Mark Streit

Islanders defenseman Mark Streit has been selected to the 2009 NHL All-Star Game, which will be played on Sunday, January 25 in Montreal at the Bell Centre. Signed as a free agent on July 1, 2008, Streit is tied for first among NHL defensemen in scoring with 32 points (8 goals, 24 assists) and leads all NHL defensemen in power-play scoring with 20 points (7 goals, 13 assists).

"This is an unbelievable honor and I’m truly excited to represent the Islanders in the All-Star Game," said Streit, who was presented with an Eastern Conference All-Star Jersey at the Islanders’ morning skate in Calgary. "It’s going to be a great experience to go back to Montreal and it will be a lot of fun."

Among NHL defensemen, Streit also ranks tied for fifth in goals with eight, second in assists with 24, tied for second in power-play goals with seven, tied for first in shorthanded goals with one and seventh in shooting percentage at 10.5 percent.

Streit is the first Swiss player ever to be named to the NHL All-Star Game. In 246 career NHL games, Streit has recorded 33 goals and 108 assists for 141 points. Streit also has eight years of experience playing in the Swiss league, where he scored a total of 57 goals and 139 assists for 196 points in 363 games.

After being selected by Montreal in the ninth round (262nd overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Streit played for the Canadiens for three seasons (2005-08) before joining the Islanders as a free agent last summer. Streit is signed by the Islanders through the 2012-13 season.

The roster additions to the NHL All-Star Game were selected by the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department, after consultation with League General Managers.

Mark Streit

The 2009 NHL All-Star Weekend in Montreal will celebrate the Montreal Canadiens’ Centennial season with live national broadcasts of the Honda/NHL SuperSkills event on Saturday, January 24, and the NHL All-Star Game on Sunday, January 25, on CBC and RDS in Canada and VERSUS in the United States. NHL Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage which can be heard on stations around the United States and Canada as well as on Sirius XM Radio's NHL Home Ice, located on XM channel 204 and on SIRIUS channel 208 with the "Best of XM" programming package. NHL.com and NHL Network will provide extensive coverage of the All-Star Weekend.

Click here to read about Mark Streit’s long journey to the NHL.