Best Of The Best
The 2004 American Hockey League All-Star Classic features the brightest stars in minor league hockey.

01.08.04 - If you want to catch a glimpse of the future of hockey, plan on visiting Western Michigan in early February. Some of the best players in the minor leagues will be in the area and looking showcase their skills.

The 2004 American Hockey League All-Star Classic will take place at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, home of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins.

Of the 295 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 91 percent have competed in the National Hockey League [NHL].

The event gets underway on Sunday, February 8, with the 2004 AHL All-Star Skills Competition. The 9th annual All-Star Game will follow on Monday, February 9.

PlanetUSA, comprising of players born in the United States and Europe, will face off against the Canadian All-Star Team, which is comprised of the league's top Canadian-born players. Each team includes 21 skaters and three goaltenders.

AHL fans determined the starting lineup via on-line balloting, while a committee of AHL coaches selected the remainder of the roster.

Manchester, Hamilton and host Grand Rapids lead all teams with four selections apiece between the two All-Star squads, while Binghamton, Rochester and league-leading Bridgeport will each have three representatives at the event.

With all of the 48 roster spots filled, all that's left to do is to meet the teams and drop the puck.
 
2004 Canadian AHL All-Star Team Starters

Wade Dubielewicz, Goaltender (Bridgeport Sound Tigers): In his rookie season out of the University of Denver, Wade Dubielewicz leads the American Hockey League with a 1.26 goals against average and is second with a .949 save percentage. His 11-3-1 record includes a personal 12-game unbeaten streak, and he was the AHL's Rookie of the Month for December. The native of Invermere, B.C., was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in U.S. collegiate hockey in 2002.

Dan Jancevski, Defense (Utah Grizzlies): A third-round draft choice by the Dallas Stars in 1999, Dan Jancevski is a big presence on the blue line for the Utah Grizzlies. After scoring once in 153 games over his first two seasons, the 22-year-old Jancevski has netted three goals already in 2003-04, and he is among the team leaders in plus/minus rating. A native of Windsor, Ont., Jancevski also leads the Grizzlies with 100 minutes in penalties, a plateau he has reached in each of his three seasons in Utah.

Bryan Muir, Defense (Manchester Monarchs): Returning to the Granite State, where he spent three years at the University of New Hampshire, Manchester's Bryan Muir is tied for the AHL scoring lead among defensemen with 24 points in 31 games while also appearing in two games with Los Angeles, making 2003-04 his ninth straight season seeing NHL action. The Winnipeg native reached the Calder Cup Finals with Hamilton in 1997 and the Stanley Cup Finals with Colorado in 2001.

Benoit Gratton, Forward (Hamilton Bulldogs): Eighth-year pro Benoit Gratton recorded a goal and an assist in the 2001 AHL All-Star Game, and was voted to start in last year's event before injury cost him three months of the season. He returned to captain the Bulldogs to the Calder Cup Finals, and is back among the AHL's leading scorers with 34 points in 25 games for Hamilton this season. A Montreal native, Gratton has skated in 58 career NHL games with Washington, Calgary and his hometown Canadiens.

Eric Perrin, Forward (Hershey Bears): Rejuvenating his career after spending three seasons in Finland, Eric Perrin ranks sixth in the AHL with 36 points in 39 matches for Hershey this season after signing with Tampa Bay over the summer. A former All-American and four-time 20-goal scorer at the University of Vermont, Perrin owns or shares the Bears' season lead in goals, assists, points, power play goals, shorthanded goals and game-winning goals.

Jason Pominville, Forward (Rochester Americans): In his second season following a stellar junior career at Shawinigan (QMJHL), Jason Pominville has already surpassed his rookie total with 15 goals in 2003-04, and ranks second in the entire AHL with 10 power play markers. Rochester's leading scorer with 32 points in 33 games, the 21-year-old winger from Repentigny, Que., who was drafted by Buffalo in the second round in 2001, made his NHL debut with the Sabres on Dec. 27.
 
Canadian AHL All-Star Team Reserves

Forwards	Team
Eric Beaudoin	San Antonio
Steve Kelly	Manchester
Kirby Law	Philadelphia
Brandon Reid	Manitoba
Nathan Robinson	Grand Rapids
Derek Roy	Rochester
Scottie Upshall	Milwaukee
Kyle Wanvig	Houston
Kyle Wellwood	St. John's
Chad Wiseman	Hartford
Defensemen	Team
Carlo Colaiacovo	St. John's
Aaron Johnson	Syracuse
Doug Lynch	Toronto
Curtis Murphy	Milwaukee
Brandon Smith	Bridgeport
Terry Virtue ("C")	Worcester
Goaltenders	Team
Ray Emery	Binghamton
David LeNeveu	Springfield

Twenty of the 24 members of the Canadian team will be making their AHL All-Star debuts, including rookies Kyle Wellwood and Carlo Colaiacovo of St. John's, Scottie Upshall of Milwaukee, Derek Roy of Rochester, Doug Lynch of Toronto, Aaron Johnson of Syracuse, Wade Dubielewicz of Bridgeport and David LeNeveu of Springfield.
 
Worcester IceCats defenseman Terry Virtue has been selected to captain the Canadian team, seven years after making his first AHL All-Star Classic appearance in 1997, while Milwaukee defenseman Curtis Murphy has earned his third consecutive All-Star berth.
 
Due to the fact that he led the Houston Aeros to the Calder Cup championship in 2003, Todd McLellan will serve as the head coach for the Canadian AHL All-Star team.

 

2004 PlanetUSA AHL All-Star Team Starters

Kari Lehtonen, Goaltender (Chicago Wolves): The highest-drafted European goaltender in NHL history (second overall in 2002), Kari Lehtonen came to North America after a stellar career in Finland that included leading Jokerit Helsinki to the league title in 2002. A bronze medalist at the 2003 World Junior Championships, the 20-year-old Lehtonen has posted a 13-9-1 record for Chicago this year while ranking among the AHL leaders with a .929 save percentage.
 
Travis Richards, Defense (Grand Rapids Griffins): Travis Richards was voted to the starting lineup for the PlanetUSA All-Stars after being appointed team captain by the AHL. A Griffin since the franchise's inception in 1996-97, he has anchored a defense that ranked first in the league in each of the last two seasons. Richards played four years at the University of Minnesota and represented the United States at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.
 
Dennis Seidenberg, Defense (Philadelphia Phantoms): Dennis Seidenberg is in his second season in Philadelphia after three years with Adler Mannheim in his native Germany. The 22-year-old blueliner played in the NHL YoungStars game during All-Star Weekend in Sunrise, Fla., last year, and wound up with 13 points in 58 NHL games with the Flyers. A member of Germany's team at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Seidenberg currently leads the Phantoms in plus/minus (+11) and defenseman scoring.
 
Jozef Balej, Forward (Hamilton Bulldogs): Jozef Balej followed up a 51-goal junior season in 2001-02 with just five goals a year ago, but the Slovakian winger is back with team-leading totals of 21 goals, 40 points and a plus-15 rating through 41 games with the Bulldogs. A third-round draft pick by Montreal in 2000, the speedy Balej has also recorded five game-winning scores for the North Division leaders, and posted a four-goal effort on Dec. 28 against St. John's.
 
Jeff Hamilton, Forward (Bridgeport Sound Tigers): Jeff Hamilton was the offensive catalyst on the league-leading Sound Tigers before being sidelined by an eye injury on Jan. 3. He still leads the AHL with 25 goals, 13 power play markers, nine game-winners and 161 shots on goal, and has 14 multiple-point efforts to his credit, including five straight from Dec. 10-17. The former Yale University standout made his NHL debut with the N.Y. Islanders on Dec. 2 vs. Washington.
 
Pavel Rosa, Forward (Manchester Monarchs): Manchester's most consistent producer over the past two seasons, Pavel Rosa has recorded 106 points in 99 games in a Monarchs uniform, and currently leads the AHL in scoring with 43 points this year. The Czech forward, who has taken only five minor penalties in 2003-04, has already put together scoring streaks of eight games and nine games this season. A second-round pick by Los Angeles in 1995, Rosa has appeared in 34 career NHL matches with the Kings.
 
2004 PlanetUSA AHL All-Star Team Reserves

Forwards	Team
Pavel Brendl	Lowell
Noah Clarke	Manchester
Matt Herr	Providence
Jiri Hudler	Grand Rapids
Josh Langfeld	Binghamton
Tony Martensson	Cincinnati
Matt Murley	Wilkes-Barre
Tomas Plekanec	Hamilton
Aleksander Suglobov	Albany
Miroslav Zalesak	Cleveland
Defensemen	Team
Anton Babchuk	Norfolk
Mike Komisarek	Hamilton
Niklas Kronwall	Grand Rapids
Jaroslav Obsut	Manitoba
Fedor Tyutin	Hartford
Julien Vauclair	Binghamton
Goaltenders	Team
Ryan Miller	Rochester
Rastislav Stana	Portland

Twenty-two members of the PlanetUSA team have earned their first career AHL All-Star selections, including rookies Noah Clarke of Manchester, Aleksander Suglobov of Albany, Anton Babchuk of Norfolk, Fedor Tyutin of Hartford and Kari Lehtonen of Chicago. All told, 42 of the 48 players selected to head to Grand Rapids will be making their AHL All-Star debuts.

Grand Rapids defenseman Travis Richards will captain the PlanetUSA team, which will include only two players with previous AHL All-Star experience: Hamilton's Mike Komisarek (2003) and Providence's Matt Herr (2002, 2003).

Bridgeport's rookie head coach Greg Cronin will guide the PlanetUSA team, as his Sound Tigers have clinched the league's best points percentage after play on Jan. 11.