The NHL all-star game is next weekend, but with the way extra-long breaks have been scheduled, there are only six games total over the next three days, and many teams are already finished for at least the next seven days.

One of the debates around the all-star game revolves around who is invited each year. There are always the superstars that are going, no matter what, even if other players have been just as good or better.

It’s no different in fantasy. There are always debates about who is more valuable: A 40-goal, 300-shot forward, or a 70-point, 30-power-play point defenseman? A player you drafted in the 15th round, or the player you drafted in the second round, who are both putting up an equal number of points?

Below are 10 players who would be underrated all-stars for a fantasy all-star team. We’re going to exclude the obvious names, such as Connor McDavid, Cale Makar and Andrei Vasilevskiy, as they wouldn’t be underrated. The players listed below will help you win your championship, but they won’t be your main pieces. These are the players who were drafted later but are tremendously outperforming their draft position.

This is the type of list where I could have 25 players and still be debating if it should have been a top-30 list this week.

10. Tyson Barrie

Barrie’s overall points and 82-game pace aren’t what makes him deserving as an underrated all-star, it’s his performance in other categories. Let’s start with his power-play efficiency. He’s already at 22 power-play points, one higher than last season and only seven off his career-best of 30 that he posted in 2017-18 with Colorado. The 22 power-play points are tied for second among defensemen. He also has 59 blocked shots. If he can stay healthy, he should break his previous high of 93, and has a shot to reach 100 for the first time in his career.

9. Brandon Hagel

A few weeks back, I listed Hagel as my top choice on my “will they reach 70 points for the first time” list. Not much has changed since then. He’s still producing significantly and is on pace for 70 points. Last week, he was bumped down to the second line, which is not a great thing for him as you want him to be playing alongside Nikita Kucherov. But Hagel keeps producing with 15 points in his last 16 games, and two in his last three since the demotion. He will soon post career highs in goals, shots and points, and has already reached highs in assists, PIM, power-play goals, power-play points and blocked shots. His plus-13 is also miles ahead of last year’s minus-18.

8. Hampus Lindholm

Lindholm was a hot property at the start of the season when Charlie McAvoy was out with an injury. But Lindholm hasn’t cooled off as much as we anticipated. Since McAvoy has been back in action, Lindholm has 19 points in 37 games. That’s still a 42-point pace, which is better than most would have anticipated. He also is a plus-19 in that time, to go along with 22 PIM, 83 shots, five power-play points, 31 hits and 51 blocked shots. On the season, he has 32 points, only two off a career high. His plus-31 is tied with Joe Pavelski for the league lead.

7. Jamie Benn

Benn has fallen from his Art Ross-winning days, but he’s turned back the clock for this season, even though he’s been on the third line for most of the campaign. Through 51 games, Benn has 44 points, which puts him on pace for 71 points. That would be his highest point total since 2017-18. In the seasons since then, his 82-game pace has ranged from 46 to 56 points. He’s also on pace for 30 goals, which would be his first 30-goal campaign in five seasons. He’s already at 10 power-play goals and 18 power-play points, which puts him on pace for his highest mark in that category since that Art Ross trophy back in 15-16. He’s averaging 2.4 shots and slightly more than a hit per game. Not too shabby for a third-line player most of us gave up on.

6, David Krejci

There was some uncertainty about Krejci coming into this season. After all, he hadn’t played in the NHL for a while, and no one would have been surprised if the 36-year-old had lost a step during his time away. There was no need for worry, as Krejci has looked awesome. He already has 41 points in 45 games. That 0.91 points-per-game is the best mark of his career, and he could be on pace for a career high in points if he can stay healthy (he’s already missed five games due to various ailments). He’s also helped the second power-play unit, where he already has 10 power-play points (his previous high is 19).

5. Vince Dunn

Even after the draft and early in the season, there had to have been some concerns about Dunn. After all, this is a defenseman whose career high was 35 points, and the Kraken went with Justin Schultz to man the power play early on. The Schultz endeavor didn’t last long, and Dunn has excelled this year. He is heading into the all-star break already at a career-high 36 points and is on pace for 60. He’s already at a plus-26 as well. He’s also on pace for career highs in goals, hits (he’s tied for his career high currently), power-play points and blocked shots.

📢 advertisement:

4. Martin Jones

A fun little exercise is to go back and look at where players were drafted in the preseason. Odds were that Jones wasn’t drafted in yours, even in the deepest of leagues. Even in my keep-30, 24-team dynasty league, Jones wasn’t drafted until 174th overall last September. Jones already has 23 wins, tied for second with Andrei Vasilevskiy and Connor Hellebuyck. Yup, just like we all thought was going to happen. His three shutouts are tied for fourth, his most since 2017-18 when he had four. Sure, his save percentage and goals against average could be better, but you can’t argue against wins and shutouts.

3. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

One big difference between RNH this year compared to previous years is that he hasn’t let up on his torrid start. Usually, he starts hot and then cools off tremendously. I once traded for him after a hot start (19 points in 15 games) just to watch him finish with 31 in his last 48. This year, he has simply kept producing, and he is on pace for career highs in many categories. He has 22 goals; his career high is 28. He has 38 assists; his career high is 41. He has 60 points (tied for 11th in the league); his career high is 69. He is a plus-six; his career high is plus-11. He has seven power-play goals; his career high is nine. He has 32 power-play points, already a career high and third-highest mark in the league. Of course, he needs to stay healthy, which is a big question mark for the Band-Aid boy.

2. Alex Tuch

While Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin are getting plenty of press, it’s Tuch who deserves a big piece of credit for the Sabres’ turnaround. Here’s a player who wants to play in Buffalo and has been dynamite since he arrived in the Jack Eichel trade. So far this year, Tuch has 54 points in 49 games, putting him on pace for 90. He’s also averaging three shots per game and has already reached career highs in goals, points, power-play goals and power-play points.

1. Vitek Vanecek

Vanecek’s season has gone much better than almost anyone could have expected. While Ilya Samsonov and Igor Shesterkin are getting all-star nods, Vanecek has been just as impressive. Just compare the numbers between the three:

Vanecek: 21-5-2, two shutouts, 2.29 GAA, .917 SV%, 65.6 quality start percentage

Samsonov: 16-16-4, four shutouts, 2.38 GAA, .923 SV%, 63.2 quality start percentage

Shesterkin: 21-8-7, one shutout, 2.45 GAA, .918 SV%, 63.9 quality start percentage

Vanecek has the best stats of the three, but while Samsonov and Shesterkin were drafted among the top five netminders in almost every league, Vanecek was the 43rd netminder drafted in Yahoo. That’s a great bargain for anyone who was able to nab him as a third or fourth netminder.