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Ontario Hockey League Announces Rosters for 2008 OHL All-Star Classic in Sault Ste. Marie

January 15, 2008 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL) News Release


Sault Ste. Marie, ON - The Ontario Hockey League today announced the rosters of players that will compete in the 2008 OHL All-Star Classic at the Steelback Centre in Sault Ste. Marie on February 5 and 6, 2008.

The rosters of 20 players to represent each of the Eastern and Western Conferences were selected by the management teams of Dave Torrie of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Dave Barr of the Guelph Storm for the Western Conference and George Burnett of the Belleville Bulls and Jeff Twohey of the Peterborough Petes for the Eastern Conference. They were required to include at least one player from each team in the OHL and the rosters were limited to three overage players and two Import players.

"It is always a challenge to select the rosters of players that will compete in this game," said OHL Commissioner David Branch. "There are so many players deserving of the honour of playing in the game and we're confident that our management teams have put together the very best rosters possible. We are fortunate to have another outstanding crop of players that will play in the OHL All-Star Classic this year and look forward to what is sure to be an outstanding event."

The Western Conference All-Star team will be coached by Mike Vellucci of the Plymouth Whalers, who was named OHL coach of the year last year after guiding the Whalers to the OHL Championship. Mike Foligno of the Sudbury Wolves will coach the Eastern Conference squad after guiding the Wolves to the Eastern Conference championship last year.

The OHL All-Star Classic rosters include all 10 OHL members of Canada's gold medal winning National Junior Team.

Matt Halischuk and Steve Mason of the Kitchener Rangers, Wayne Simmonds and Josh Godfrey of the Greyhounds Steve Stamkos of the Sarnia Sting and Drew Doughty of the Guelph Storm will represent the West while Shawn Matthias and P.K. Subban of the Belleville Bulls, John Tavares of the Oshawa Generals and Stefan Legein of the Niagara IceDogs will represent the East.

The game will also feature four of the top five North American prospects for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Stamkos and Doughty were rated first and second respectively in the NHL Central Scouting mid-term rankings announced last week while Zach Bogosian (third) of the Peterborough Petes and Alex Pietrangelo (fifth) of the Niagara IceDogs will suit up for the Eastern Conference.

"We are very proud to host the OHL All-Star Classic in the new Steelback Centre and the community of Sault Ste. Marie," Branch said. "We extend our most sincere appreciation to Dr. Lou Lukenda, Dr. George Shunock as well as Frank Sarlo, chair of the organizing committee, and the entire Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds' organization for all of their efforts in hosting this event."

2008 OHL All-Star Classic Rosters

Western Conference All-Stars

Goaltenders

Steve Mason, Kitchener Rangers

Jeremy Smith, Plymouth Whalers

Defencemen

Michael Caruso, Guelph Storm

Wes Cunningham, Plymouth Whalers

Drew Doughty, Guelph Storm

Josh Godfrey, S.S. Marie Greyhounds

David Kolomatis, Owen Sound Attack

Yannick Weber, Kitchener Rangers

Forwards

Justin Azevedo, Kitchener Rangers

Jack Combs, Saginaw Spirit

Justin DiBenedetto, Sarnia Sting

Matt Halischuk, Kitchener Rangers

Justin Hodgman, Erie Otters

Dustin Jeffrey, S.S. Marie Greyhounds

Pat Maroon, London Knights

Wayne Simmonds, S.S. Marie Greyhounds

Bradley Snetsinger, Windsor Spitfires

Nick Spaling, Kitchener Rangers

Steve Stamkos, Sarnia Sting

Chris Terry, Plymouth Whalers

Management Team

Dave Torrie, S.S. Marie Greyhounds

Dave Barr, Guelph Storm

Head Coach

Mike Vellucci, Plymouth Whalers

Assistant Coach

Todd Watson, Saginaw Spirit

Eastern Conference All-Stars

Goaltenders

Mike Murphy, Belleville Bulls

Bryan Pitton, Brampton Battalion

Defencemen

Zach Bogosian, Peterborough Petes

Tyler Cuma, Ottawa 67's

Ryan McGinnis, Oshawa Generals

Alex Pietrangelo, Niagara IceDogs

Bobby Sanguinetti, Brampton Battalion

P.K. Subban, Belleville Bulls

Forwards

Matt Beleskey, Belleville Bulls

Luca Caputi, Niagara IceDogs

Logan Couture, Ottawa 67's

Kaspars Daugavins, Mississauga St. Michael's Majors

Stefan Legein, Niagara IceDogs

Brett MacLean, Oshawa Generals

Cody Hodgson, Brampton Battalion

Alex Hutchings, Barrie Colts

Shawn Matthias, Belleville Bulls

Nathan Moon, Kingston Frontenacs

Jared Staal, Sudbury Wolves

John Tavares, Oshawa Generals

Management Team

George Burnett, Belleville Bulls

Jeff Twohey, Peterborough Petes

Head Coach

Mike Foligno, Sudbury Wolves

Assistant Coach

Bryan Verreault, Sudbury Wolves

About the OHL All-Star Classic

The 2008 OHL All-Star Classic will feature 40 of the league's brightest stars in an Eastern Conference versus Western Conference showdown format. It is a two-day event that includes the OHL All-Star Skills Competition and Three-on-Three Game on Tuesday February 5, along with the All-Star Luncheon and OHL All-Star Classic on Wednesday February 6.

The OHL All-Star Game was first played in 1977 in Sudbury when the Emms Division defeated the Leyden Division 6-5 in overtime. The Emms vs. Leyden format continued for nine seasons through 1985 following which the game was replaced by the OHL/QMJHL All-Star Challenge Series. The East-West format was re-introduced for the 2004 OHL All-Star Classic in Peterborough. Last year's contest was held in Saginaw, Michigan where the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 13-9. Steven Stamkos of the Sarnia Sting and Hunter Tremblay of the Barrie Colts were the players of the game.

The OHL All-Star Classic was last hosted in Sault Ste. Marie in 1979 when Gary Green led the Leyden Division to an 8-6 win over the Emms Division squad coached by the late Bert Templeton. That game included current Greyhounds' coach Craig Hartsburg on defence as well as Mike Foligno, who will coach the Eastern Conference squad in this year's game.

The OHL All-Star Game has featured many of the league's most famous graduates, including current NHL stars Joe Thornton, Rick Nash, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Patrick Kane.

The 2008 OHL All-Star Classic is supported by OHL partners Boston Pizza, All Weather Windows, Subway, NAPA and Reebok.

2008 OHL All-Star Classic Itinerary

Tuesday February 5, 2008

4:30 p.m. Media Reception and Player Introduction - Steelback Centre

7:00 p.m. All-Star Skills Competition and Three-on-Three Game - Steelback Centre

8:30 p.m. Player autograph session - Steelback Centre

Wednesday February 6, 2008

9:00 a.m. Team East - Game day skate and team photo - Steelback Centre

10:00 a.m. Team West - Game day skate and team photo - Steelback Centre

11:30 a.m. All-Star Luncheon

7:00 p.m. OHL All-Star Classic

Check out the Ontario Hockey League Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 15, 2008


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