Sports stats

AHL Syracuse Crunch

Kristers Gudlevskis, Matt Taormina Join Mike Angelidis as 2016 AHL All-Stars

January 7, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The American Hockey League has announced goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis and defenseman Matt Taormina will join center Mike Angelidis in representing the Syracuse Crunch on the North Division team at the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

Gudlevskis, 23, has appeared in 14 games with the Crunch this season, recording a 2.48 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. The 6-foot-3, 218-pound goaltender made a career-high 47 saves on 48 shots against Utica on Nov. 14 before earning his first shutout of the season against Bridgeport, stopping all 31 shots, on Nov. 29. Gudlevskis also appeared in one game with the Tampa Bay Lightning this season, a 1-0 overtime loss against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 24 at United Center. The netminder was the game's third star, making 31 saves on 32 shots. The Aizkraukle, Latvia native was selected in the fifth round, 124 overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. This is Gudlevskis first appearance at the All-Star Classic.

Taormina, 29, has skated in 29 contests with Syracuse, tallying 17 points (7g, 10a), ranking him second among Crunch defenseman. He is also second on the team in power-play points with nine (3g, 6a), in plus/minus with a plus-4 rating and in shots with 71. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound defenseman made his NHL season debut with the Lightning on Nov. 16. The Warren, Michigan native is in his second stint with the Lightning and was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the team on July 1. This will be Taormina's second consecutive AHL All-Star Classic. He was also selected for the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic, but did not participate.

Angelidis, 30, was named captain of the Eastern Conference All-Stars by the AHL on Jan. 5. He is in his 10th professional season in 2015-16, and fourth as captain of the Syracuse Crunch. The Woodbridge, Ontario native has appeared in 605 regular-season games in his AHL career, totaling 121 goals and 132 assists for 253 points and posting at least 10 goals and 100 penalty minutes in eight straight seasons from 2007 to 2015. Angelidis, who captained the Norfolk Admirals to a Calder Cup championship in 2012 and returned to the Finals with the Crunch in 2013, has also skated in 14 career NHL games with Tampa Bay. Angelidis will be making his AHL All-Star Classic debut.

Below is the complete list of 2016 AHL All-Stars:

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

BRI - Ryan Pulock, Joe Whitney

HFD - Ryan Graves

HER - Chris Bourque, Connor Carrick

LV - Nick Cousins, Anthony Stolarz

POR - Rob Schremp

PRO - Seth Griffith

SPR - Dustin Jeffrey

WBS - Matt Murray, Derrick Pouliot, Dominik Simon

North Division

ALB - Yann Danis, Mike Sislo

BNG - Michael Kostka

RCH - Cal O'Reilly

STJ - Mark Barberio, Michael McCarron

SYR - Mike Angelidis, Kristers Gudlevskis, Matt Taormina

TOR - T.J. Brennan, Josh Leivo, William Nylander

UTI - Hunter Shinkaruk

Western Conference

Central Division

CHA - Trevor Carrick, Derek Ryan

CHI - Andre Benoit, Pat Cannone

GR - Jeff Hoggan, Xavier Ouellet

IA - Gustav Olofsson

LE - Kerby Rychel

MB - Connor Hellebuyck

MIL - Frederick Gaudreau, Vladislav Kamenev

RFD - Ryan Hartman, Michael Leighton

Pacific Division

BAK - Laurent Brossoit, Brad Hunt

ONT - Peter Budaj, Vincent LoVerde, Michael Mersch

SA - Mikko Rantanen

SD - Brandon Montour, Nick Ritchie

SJ - Barclay Goodrow

STK - Derek Grant

TEX - Esa Lindell, Travis Morin, Brendan Ranford

The 2016 rosters feature 37 first-time AHL All-Stars, nine rookies and 10 former first-round draft choices. In addition, 23 of the All-Stars named have appeared in the National Hockey League already this season.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins associate coach Jay Leach, Toronto Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe, Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason and Ontario Reign head coach Mike Stothers will serve as coaches for the event.

Tickets for the two-day 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic are on sale now. Ticket prices range from $40-60 and can be purchased either in person at the Syracuse Crunch office located in the War Memorial Arena at 800 South State Street in Syracuse, by calling (315) 473-4444 or through all Ticketmaster outlets.

In 22 seasons, 36 Crunch players have been selected to participate in the AHL All-Star Classic. Previous selections are Lonny Bohonos and Scott Walker (1994-95), Brian Loney (1995-96), Larry Courville and John Namestnikov (1996-97), Mark Wotton and Robert Dome (1997-98), Boris Protsenko and Valentin Morozov (1998-99), Harold Druken and Chris O'Sullivan (1999-00), Mike Gaul (2000-01), Derrick Walser and Duvie Westcott (2001-02), Karl Goehring (2002-03), Aaron Johnson (2003-04), Alexander Svitov (2004-05), Andy Delmore and Mark Hartigan (2005-06), Filip Novak (2006-07), Derick Brassard, Joakim Lindstrom and Clay Wilson (2007-08), Nikita Filatov and Derek MacKenzie (2008-09), Dan Fritsche (2009-10), Kyle Palmieri (2010-11 & 2011-12), Mark Barberio, Tyler Johnson, Radko Gudas and Richard Panik (2012-13), Brett Connolly (2013-14) and Jonathan Marchessault and Vladislav Namestnikov (2014-15).

The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 31 (8 p.m. ET) will keep its traditional format, with All-Stars from the Eastern Conference squaring off against All-Stars from the Western Conference in seven skills events.

The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Challenge will take place on the evening of Feb. 1 (7 p.m. ET). Instead of a traditional 60-minute game, the AHL's All-Stars will be divided into four teams, one representing each of the league's divisions (Atlantic, North, Central, Pacific). The teams will then play a round-robin tournament featuring six games of nine minutes each; the first half of each game will be played at 4-on-4, and the second half at 3-on-3. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin tournament will face off for the championship, a six-minute game played at 3-on-3.

The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic in Syracuse will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: Of the 679 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 93 percent have competed in the National Hockey League, including Patrice Bergeron, Ben Bishop, Troy Brouwer, Ryan Callahan, Zdeno Chara, Logan Couture, Jiri Hudler, Tyler Johnson, Chris Kunitz, Ryan Miller, Gustav Nyquist, Zach Parise,Tuukka Rask, Pekka Rinne, Bobby Ryan, Cory Schneider, Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal, P.K. Subban and Mats Zuccarello.

In operation since 1936 and celebrating its 80th-anniversary season in 2015-16, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today's NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 14th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2014-15.

Syracuse Crunch single game and season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased either in person at the Crunch Box Office located in the War Memorial at 800 South State Street in Syracuse or by calling the office at 315-473-4444. For the latest Crunch news, visit www.syracusecrunch.com or follow the club on Facebook (www.facebook.com/syracusecrunch), Twitter (@SyracuseCrunch) and Instagram (@officialsyracusecrunch) using #SyrCrunch and #BelieveInBlue.

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 7, 2016


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Syracuse Crunch Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central