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AHL All-Star Classic: Roster Report

By Melissa Kania |
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(Credit to sportslogos.net)

Twenty-one of the top AHL players will face Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League tonight in the 2014 AHL All-Star Classic in St. John’s, Newfoundland. This year’s game sees a different format than previous years; rather than two teams of AHLers facing each other, there’s just one AHL squad, set to face the Swedish team at 6:30 p.m. EST.

Heading into tonight’s game, let’s start off with a few notes:

    • Fifteen of the players on the roster for the 2014 AHL All-Star Classic are Canadian-born. Five are American, with one internationally-born player (Marchenko).
    • All but one of the AHL All-Stars have NHL experience (one game or more). The lone exception to this is defenseman Brenden Kichton, who is in his rookie season with the St. John’s IceCaps after spending the previous five seasons with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs.
    • Luke Adam and Brett Connolly have the most NHL experience of any player on the roster. Both have appeared in 84 NHL games over the years; Adam has accrued 26 points over that stretch (15-11), while Connolly – a defenseman – has notched 17 points (6-11).
    • In total, the AHL players appearing in the 2014 AHL All-Star Classic have 467 regular season games of combined NHL experience.
    • All but four of the AHLers have been on an NHL roster at some point this season. (The exceptions:  Jason Jaffray, Frederic St-Denis, Brenden Kichton and Dustin Tokarski.) The players represent 13 different NHL teams.
    • Fifteen of the 21 players on the AHL team for the 2014 AHL All-Star Classic were drafted by NHL teams. The others were signed as free agents. The roster includes four draft picks each from 2008 and 2009, as well as a pair from 2007, one from 2010 and three from the 2011 draft.
    • Ryan Strome is the highest-drafted player on the roster (5th, 2011).
    • Of the fourteen drafted players, three were selected by the Buffalo Sabres (Adam, Brennan, McNabb). Tampa Bay and the New York Islanders have two draft picks each.

    Färjestad BK was founded in 1932. The club plays as part of the Swedish Hockey League and has won the league championship nine times since 1975 when the SHL was founded. Their most recent championship came in 2011 over Skellefteå AIK.

    This season, they have 18 wins, 13 ties and 18 losses for 72 points in 49 games, good for eighth place overall in the SHL.

    Here’s how the AHL roster for the 2014 AHL All-Star Classic breaks down.

    GOALTENDERS

    • Dustin Tokarski, 24, Humboldt, Saskatchewan; Hamilton Bulldogs — This season, Tokarski is 16-11-2 in the AHL, with a 2.35 GAA and .918 save percentage. He has one shutout on the season. Tokarski has seven games of NHL experience, including a 1-3-1 stretch most recently in 2011-12. He was originally drafted in 2008 (122) by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
    • Jake Allen, 23, Fredericton, New Brunswick; Chicago Wolves — Allen is 20-11-2 this season with the Wolves, with a 2.14 GAA and .923 save percentage and two shutouts. He has 15 games of NHL experience, including a 9-4-0 record in 2012-13. Allen was drafted by the Blues in 2008 (34).

    DEFENSEMEN

    • T.J. Brennan, 24, Willingboro, NJ; Toronto Marlies — 20 goals, 31 assists this season; currently on a 3-game point streak. Drafted by Buffalo in 2007 (31). Has 40 games of NHL experience.
    • Brenden Kichton, 21, Spruce Grove, Alberta; St. John’s IceCaps — 9 goals, 29 assists this season. Drafted by New York Islanders in 2011 (127). This is his rookie season in the AHL.
    • Frederic St-Denis, 28, Greenfield Park, Quebec; Springfield Falcons — 9 goals, 15 assists this season. Has 17 games of NHL experience, all in 2011-12 with the Montreal Canadiens.
    • Chad Billins, 24, Marysville, MI; Abbotsford Heat — 8 goals, 26 assists this season. Has 2 games of NHL experience, both played this season with the Calgary Flames.
    • Brayden McNabb, 23, Davidson, Saskatchewan; Rochester Americans — 5 goals, 17 assists this season. Drafted by Buffalo in 2009 (66). Has 37 games of NHL experience from 2011 until the present.
    • Alexey Marchenko, 22, Moscow, Russia; Grand Rapids Griffins — 3 goals, 15 assists this season. Drafted by Detroit in 2011 (37). Has played one NHL game in his career, accruing two penalty minutes.
    • Cody Goloubef, 24, Oakville, Ontario; Springfield Falcons — 6 goals, 14 assists this season. Drafted by Columbus in 2008 (37). Has 15 games of NHL experience, including three this season.

    RIGHT WING

    • Colton Sceviour, 24, Red Deer Alberta; Texas Stars — 29 goals, 24 assists and 191 shots this season. He had 3 points in his last AHL game on Feburary 9. Sceviour has 10 games of NHL experience, including eight this season. Drafted by Dallas in 2007 (112).
    • Colton Sissons, 20, North Vancouver, BC; Milwaukee Admirals — 17 goals, 12 assists this season. Has four games of NHL experience, all this season with the Nashville Predators. Drafted by the Predators in 2012 (50).
    • Brett Connolly, 21, Campbell River, BC; Syracuse Crunch — 13 goals, 18 assists this season. Drafted by Tampa Bay in 2010 (6). Has 84 games of NHL experience, including 11 this season with the Lightning.

    CENTER

    • Ben Street, 24, Red Deer, Alberta; Abbotsford Heat — 19 goals, 19 assists this season. Street has 19 games of NHL experience, including 13 this season with the Calgary Flames.
    • Luke Adam, 23, St. John’s, Newfoundland; Rochester Americans — 20 goals, 14 assists this season. Adam has 84 games of NHL experience, notching 26 points in that stretch. Drafted by Buffalo in 2008 (44).
    • Brian Gibbons, 25, Braintree, MA; Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins — 9 goals, 18 assists this season. Hasn’t played in the AHL since December 14; on NHL recalls this season, he has appeared in 19 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, notching four goals and five assists.
    • Mike Hoffman, 24, Kitchener, Ontario; Binghamton Senators — 25 goals, 33 assists this season. Hoffman has seven games of NHL experience, including three this season. Drafted by Ottawa in 2009 (130).
    • Brandon Pirri, 22, Toronto, Ontario; Rockford IceHogs — 5 goals, 10 assists this season. Pirri has 35 games of NHL experience and 13 points (6-7) in that time. That includes 28 games this season, where he notched 11 points (6-5). Drafted by Chicago in 2009 (59).
    • Ryan Strome, 20, Mississauga, Ontario; Bridgeport Sound Tigers — 11 goals, 32 assists this season. Strome has 15 games of NHL experience, all this season, and scored his first NHL goal during that time. Drafted by New York Islanders in 2011 (5).

    LEFT WING

    • Jason Jaffray, 32, Rimbey, Alberta; St. John’s IceCaps — 14 goals, 20 assists this season. Jaffray has 49 games of NHL experience, including 19 in 2007-08 with the Vancouver Canucks. He is one of five players on the roster for the 2014 AHL All-Star Classic who hasn’t appeared in the NHL this season.
    • Joe Whitney, 26, Reading, MA; Albany Devils — 17 goals, 21 assists this season. Whitney has 1 game of NHL experience, played this season with the New Jersey Devils. He signed with the Devils in 2011-12 after completing four years at Boston College.
    • Travis Morin, 30, Brooklyn Park, MN; Texas Stars — 27 goals, 41 assists this season. Morin is currently on a six-game point streak (7 points) dating back to January 29. Morin has six games of NHL experience, including three this season with the Dallas Stars. He is still searching for his first NHL point. Drafted by Washington in 2004 (263).

    HOW TO WATCH

    (Credit to sportslogos.net)

    The 2014 AHL All-Star Classic will be broadcast live internationally; it will also be replayed on several channels in the coming days.

    Watching it live at 6:39 p.m. on Sportsnet ONE, AHL Live (ahllive.com), NESN Plus, MSG+2 and Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, among others. NHL Network will replay the game on Wednesday at 10 p.m. and again on Sunday, February 16 at 10 p.m.

    Full broadcast information for the 2014 AHL All-Star game can be found here.

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