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Canadian AHL All-Star rosters announced

January 26, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today the Canadian AHL All-Star team roster for the 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic, to be played next month at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H.

The team comprises players born in Canada. 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 eight former first-round draft picks: Binghamton's Jason Spezza (2nd overall in 2001), Lowell's Eric Staal (2nd in 2003), San Antonio's Jay Bouwmeester (3rd in 2002), Cincinnati's Joffrey Lupul (7th in 2002), Manitoba's Nolan Baumgartner (10th in 1994), Milwaukee's Dan Hamhuis (12th in 2001), Portland's Steve Eminger (12th in 2002) and Lowell's Chuck Kobasew (14th in 2001).

Other notable names on the Canadian roster include 2005 World Junior Championships MVP Patrice Bergeron (Providence), reigning AHL MVP Jason LaBarbera (Hartford) and 2004 Stanley Cup champion Eric Perrin (Hershey).

Milwaukee Admirals defenseman Brad Tiley was selected to captain the Canadian team, his third career AHL All-Star Classic appearance. And because he led Milwaukee to the Calder Cup championship in 2004, Claude Noel will serve as the head coach for the Canadian AHL All-Star team.

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

Of the 328 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 92 percent have competed in the NHL, including Daniel Briere, Andrew Brunette, Anson Carter, Pavol Demitra, Rick DiPietro, J.P. Dumont, Patrik Elias, Manny Legace, John Madden, Ladislav Nagy, Vaclav Prospal, Martin St. Louis, Marc Savard, Steve Sullivan and Tomas Vokoun.

The 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic will take place at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., home of the AHL's Manchester Monarchs. The event gets underway on Sunday, February 13, with the 2005 AHL All-Star Skills Competition at 7:00 p.m. (ET). The annual All-Star Game follows at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on Monday, February 14, and will be televised live nationally on ESPN2 in the United States and on Rogers Sportnet in Canada.

Jason LaBarbera, Goaltender (Hartford Wolf Pack): Last year's winner of both the Les Cunningham Award (MVP) and Baz Bastien Award (top goaltender), Jason LaBarbera is back among the top goaltenders in the AHL in 2004-05. Boosted by a personal 14-game winning streak, his 20-6-1 record and 1.90 GAA have helped the Wolf Pack to the second-best record in the league. A native of Burnaby, B.C., LaBarbera is an impressive 80-44-17 with 19 shutouts in 158 career appearances.

Lawrence Nycholat, Defense (Hartford Wolf Pack): Anchoring one of the stingiest defenses in the AHL over the last two seasons, Lawrence Nycholat is tied for third in team scoring with 28 points for the Wolf Pack this year. The 25-year-old Calgary native, who was acquired in 2003 from Minnesota for eventual Calder Cup MVP Johan Holmqvist, made his NHL debut with the New York Rangers last season and was the top-scoring defenseman for the division champion Wolf Pack in 2003-04.

Dennis Wideman, Defense (Worcester IceCats): Tied for Worcester's team leads with 18 assists and 26 points, defenseman Dennis Wideman has been one of the surprise successes in the AHL this season. Unsigned after being drafted by Buffalo in 2002, Wideman was the Reebok AHL Rookie of the Month for October with eight points in seven games, including a five-point night against Springfield on Oct. 16, his second career pro outing. The native of Kitchener, Ont., was a First Team OHL All-Star in 2004.

Mike Cammalleri, Forward (Manchester Monarchs): A third-year pro out of the U. of Michigan, Mike Cammalleri has been among the AHL's scoring leaders all season, currently with 28 goals and 61 points in 42 games for Manchester. He had a league-high 14-game scoring streak from Oct. 29 to Nov. 27, and was named CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 10-16. The 22-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., has also recorded 23 points (14g, 9a) in 59 career NHL games with Los Angeles.

Michel Ouellet, Forward (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins): An AHL All-Rookie selection after scoring 30 goals for the Penguins last season, Michel Ouellet has found the net 27 times already in 2004-05 and has a team-best 44 points to go along with a plus-23 rating. Ouellet, 22, has also been lethal in the post-overtime shootout, converting on eight of 14 attempts to date. A native of Rimouski, Que., Ouellet was twice a 40-goal scorer for the hometown Oceanic in the QMJHL.

Jason Spezza, Forward (Binghamton Senators): Taking the AHL by storm in his return, Jason Spezza leads the league with 47 assists and 69 points through 45 games for Binghamton after spending all of last season with Ottawa in the NHL. An AHL All-Star and an All-Rookie Team selection in 2003, Spezza has tallied 20 points on his current eight-game scoring streak and 31 points in his last 14 games, helping the Senators to first place in the East Division. A native of Mississauga, Ont., the 21-year-old Spezza has won two CCM/Vector AHL Player of the Week awards this season.

2005 Canadian AHL All-Star Team

Forwards Team DOB Place of Birth App. GP G A Pts. Notes
Bergeron, Patrice Providence 7/24/85 Ancienne-Lorette, Que. 1st 33 13 22 35 Youngest player in AHL won gold with Canada at '05 WJC
x-Cammalleri, Mike Manchester 6/ 8/82 Richmond Hill, Ont. 1st 42 28 33 61 Third-year pro has 120 points in 96 career AHL games
Gamache, Simon Milwaukee 1/ 3/81 Thetford Mines, Que. 1st 43 19 36 55 Former QMJHL MVP led AHL with 18 playoff assists in 2004
King, Jason Manitoba 9/14/81 Corner Brook, Nfld. 1st 44 21 21 42 Sharpshooter was NHL Rookie of the Month in November '03
Kobasew, Chuck Lowell 4/17/82 Osoyoos, B.C. 1st 39 23 20 43 Named MVP of 2001 NCAA tournament with Boston College
Kostopoulos, Tom (inj.) Manchester 1/24/79 Mississauga, Ont. 2nd 39 18 30 48 Captained Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to Calder Cup 2004 Final
Lehoux, Yanick (inj.) Manchester 4/ 8/82 Montreal, Que. 1st 38 23 31 54 Already set career highs in goals, assists and points in 2004-05
Lupul, Joffrey Cincinnati 9/23/83 Ft. Saskatchewan, Alta. 1st 45 15 22 37 7th overall pick in '02 played 75 gms. with Anaheim in '03-'04
x-Ouellet, Michel Wilkes-Barre 3/ 5/82 Rimouski, Que. 1st 42 27 17 44 Named to AHL All-Rookie Team in 2004 after netting 30 goals
Perrin, Eric Hershey 11/ 1/75 Laval, Que. 2nd 42 13 23 36 First Team AHL All-Star in '04 won Stanley Cup in Tampa
Sharp, Patrick Philadelphia 12/27/81 Thunder Bay, Ont. 1st 38 15 18 33 12 playoff GP for NHL Flyers on run to '04 conference final
x-Spezza, Jason Binghamton 6/13/83 Mississauga, Ont. 2nd 45 22 47 69 2001 #2 pick was AHL All-Rookie, All-Star selection in '03
Staal, Eric Lowell 10/29/84 Thunder Bay, Ont. 1st 37 12 32 44 Tallied 31 points in 81 NHL games with Carolina in 2003-04
Wellwood, Kyle St. John's 5/16/83 Windsor, Ont. 2nd 43 19 28 47 2nd-time All-Star was AHL's top rookie scorer in 2003-04

Defensemen Team DOB Place of Birth App. GP G A Pts. Notes
Baumgartner, Nolan Manitoba 3/23/76 Calgary, Alta. 1st 44 6 17 23 Veteran of 484 career AHL games making All-Star debut
Bouwmeester, Jay San Antonio 9/27/83 Edmonton, Alta. 1st 46 4 10 14 '03 NHL All-Rookie pick aided Canada to '04 World Cup title
Eminger, Steve Portland 10/31/83 Woodbridge, Ont. 1st 34 1 13 14 1st-rd. pick in '02 draft has played 58 NHL games with Wash.
Hamhuis, Dan Milwaukee 12/13/82 Smithers, B.C. 1st 40 7 20 27 Named WHL Player of the Year, CHL top defenseman in 2002
x-Nycholat, Lawrence Hartford 5/ 7/79 Calgary, Alta. 1st 43 5 23 28 Reached conference finals with Houston in '02, Hartford in '04
Roche, Travis Chicago 6/17/78 Grand Cache, Alta. 1st 40 9 18 27 Named to 2003 All-Star Classic but missed event due to injury
Tiley, Brad ("C") Milwaukee 7/ 5/71 Markdale, Ont. 3rd 40 6 9 15 Won Eddie Shore Award as AHL's top defenseman in 2000
x-Wideman, Dennis Worcester 3/20/83 Kitchener, Ont. 1st 42 8 18 26 Rookie had three straight 20-goal seasons at London (OHL)

Goaltenders Team DOB Place of Birth App. GP Rec. GAA Notes
Garon, Mathieu Manchester 1/ 9/78 Chandler, Que. 1st 29 21-7-1 2.00 Veteran backstop is 36-9-3 in his last 49 AHL appearances
x-LaBarbera, Jason Hartford 1/18/80 Burnaby, B.C. 1st 29 20-6-1 1.90 Shattered AHL record with 13 shutouts for Hartford in 2003-04
MacDonald, Joey Grand Rapids 2/ 7/80 Pictou, N.S. 1st 31 16-14-1 2.20 Third-year AHL'er owns 2.11 GAA, .929 save pct. for career

x-Starters... Stats are through games of Jan. 25


Head Coach: Claude Noel – Milwaukee Admirals
Assistant Coach: Todd Richards – Milwaukee Admirals
Athletic Trainer: Doug Agnew – Milwaukee Admirals
Equipment Manager: Dave Randolph – Milwaukee Admirals

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