Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho is an NHL All-Star. But is he a ‘superstar’?

Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis, tongue in cheek, recently said he was glad he wasn’t voted into this year’s NHL All-Star Game by the fans.

“I’m going to Mexico on a nonrefundable trip,” Jarvis quipped. “I’m totally set on the warm weather.”

The Canes’ Sebastian Aho is also going to Mexico for some warm weather — and to Toronto, to play in the All-Star Game.

Aho said he’d first take a few days of the Canes’ “bye week” to go to Cancun. He’ll then head to the All-Star festivities, where he’ll be making his third All-Star appearance Saturday at Scotiabank Arena representing the Hurricanes.

“Being around the best players in the world, I mean, it’s great,” Aho said in an N&O interview. “It means you’ve had a good first half of the season. I’ll just go there and try to soak it all in.”

While Aho is an All-Star again, the Finnish forward isn’t generally considered among the pantheon of the league’s younger superstars that includes players like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and Cale Makar — those guys.

Aho flies under the radar

In preseason, Aho was picked No. 44 by the NHL Network in a ranking of the top 50 players. ESPN had him ranked No. 22 in their top 100 preseason picks and No. 29 by Sporting News.

“If you think about the superstars in the league, he’s not the flashiest guy,” Canes goalie Antti Raanta said in an N&O interview. “But his work ethic, he brings the same game every night. Obviously, there’s a lot of skill. He’s an unbelievable skater. How he makes all those plays in small areas, it’s so much fun to watch.

“He’s great on the power play, on the (penalty) kill. Overall, he’s just good in every area of the game. There’s not any weakness there.”

Aho, 26, is the consummate 200-foot player. He works hard in the defensive zone. He has become better on draws. He’s crafty and dangerous on both the power play and penalty kill — Aho has 17 career shorthanded goals. He’s intense, always.

“We love everything about him,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “He’s a great player and he does everything right.”

With 54 points (17 goals, 37 assists) in his 45 games played this season, Aho is averaging a career-best 1.20 points per game. If he maintains that pace in the team’s final 34 games, he’d finish with a career-high 95 points.

Canes captain Jordan Staal said Aho is one of the league’s elite players — “Hundred percent,” Staal said.

“He’s got the whole package and the competitiveness, too, on top of it,” Staal said in an N&O interview. “He’s got the package that makes him a game-changer, and he’s had that ever since he got here. That’s what makes him a great player.”

So why not more “superstar” recognition, league wide?

“I think some of it might be the way we play,” Staal said. “It’s hard. We’re a demanding defensive team. He’s very smart and capable and has bought into how we want to do things and how we play here.

“I’m sure if he played somewhere else he could get more points and put up bigger numbers, but I think he’d rather be in the mix when it comes to the end.”

The “mix” being the Stanley Cup playoffs, with a shot at the Cup. That’s what drives Aho, who said the team’s mindset after the All-Star break would be to “put the hammer down and push hard” to the finish line of the regular season, earn a spot in the playoffs for the sixth straight year and go from there.

But first, the All-Star Game.

The NHL All-Star experience

At his first, in 2019, Aho didn’t know what to expect. Picked to play for the Metropolitan Division team, he arrived in San Jose to find himself seated next to the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby in the locker room.

“The first time was more about learning, about just looking around and not knowing what to do,” Aho said. “You’re a little stressed. You don’t know who’s going to be there and I really didn’t know any of the guys. But obviously very early you realize the guys are great to be around.”

Including Crosby.

“It was cool,” Aho said. “He was just a normal guy. It was fun.”

And even more fun when Crosby, Aho and the Metro team won the three-on-three All-Star Game tournament, splitting a $1 million pot.

The second time around, at the 2022 All-Star Game in Las Vegas, Aho again was on a winning Metro team. Again, there was a $1 million pot to divvy up.

“I mean, you’re already there, right?” Aho said, smiling. “Might as well try to win it, the whole thing.”

Asked if he spent all his winnings at the tables before leaving Vegas, Aho let out a big laugh.

“No, broke even,” he joked.

Aho also had another thought: “Hopefully I can win again this year.”

This year’s All-Star Game has a different format. There will be a fantasy draft of the players Thursday to select the four teams for the tournament.

The All-Star Game skills competition also has changed. Only 12 players will be competing Friday and Aho, who won the accuracy shooting competition in 2022, is not one of them. The winner of the eight-event competition will win $1 million.

Aho wasn’t sure why just 12 players were chosen, – “I’ll already be there, so it seems like I should compete,” he said. He also was unsure what the players not in the skills competition would be doing.

The four team captains selected for the All-Star Game were Matthews of the Maple Leafs, McDavid from Edmonton, MacKinnon from Colorado and the Devils’ Jack Hughes. NHL officials are hopeful Hughes, injured and sidelined since Jan. 5, would be able to attend even if he’s unable to skate.

In another new twist, each team also will have a celebrity captain, including hockey enthusiast Justin Bieber.

Back to the regular-season grind

Aho then will hop a flight back to Raleigh. The Canes (28-15-5) resume practice Sunday, and play their next game Feb. 6 at home against the Vancouver Canucks, who lead the Western Conference and have an NHL-high 33 wins.

After winning their last three games before the break, the Canes are 11-2-1 since Christmas. With 61 points, they’re pushing the New York Rangers for the Metro lead.

“I like our mindset,” Aho said. “The guys are in a good mood. We’ll keep trying to get better every day, and in every area.”