ECHL South Carolina Stingrays

Four Stingrays Land On All-Star Roster

December 31, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
South Carolina Stingrays News Release


North Charleston, SC - The Kelly Cup Champion South Carolina Stingrays announced today that four players have been named to the American Conference All-Star team. Forward Nikita Kashirsky, defenseman Zach Tarkir and goaltenders Braden Holtby and Todd Ford were all selected in a vote among the league's players, coaches and media.

Both Ford and Tarkir have been selected as starters for the all-star game on January 20 in Ontario, California. Ford, 25, is 16-6-1 and ranks first overall in the ECHL in wins, saves (690) and minutes played (1416). This is the second all-star selection for Ford who represented the American Conference in 2005 in Reading, PA. The Calgary, AB native is currently with the Texas Stars of the AHL. Tarkir, who is skating with Lake Erie, has four goals and 12 assists in 26 games played with the Stingrays this season.

Kashirsky, 24, netted 17 goals and 13 assists in 33 games this season for the Stingrays. The rookie from Moscow, Russia currently ranks 12 overall in the ECHL with 30 points. Kashirsky is currently with Springfield of the American Hockey League.

Holtby, who is under contract with the Washington Capitals and playing with the Hershey Bears of the AHL, is 7-2-1-2 with a 2.95 goals-against average and a.911 save percentage in 12 games played with the Stingrays.

About the 2010 All-Star Game: The 2010 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyota and the City of Ontario will be hosted by the Ontario Reign at Citizens Business Bank Arena and played on Jan. 20, 2010 while the 2010 ECHL All-Star Skills Competition will be held on Jan. 19, 2010.

There are 11 rookies on the American Conference and 19 of the 21 players are making their first appearance in an ECHL All-Star Game.

There have been 58 players from the All-Star Game who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including 33 since 2002 when the lineups began having players who coaches felt were prospects to move up to a higher level.

The starting lineups are determined in voting by American Conference coaches, team captains, media directors, broadcasters and media members. Coaches also submitted the top prospects from within their conference to determine the final roster with each of the 12 teams having a representative.

The third class will be inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame on Jan. 20, 2010 during a luncheon ceremony at the Hilton Ontario Airport, the official host hotel of the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyota and the City of Ontario. The featured speaker at the ECHL Hall of Fame luncheon will be Hockey Hall of Fame member and Los Angeles Kings President of Business Operations Luc Robitaille.

Tickets for the luncheon are $40 each or a table with seven tickets can be purchased for $250. The Ontario Reign is offering a special ticket package that includes a tickets to the ECHL Hall of Fame luncheon, the All-Star Skills Competition, the Fan Fest at Dave & Busters and the ECHL All-Star Game for only $75. To purchase tickets visit OntarioReign.com/team/allstar/ or telephone the Ontario Reign at (909) 941-7825.

Ring in the New Year with the Stingrays on today, December 31 at 7:05 p.m. against the Florida Everblades. Thursday is also FREE PARKING! Be sure to arrive early to get your confetti and noise maker to help count down the New Year! Ticket packages and individual tickets are on sale now! Call the Stingrays front office at (843) 744-2248 for more information. For all the latest Stingrays news, visit www.stingrayshockey.com.

Check out the South Carolina Stingrays Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 31, 2009


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