The NHL announced this week that they have tweaked the All-Star Game format and now the teams will be picked gym class style with two captains picking players from a pool of All-Stars. The NHL All-Star Game had become a stale event that was in desperate need of revamping, so maybe this new format won't be such as bad thing even though it does seem a bit gimmicky. This got me thinking: why doesn't the NHL go the complete pond hockey route and throw sticks to decide teams?

OK, here me out on this one.

Let's be honest, the NHL All-Star Game is just a dog and pony show for corporate sponsors and fans. If done properly, throwing sticks to decide teams could enhance the experience of fans and sponsors and raise money for good causes . The NHL could incorporate a contest where a fan or small group of fans would win a trip to the All-Star Game and the honor of throwing around $400 composite sticks to chose sides for the NHL All-Star Game. The league could get a corporate sponsor involved to bid on the naming rights for the contest (a stick manufacture would have perfect synergy for this promotion). The sponsor could create special edition commemorative sticks with each player's name, team logo, NHL All-Star Game logo, and their corporate logo on them. After the stick draw, each player would sign their stick and the stick would be auctioned off with the proceeds going to a charity of that player's choice.

Can you imagine the scene of 42 millionaire professional athletes scrambling try to find their stick on the ice to find out what team they are?

To make it more random, I would recommend that all the sticks be the same size for selection, including the sticks representing goalies. The complete randomness of it would be awesome. What if one team ended up with almost all the goalies and the forwards and one team had almost all defensemen?  Would the thrower cheat and open his eyes just like in real pond hockey? Would the players bitch and moan about teams not being fair? (mic'd up players is a must here) Would Marian Gaborik trip over an errant stick and tear his fragile groin?

If the NHL isn't down with making this a fan contest, they could always invite a celebrity or a famous stick thrower to do the honors. I'm sure Jim Playfair or Chris "Knuckles" Nilan aren't doing anything that night.

Recently, SB Nation Hockey and Samsung partnered to create a series of sponsored posts entitled "Enhance Your Experience". Last week, I focused on improving the fan experience through friendly wagering. This week, I am going to delve into how the NHL's "under-20 agreement" with the Canadian Hockey League is stifling the development of young talent, creating an inferior minor league product, and potentially hurting the junior leagues that it was designed to protect.

Basically, the agreement between the NHL and the Canadian Hockey League (OHL, QMJHL, and WHL) states that any player drafted out of one of the CHL leagues who is under the age of 20 is ineligible to play professionally for a minor league team. This means that teams are forced to make the difficult decision to send a player back to their junior team or rush them to the NHL.

For a lot of players, the extra year or two in juniors is benefitial because they are not ready for the jump to the pro game. There are also players like Tyler Seguin, whose game was already NHL-ready. Then there is the large number of players that need to learn the ins and outs of the pro game, but are not ready for "The Show". Ideally, these players should be placed in the AHL or ECHL to gain professional experience. However, just because these players came out of one of the premier junior leagues in Canada, they are deprived of that experience.

I understand that the rule is in place so that the CHL teams can keep their marque players longer and improve ticket sales, but at the end of the day isn't junior hockey supposed to be about the player's development and not the all mighty Loonie? Is a player really developing as a player and a person by playing with and against teenagers? I would argue that learning the team's systems and culture and playing against seasoned professionals is far more beneficial to the prospect. Staying at the junior level against lesser talent can reinforce bad habits on the ice that a player might not be able to get away with at the next-level.

Much like the CHL teams, minor league teams would like to see these prospects on their rosters to help fill seats and put a better product on the ice. Fans in minor league cities enjoy seeing prospects work their way through the system and get to the NHL. Often times, an organization's top prospects will spend little to no time in the AHL. This damages the AHL's on-ice product both from a fan's perspective and developmental standpoint. The NHL's top prospects should be competing against each other in the AHL and developing their games to get ready for the next level.

The other issue that has not really been discussed much is how this rule could potentially damage the junior leagues it was designed to protect. In recent years, we have seen more and more Canadian-born players chose to play college hockey in the United States as opposed to playing major junior in Canada. While you could argue that the CHL better prepares young players for the pro game, some top prospects are seeing that the road to the pro game is shorter by going to college for a year or two then turning pro. Now, you have students that have no interest in graduating or getting a college education on college campuses simply to play hockey. The issue of players leaving college hockey early is a discussion for another day, but is part of the cause and effect of the under-20 rule. With players that would normally be in juniors now playing college hockey, it creates watered-down leagues for the OHL, QMJHL, and WHL.

That's just my two cents on the under-20 rule. I think it is bad for the NHL, bad for the minor leagues, bad for the junior leagues, bad for college hockey, bad for minor league fans, and most importantly bad for the player's development. The only people that benefit from this rule are CHL owners that want to keep an 18 or 19 year old kid around a year or two longer to put butts in seats.

So, what do you think of the under-20 rule?

Let's be honest, gambling makes everything more fun. Even things that are already fun like going to a B's game with your buds can be enhanced by a few friendly wagers. The next time you are at a game or even just watching it at home or at your favorite watering hole, try enhancing your game watching experience by placing a few bets with your friends. The following are a few of my favorite hockey betting games:

Guess The Goal Scorer

This is a pretty simple game that you can play with a group of your friends the next time you go to a game. Before the game starts each person pitches in a certain predetermined amount (we will say $5 for the sake of this example). Make sure you get the money up front to avoid your scumbag friend that claims to not have cash on him. Sorry, it's the same rules as the Bunny Ranch: No cash = No play. Now, each person gets to select the player they think will score the first goal for the team you are rooting for. You can think of creative ways to decide who gets to select when. You can do it so each person gets just one player or multiple players. Only one person can select a player (no duplicates). If it is a small group, I recommend choosing 2 players each. If the first goal by your team is not scored by a player chosen, the money stays in the pot and carries over to the next goal. Now, each player has to pay another $5 and is given the opportunity to change their selection. Make sure the least drunk member of your party keeps track of who has who to avoid false claims by your aforementioned scumbag friend who tries to collect after an Andrew Ference goal. Once the pot has been cleared, simply re-ante and re-pick. It's a fun game for everyone. Note: you might get weird stares when yelling out "That's my guy! Give me my $6!" after Michael Ryder nets a goal.

Power Play Roulette

This game is similar to the "Pass The Cup" game played in the stands at baseball games. First take an empty plastic beer cup (those shouldn't be hard to find) and have each person in your group throw in a set amount into the cup. The person sitting furtherest to the left starts out with the cup. If the team that goes on the power play first scores during that power play, that person wins the money in the cup. If they don't score, the person who was holding the cup throws in the set amount and passes the cup to his or her right and so on. Once someone wins the money, each person re-antes and the cup is passed to the next person.

3 Star Gazing

Before the game starts, each person throws in a set amount and picks who they think the 3 Stars of The Game will be. They will pick who they think will be the 1st Star, 2nd Star, and 3rd Star. You get one point for each player you selected that was named a star (regardless of order). You will also get a bonus for each one you get in the right order: 1 point for the 3rd Star, 2 points for 2nd Star , and 3 points for 1st Star. You also get 3 bonus points for getting all three players, even if you didn't have the order right So, if you have it perfect, you will have 12 points. The person with the most points wins the pot. Tie goes to the person that correctly guessed the higher star. If both people guessed the same star, the pot is split. You got all of that? OK, good.

Betting Beers on Youth Hockey

That last one probably just confused the hell of you, so let's go with something a little easier. Don't judge me, but I love betting on the youth hockey games that a lot of teams have between periods. You know, the ones with 30 kids on the ice at the same time to play a 5 minute game? Half the time, this game is more exciting than the one you shelled out $75 to watch. My friends and I usually bet a beer on the outcome of these games. The key to this wager is simple math. There is hardly ever an even amount of kids and they don't want little Timmy to be to be left out, so they let everyone play. Make sure to do a quick count and pick the team with the extra kid. If there is an even amount of players, go with the team that has the kid that looks like he is 30 and has a pituitary issue. This same kid is usually the kid that takes this little scrimmage way too seriously and doesn't know his own strength yet. Bank on that little oaf to start roughing kids up in front of the net and popping home a garbage goal. That 1-0 lead will almost always hold up in this game, unless some jerk coach or goofy mascot decides to screw with the integrity of the game by throwing an extra puck or two on the ice.

At Home or Bar:

Just because you didn't score tickets to the big game doesn't mean you have to miss out on the fun. Most of the games above can be played at home or at the bar as well. You can also try out these fun TV wagering games:

Announcer Bingo

New England hockey fans are swept up in Jack Bingo, but you could really do this with any announcer that has catch phrases.

Count the "Eh?s", "Y'Knows", and Nicknames

You may want a DVR for this game. Towards the end of each period the broadcast team will usually announce a player that will be interviewed between periods. Each person will throw in an set amount and make a prediction of how many times a player will utter an "eh?", "y'know" or refer to a teammate or opponent by his unoriginal hockey nickname (ex: Thorts, Savvy, Bergy etc.). The closest without going over wins.

This is just a sampling. There are countless wagers you can make while watching hockey to enhance your experience. Be creative and have fun with it. If you have any other ideas for friendly wagers, post them in the comments section.