Leach Named Atlantic Division Coach for 2018 AHL All-Star Classic
January 3, 2018 - American Hockey League (AHL) - Providence Bruins News Release
Providence, RI - The American Hockey League announced that Providence Bruins Head Coach Jay Leach has clinched the honor of coaching the Atlantic Division at the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Turning Stone Resort Casino. The Bruins owned the best record in their division as of the pre-determined deadline: the end of play on Dec. 31. Sheldon Keefe of the Toronto Marlies, Pascal Vincent of the Manitoba Moose and Mike Van Ryn of the Tucson Roadrunners will be the other coaches at the event to be held January 28-29 in Utica, N.Y.
The AHL's All-Stars will be divided into four teams, one representing each of the league's four divisions, for the 2018 AHL All-Star Challenge on Jan. 29. The teams will participate in a round-robin tournament featuring six games of 10 minutes each, played entirely at 3-on-3. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin will face off for the championship, a six-minute game also played at 3-on-3.
The 2018 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 28 will pit the All-Stars from the two Eastern Conference divisions against those from the two Western Conference divisions in seven skills events.
Leach will coach the Atlantic Division All-Star team after guiding Providence to the best record in the Eastern Conference over the first three months of the season (21-8-3-0, .703). Leach, 38, is in his first full season as an AHL head coach but will actually be making his second All-Star appearance; he represented Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2016 following Mike Sullivan's promotion to Pittsburgh.
Playing rosters for the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Turning Stone Resort Casino will be announced later this week.
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 31 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 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. In 2016-17, over 6 million fans attended AHL regular-season and playoff games across North America for the 16th year in a row.
The Providence Bruins are the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Boston Bruins, playing their home games at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, RI. Spanning more than 25 years, the Boston/Providence affiliation is one of the longest and most successful player development partnerships in professional hockey history.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2018
- MONSTERS SIGN RIGHT WING SAM KURKER TO PROFESSIONAL TRYOUT CONTRACT - Cleveland Monsters
- Reign Assign Forward Keegan Iverson to Manchester (ECHL) - Ontario Reign
- Manitoba Moose Harkins Reassigned to Jacksonville - Manitoba Moose
- Sound Tigers Open Road Trip Tonight in Pennsylvania - Bridgeport Sound Tigers
- BLUE JACKETS ASSIGN FORWARD ZAC DALPE, D-MAN DEAN KUKAN TO MONSTERS - Cleveland Monsters
- BLUE JACKETS ASSIGN FORWARD ZAC DALPE, D-MAN DEAN KUKAN TO MONSTERS - Cleveland Monsters
- Monsters Outlast IceHogs - Cleveland Monsters
- Iowa Wild Reassigns Forward Chase Lang to Rapid City - Iowa Wild
- Manitoba Moose Michael Hutchinson Named CCM/AHL Goaltender - Manitoba Moose
- Mike Amadio Named CCM/AHL Player of the Month - Ontario Reign
- Daniel Sprong Named CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Amadio, Sprong, Hutchinson Named CCM/AHL Award Winners for December - AHL
- Husso Stopped 54 of 55 Shots Faced During Last Two Starts - San Antonio Rampage
- P-Bruins Week in Review: 12/27/17 - 1/2/18 - Providence Bruins
- San Antonio's Ville Husso Named CCM/AHL Player of the Week - AHL
- Penguins Kick off New Year against Division Rivals - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- SPECTRA INTRODUCES NEW 'HOCKEY HAPPY HOUR' IN THE COMCAST COLISEUM CLUB AT THE XL CENTER - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Leach Named Atlantic Division Coach for 2018 AHL All-Star Classic - Providence Bruins
- Penguins Recall Wydo and Gardiner from Nailers - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Coyotes Recall Capobianco, Assign Campbell to Tucson - Tucson Roadrunners
- Colorado Avalanche Recalls Forward A.J. Greer from San Antonio - San Antonio Rampage
- Iowa's Comeback Attempt Falls Short against Chicago - Iowa Wild
- Fritz Recalled by New York Islanders - Bridgeport Sound Tigers
- Wolves Edge Iowa to Extend Point Streak - Chicago Wolves
- Hellebuyck Named First Star of the Week - Manitoba Moose
- COACHES NAMED FOR 2018 AHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC - AHL
- BLUE JACKETS ADD ZAC DALPE TO ROSTER ON EMERGENCY RECALL FROM MONSTERS - Cleveland Monsters
- Condors Close 2017 with 3-1 Win in Stockton - Bakersfield Condors
- Griffins Fly into New Year on Three-Game Winning Streak - Grand Rapids Griffins
- San Antonio Scores in Final Second to Defeat San Diego - San Antonio Rampage
- Wolf Pack Release Branden Troock from PTO - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Penguins Reassign Wydo and Gardiner to ECHL - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Phantoms Visit Toronto, Rochester Next Weekend - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
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.
