I've got to hand it to the NHL. Last year's debut of the Breakaway Challenge during the All-Star Skills Competition may have been a gigantic clusterfuck, but the league has managed to get its marquee players back on board for round two-- which, regardless of whether it sucks, is going to make the thing a must-see for any hockey fan-- at least for one more year.

I think you'll agree, the guys who'll be lining up this year aren't quite the equivalent the NBA's typically-uninspired collection of Slam Dunk Contest participants. According to NHL.com, Alexander Ovechkin will be defending his title against Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Alexei Kovalev and Patrick Kane.

Call me an idiot, but I'm pretty sure that actually sounds a little bit awesome-- especially since Ovechkin insists, "I want to defend this title. It's a pretty cool title. I'm happy I have it."

Uh... OK, so he's not exactly Randy Savage when it comes to issuing challenges, and sure, the event is inevitably going to suck, but just imagine if it didn't suck. Huh? Think about that for a second. Crazy shit, am I wrong?

(There's some video of Ovechkin practicing on the NHL.com page.)