Rochester Americans Cal O’Reilly Named To AHL All-Star Game
O’Reilly to represent Rochester Americans at league All-Star Game
Just one day after his brother was named to the NHL All-Star Game, Rochester Americans forward Cal O’Reilly found out he’s also an All-Star.
The 29-year-old was the lone Rochester Americans played named to the AHL’s All-Star Classic Rosters.
O’Reilly is second on the Rochester Americans in scoring, with 19 points (3-16) in 28 games.
He’s also appeared in two games with the Buffalo Sabres this season.
His brother, Ryan O’Reilly, was named an NHL All-Star on Wednesday.
Cal will play in the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic, being held on January 31 and February 1. The Syracuse Crunch are hosting this year’s events.
Like the NHL, the AHL has switched up its All-Star format.
Rather than naming two teams, one per conference, the league split it four ways, naming one team for each division.
Each team holds 13 players: seven forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders, and each team has at least one representative.
For the Rochester Americans, that’s Cal O’Reilly.
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The AHL’s Skills Competition is being held at 8 p.m. on January 31. That event will keep the same format we’ve seen in years past, with players from each conference squaring off.
The players then break into their four games for the following night; teams will play a round-robin tournament with six games, each nine-minutes in length. Each game will feature half played 4-on-4 and half played 3-on-3.
Teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin portion will face off for the championship in a six-minute, three-on-three game.
It’s certainly a little more complicated than the All-Star Game’s format in previous years, and slightly more complicated than the NHL’s format, but if fans can keep up, it could be an interesting, fun experience.
Cal O’Reilly is the lone Rochester Americans representative, but there are a few teams with multiple players on the AHL All-Star roster, including Toronto with a trio: T.J. Brennan, Josh Leivo and William Nylander (along with coach Sheldon Keefe).
The host Crunch also have a trio of players: goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis, defenseman Matt Taormina and forward Mike Angelidis.
Others on the North Division All-Star Team: goaltender Yann Danis; defensemen Mark Barberio, and Michael Kostka; forwards Michael McCarron, Hunter Shinkaruk and Mike Sislo.
For the folks at home who are counting: that’s two former Buffalo Sabres prospects (Brennan, Kostka) on the North Division team alone.
The Atlantic Division team: goaltenders Matt Murray and Anthony Stolarz; defensemen Connor Carrick, Ryan Graves, Derrick Pouliot and Ryan Pulock; forwards Chris Bourque, Nick Cousins, Seth Griffith, Dustin Jeffrey, Rob Schremp, Dominik Simon and Joe Whitney.
For the Central Division: goaltenders Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Leighton; former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Andre Benoit, along with fellow blueliners Trevor Carrick, Gustav Olofsson and Xavier Ouellet; forwards Pat Cannone, Frederick Gaudreau, Ryan Hartman, Jeff Hoggan, Vladislav Kamenev, Derek Ryan and Kerby Rychel.
Finally, the Pacific Division: goaltenders Laurent Brossoit and Peter Budaj; defensemen Brad Hunt, Esa Lindell, Vincent LoVerde and Brandon Montour; forwards Barclay Goodrow, Derek Grant, Michael Mersch, Travis Morin, Brendan Ranford, Mikko Rantanen and Nick Ritchie.
Next: Ryan O'Reilly Named NHL All-Star
Tickets for the AHL All-Star Classic, and Skills Competition, are available for purchase here.
Broadcast info for the events hasn’t been announced yet, but in years past, it’s been aired either live or on tape-delay on Time Warner Cable Sportsnet.