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Dan Boyle, Wayne Thomas Named 2024 AHL All-Star Classic Honorary Captains

December 20, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... American Hockey League President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Howson announced today that San Jose Sharks alumni Dan Boyle and Wayne Thomas have been selected to serve as the honorary captains for the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Tech CU, to be held February 4-5 in San Jose, Calif.

Each year, the All-Star Classic honorary captains join the participating teams in the locker room and on the benches during the event, and are recognized for their careers at the annual AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony.

Undrafted out of Miami University, Dan Boyle was an up-and-coming prospect when he spent most of his first two professional seasons skating for the American Hockey League's Kentucky Thoroughblades and Louisville Panthers. The defenseman totaled 99 points and a plus-51 rating over 117 AHL contests, earning a spot on the AHL All-Rookie Team in 1998-99, garnering Second Team AHL All-Star honors in both 1998-99 and 1999-2000, and participating in two AHL All-Star Classics. Boyle went on to play 1,093 games in the National Hockey League, where he won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 and later starred for six seasons with the San Jose Sharks. Boyle was twice voted a Second Team NHL All-Star, and captured a gold medal with Canada at the 2010 Olympics.

Wayne Thomas spent 45 seasons in professional hockey as a player, coach and executive, beginning with his rookie season as a goaltender for the AHL's Montreal Voyageurs in 1970-71. His 11-year playing career included a Calder Cup championship with Nova Scotia in 1972 as well as 243 games in the NHL with Montreal, Toronto and the New York Rangers. Upon his retirement in 1981, Thomas joined the Rangers' staff as one of the first goaltending coaches in pro hockey, and would later work with prospect goaltenders in the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues organizations. Thomas went on to spend 22 years with the San Jose Sharks, where he served as an assistant coach and later assistant general manager and vice president as well as GM of the franchise's American Hockey League affiliates in Kentucky, Cleveland and Worcester.

The 2024 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Tech CU will include the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, February 4, followed by the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony on Monday, February 5 and the 2024 AHL All-Star Challenge that evening. Ticket packages start as low as $56, and include admission to both the Skills Competition and the Challenge. For more information, fans can visit sjbarracuda.com/allstar.

The 2024 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Tech CU will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: since 1995, more than 94 percent of All-Star Classic participants have gone on to compete in the National Hockey League, including Cam Atkinson, Drake Batherson, Jordan Binnington, Thomas Bordeleau, John Carlson, Thatcher Demko, Lukas Dostal, Connor Hellebuyck, Tristan Jarry, Jordan Kyrou, Jonathan Marchessault, Jacob Markstrom, J.T. Miller, Brandon Montour, William Nylander, Kyle Palmieri, Mikko Rantanen, Dylan Strome, Tyler Toffoli, Linus Ullmark, Vitek Vanecek and Mats Zuccarello, as well as current San Jose Sharks Logan Couture, Mike Hoffman, Luke Kunin, Kaapo Kahkonen, Mackenzie Blackwood and Jacob MacDonald.

In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League serves as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, executives, broadcasters and staff of all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of today's NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers.

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