NEW YORK, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Detroit Red Wings teammates Brendan Shanahan, Brett Hull and Steve Yzerman were the top vote-getters at their positions for the NHL's North American All-Star team in initial balloting released Thursday.
Shanahan, vying for his seventh All-Star Game appearance, has garnered 54,166 votes, 27,000 more than Hull among wingers.
Yzerman leads centers with 25,466 votes, just over 1,000 more than Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic (24,043).
Shanahan, Hull and Yzerman are key contributors for the Red Wings, who have an NHL-best 21-3-1-1 record and 44 points.
Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames, the NHL's leading scorer, does not appear on the ballot but is 15th among wingers with 11,218 votes.
Partick Roy of the Avalanche has a slim lead among goaltenders. Roy, who tops the league with five shutouts, has 32,151 votes, slightly more than Curtis Joseph (30,231) of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Among defensemen, Colorado's Rob Blake is the leader with 42,646 votes. Chris Pronger of the St. Louis Blues is second with 34,848 votes.
Voting continues through Jan. 14.
This season's contest is Feb. 2 in Los Angeles. It is the fifth straight year the NHL has used the World-North American format.
In voting for the World team, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom of Sweden is the early leader.
The reigning Norris Trophy winner as the league's top defenseman, Lidstrom has 67,348 votes, 20,000 more than teammate Dominik Hasek, the top vote-getter among goaltenders.
Among defensemen, Lidstrom has a commanding lead over Darius Kasparaitis of the Pittsburgh Penguins, a Lithuanian who has garnered 25,895 votes.
Detroit's Sergei Fedorov of Russia leads centers with 38,940 votes. Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin of Sweden is second with 29,105 votes.
Four-time defending NHL scoring champion Jaromir Jagr of the Washington Capitals leads all wingers with 41,511 votes. The Czech has a comfortable edge over Russia's Pavel Bure of Russia (30,393).
