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Mancari Named to 2009 Canadian AHL All-Star Team

January 6, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


Portland, Maine - Portland Pirates forward Mark Mancari was among 24 players named to the Canadian AHL All-Star team roster today for the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Charter Communications, to be played later this month at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass.

Mancari leads the Pirates with 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points in 28 games. Mancari has a plus-12 rating, also tops on the team. He is one of 24 players on the team - 13 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders. AHL fans determined the starting lineup via on-line balloting at theahl.com, while a committee of AHL coaches selected the remainder of the roster.

Among the members of the Canadian team are 17 first-time AHL All-Stars, including the AHL's leading goal-scorer in Chris Minard of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the league's top rookie scorer in Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Phantoms and the league's top-scoring defenseman in Johnny Boychuk of the Providence Bruins. Players on the Canadian roster with previous All-Star experience include Providence's Martin St. Pierre, selected for his fourth consecutive All-Star Classic berth, and Houston's Corey Locke, an All-Star in 2006 and 2008.

Hershey Bears defenseman Bryan Helmer was selected to captain the Canadian team, the first AHL All-Star Classic appearance of his 16-year career. Head coach Bob Woods and assistant coach Mark French of the Bears will lead the Canadian team because the Bears owned the AHL's best points percentage at the end of play on Jan. 4.

The PlanetUSA AHL All-Star team roster will be announced on Wednesday.

The 2009 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Charter Communications will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League competing in the 2009 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, January 25 (4:00 p.m. ET), and the 2009 AHL All-Star Game on Monday, January 26 (7:00 p.m. ET). The event will be televised nationally in the United States and Canada.

Of the 455 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 94 percent have competed in the National Hockey League, including Patrice Bergeron, Brad Boyes, Dan Boyle, Brian Campbell, Zdeno Chara, Rick DiPietro, Jiri Hudler, Miikka Kiprusoff, Kari Lehtonen, Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Martin St. Louis, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Tomas Vokoun.

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