Blackhawks' Seabrook happy to be an all-star

After being on the outside looking in for a decade, Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook finally gets to participate in the All-Star Game.

"I'm looking forward to it," he said. "It's something I've never done. It's nice to be able to share the experience with a few teammates. I'm truly honored to have been voted in by the fans. It's pretty exciting, and I'm really looking forward to it."

Seabrook will join defensive partner Duncan Keith, along with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Corey Crawford in a Hawks-heavy roster in Columbus.

Like Seabrook, Crawford will be making his first all-star appearance.

"Seabs is having a real good year, and Corey got off to an outstanding start," coach Joel Quenneville said. "I think they got rewarded for how well they've played, not just how things turned out in the ballot box.

"It'll be good for both of them to get on the big stage - certainly both those guys are having the type of year where it makes sense."

A veteran's perspective:

Hawks center Brad Richards was asked what it's like for a young player such as 20-year-old Teuvo Teravainen to come into a situation like this with the Hawks.

"It's tough," Richards said. "You realize how young he is. That's the toughest thing for a guy like him, when you're in it. If you would know how the organization or the people around him think, it'd be a lot different.

"When you're in that situation, you think you've got to do it now, Hopefully he'll relax and keep doing what he's done his whole life."

Cold snap:

Consider Patrick Kane one motivated cat to put together a solid January this season after struggling this month a year ago with just 7 points in 14 games.

"Yeah, definitely. Last year it wasn't a good month for me," Kane said. "I know I had a hot November and December last year and January kind of dropped off.

"Gotta keep going for sure - put some more focus on playing well this month for sure."

He's off to a good start with 2 points in his first two January games.

He said it:

"It's never a good situation when it's you, but you've got to treat it like you've got to do all you can to get back in there."

- Joel Quenneville talking about the healthy scratch of Daniel Carcillo on Sunday