Crosby and three team mates among first All-Stars selected
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sidney Crosby and three of his Pittsburgh team mates were among the first batch of six players selected for the annual National Hockey League (NHL) All-Star Game, the league announced on Tuesday.
Crosby polled the most votes in a ballot of fans that drew more than 14.3 million responses. Crosby received 635,509 of the public votes.
The Canadian Olympic gold medalist was joined by his Penguins' team mates Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury as well as Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith of the Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Under a new format being used for the first time this year, the 42 selected players will cast their own votes to decide the captains and alternate captains of the two teams.
The appointed team leaders will then choose their own teams in a televised draft.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina. Editing by Julian Linden)