in the early part of the 2002-03 season, so much so that coach Bob Hartley was surprisingly shown the door. But when you have a team that's been a fixture in the Stanley Cup race since migrating to their new city in 1996, it was obviously only a matter of time. Although Peter Forsberg is arguably the heart and soul of the squad, it was Hejduk who seemed to put key goal after key goal in the net as the team made its resurgence.

Hejduk finished the year with an even 50 goals, making him the lone NHL player to reach that mark this season. His plus-52 rating placed him atop that category, alongside linemate Forsberg. Perhaps the most impressive stat for Hejduk was his 20.5% shooting percentage, which was a half a percentage point higher than the No. 2 man in the league, Alexander Mogilny.

The right winger has been progressing every year, and when Joe Sakic went down, he stepped it up to give Colorado a strong second shooter they could count on.

Defense: Al MacInnis St. Louis Blues

Last year St. Louis' Chris Pronger made this list, but when he went down with an nearly season-long injury, MacInnis became the team's top defensive threat and 22-season veteran responded with one of his best seasons ever.

MacInnis, who will turn 40 this summer, proved game in and game out that his body was still up for the most important defensive situations. Incredibly, MacInnis ranked third in minutes played, averaging more than 27 a game. He could be the sentimental favorite for his second Norris Trophy.

The veteran blueliner is still among the league's best because of his smarts, endurance, and a slapshot that remains the most feared in the game. Any questions that he's starting to slow down because of his age were answered by the 98.9-mph bullet, he fired off to win hardest shot contest at this year's All-Star Game Skills Competition.