Crosby, Getzlaf among 36 named to All-Star game

(Reuters) - Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Ryan Getzlaf will skate in this year's National Hockey League All-Star Game, the league said on Saturday as it filled out the roster for the Jan. 25 exhibition. The 36 players named join the six announced last week who were selected by fan balloting. That group included surprise Latvian selection Zemgus Girgensons and five members of the 2013 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. The game, held this year in Columbus, Ohio, will be the first in three years for the league, as the 2013 version was canceled for a league-wide lockout, and last year's was scuttled due to NHL participation in the Olympics. Fans of the home-town Blue Jackets will get to see three of their own in the game, as forwards Nick Foligno and Ryan Johansen and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made the cut. Former Blue Jacket and current league scoring leader Jacob Voracek will also appear, along with Philadelphia Flyers teammate Claude Giroux. Along with Crosby, the reigning NHL most valuable player, fellow Pittsburgh Penguin center Malkin will make the trip to Columbus, although teammate and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury did not make the cut, despite strong numbers, including a league-leading six shutouts. Other notable omissions included Montreal Canadians defenseman P.K. Subban and Toronto Maple Leafs forward James Van Riemsdyk. Washington Capitals winger Ovechkin will appear for the sixth time, the only representative of his team. The players were selected through fan balloting and the NHL Hockey Operations Department, with teams determined by a player draft with opposing captains taking turns selecting players. The fan balloting process, which tends to favor established stars, was turned on its head this year by a push by Latvian fans to elect Girgensons, a second-year center for the Buffalo Sabres who has a modest 20 points in 43 games this season. The league also named six rookies -- including 2014 first overall draft pick Aaron Ekblad -- who will not skate in the game, but will participate in the NHL skills competition on Jan. 24. (Reporting By Cameron French in Toronto; Editing by Frank Pingue)