ALEXANDRE GRENIER ADDED TO 2017 ALL-STAR CLASSIC
Jan 19, 2017Utica, NY – The American Hockey League announced today several roster changes for the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross, to be held January 29-30 at PPL Center in Allentown, Pa., home of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Utica Comets forward Alexandre Grenier (37gp, 13-18-31) has been added to the North Division team; Cleveland Monsters goaltender Anton Forsberg (12-7-2, 2.10, .932) has been added to the Central Division roster; and Tucson Roadrunners forward Christian Fischer (31gp, 16-16-32) has been added to the Pacific Division squad.
In addition, the AHL announced that Toronto forward Kasperi Kapanen, Milwaukee goaltender Juuse Saros and Tucson forward Brendan Perlini will be unavailable for the event.
The 2017 All-Star rosters now feature 37 first-time participants, 13 AHL rookies and 11 former first- and second-round NHL draft choices. In addition, 26 of this year’s All-Stars have been recalled to the National Hockey League already this season.
Starting at just $26 each, a limited number of single-event tickets are still available for the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross. To purchase event tickets, please visit phantomshockey.com, call 610-347-TIXX or visit the PPL Center box office. The 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross will be preceded by a Phan Fest on Saturday, Jan. 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by a Tailgate Party beginning at 6 p.m. Both events will take place at the PPL Center and tickets for both the Phan Fest ($5) and Tailgate Party ($10) are also available at phantomshockey.com.
The 2017 AHL All-Star Skills Competition presented by Giant Food Stores and Velaspan on Sunday will pit the All-Stars from the two Eastern Conference divisions against those from the two Western Conference divisions in seven skills events. In the 2017 AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday, the four teams will participate in a round-robin tournament featuring six games of 10 minutes each, played entirely at 3-on-3. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin will face off for the championship, a six-minute game also played at 3-on-3.
The All-Star Classic festivities also include the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony, to be held at Miller Symphony Hall at 11 a.m. on Jan. 30. The ceremony will feature the induction of Billy Dea, Bryan Helmer, Rob Murray and Doug Yingst as the AHL Hall of Fame Class of 2017 and will also celebrate honorary All-Star Classic captains Daniel Briere and Terry Murray.
The 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: since 1995, more than 93 percent of All-Star Classic participants have gone on to compete in the National Hockey League, including Jake Allen, Artem Anisimov, Patrice Bergeron, Ben Bishop, Troy Brouwer, Ryan Callahan, Zdeno Chara, Logan Couture, Braden Holtby, Tyler Johnson, Martin Jones, Chris Kunitz, Zach Parise, Tuukka Rask, Pekka Rinne, Bobby Ryan, Cory Schneider, Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza, P.K. Subban and Mats Zuccarello, as well as former Lehigh Valley Phantoms representatives Nick Cousins, Brandon Manning and Anthony Stolarz.
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, trainers, executives and broadcasters of all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of NHL players last season were AHL graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers. In 2015-16, over 7.1 million fans attended AHL regular-season and playoff games across North America, the highest total attendance in league history.