AHL American Hockey League

Kocur, Graves named AHL All-Star honorary captains

Published on January 15, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, MA ... The American Hockey League announced today that Joe Kocur and Adam Graves have been named the honorary team captains for next month's 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Currently an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings, Joe Kocur spent parts of 10 seasons playing in Hockeytown, and was a member of the Wings' Stanley Cup championship teams in 1997 and 1998. He began his pro career with Detroit's AHL affiliate in Glens Falls, N.Y., during the 1984 Calder Cup Playoffs, and played 56 games over the next two seasons for Adirondack. Kocur went on to skate for the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks before returning to Detroit in 1996, and he joined the Red Wings' coaching staff as a video coordinator upon his retirement in 2000.

Kocur will serve as the honorary captain for the PlanetUSA AHL All-Star team.

Adam Graves also debuted with the AHL's Adirondack Red Wings and helped the club win a Calder Cup championship in 1989. He scored one of the most memorable goals in AHL history that spring: the overtime winner in Game 7 of the league semifinals against Hershey to cap the Wings' comeback from an 0-3 series deficit. A second-round draft pick by Detroit in 1986, Graves went on to win two Stanley Cups as well, in 1990 with Edmonton and as a teammate of Joe Kocur's with the N.Y. Rangers in 1994. A recipient of the NHL's King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his leadership and work in the community, Graves registered eight 20-goal seasons over his 15 years from 1988-2003.

Graves will serve as the honorary captain for the Canadian AHL All-Star team.

Of the 295 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 91 percent have competed in the NHL, including Daniel Briere, Andrew Brunette, Anson Carter, Pavol Demitra, Rick DiPietro, J.P. Dumont, Mike Dunham, Patrik Elias, Rico Fata, Manny Legace, John Madden, Brendan Morrison, Ladislav Nagy, Vaclav Prospal, Dwayne Roloson, Martin St. Louis, Marc Savard, Jason Spezza, Steve Sullivan and Tomas Vokoun.

The 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic will take place at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., home of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins. The event gets underway on Sun., February 8, with the 2004 AHL All-Star Skills Competition at 7:00 p.m. (ET), with the annual All-Star Game following at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on Mon., February 9. The 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic will be televised to 100 million households on 18 regional television partners in the United States and on Rogers Sportsnet nationally in Canada.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 15, 2004


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