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AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Pouliot and Zatkoff Join Kostopoulos in Representing Eastern Conference at 2015 AHL All-Star Classic

January 6, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, in conjunction with the American Hockey League, announced today that defenseman Derrick Pouliot and goaltender Jeff Zatkoff have been named to the Eastern Conference team at the 2015 AHL All-Star Classic, presented by Turning Stone Resort Casino and taking place at the Utica Memorial Auditorium on Jan. 25-26.

The two players join Penguins captain Tom Kostopoulos, who was selected to serve as playing captain for the Eastern Conference All-Stars on Dec. 19, 2014.

In 19 games this season for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Zatkoff has compiled a record of 11-6-2. He currently ranks first in the league in goals against average (1.69), is tied for first in save percentage (.932) and tied for second in shutouts (3).

The seventh-year veteran has made 182 appearances over his AHL career with Manchester and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, posting a 118-92-13 record with a 2.34 goals against average, a .918 save percentage and 16 shutouts. As a member of the Penguins, Zatkoff's 1.69 goals against average led the league during the 2012-13 season. This marks the netminder's second selection to the AHL All-Star Classic as he was also named to the Eastern Conference squad in 2012.

Originally a third-round pick (74th overall) of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2006 NHL Draft, Zatkoff made his NHL debut last season with Pittsburgh Penguins. He has gone 12-7-2 over 21 total NHL contests, all with Pittsburgh.

Currently on recall with Pittsburgh, Pouliot stands as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's leading scorer with 20 points (7G-13A) in 23 games. The 20-year-old blueliner also leads all AHL rookies and is tied for first among defensemen with 13 points on the power play.

Pouliot was selected by Pittsburgh with the eighth overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. He appeared in his first NHL game with the Penguins on Dec. 20, 2014 and has gone on to playing seven games, registering one goal and two assists.

Pouliot skated with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League for four-plus seasons (2009-14) and was the recipient of the Canadian Hockey League and WHL Defenseman of the Year Awards last season after setting career highs in goals (17), assists (53), points (70) and plus/minus (+40) in 58 games.

A very limited number of tickets remain available for the 2015 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Turning Stone Resort Casino. They can be purchased in person at the Utica Memorial Auditorium box office (10-4 ET), by phone at 800-693-8000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets for the two-day event are priced as low as $69 and include admission to both the All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 25 and the All-Star Game on Jan. 26.

The 2015 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Turning Stone Resort Casino will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: Of the 644 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 94 percent have competed in the National Hockey League, including Patrice Bergeron, Daniel Briere, Ryan Callahan, Zdeno Chara, Jimmy Howard, Niklas Kronwall, Chris Kunitz, Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Tuukka Rask, Pekka Rinne, Bobby Ryan, Martin St. Louis, Cory Schneider, Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza and Eric Staal.

PENGUINS IN THE AHL ALL-STAR GAME

2000 John Slaney

2001 Toby Petersen (S), John Slaney (S), Billy Tibbetts*, Andrew Ference, Greg Crozier

2002 Tom Kostopoulos, Shane Endicott*

2003 Ross Lupaschuk, Tomas Surovy, Milan Kraft*

2004 Matt Murley

2005 Michel Ouellet (S)

2006 Noah Welch, Dany Sabourin, Tomas Surovy*, Michel Ouellet*

2007 Jonathan Filewich, Noah Welch*

2008 Alex Goligoski, Jeff Taffe*

2009 Ben Lovejoy, Jeff Taffe, Chris Minard (S)

2010 Dustin Jeffrey (S)

2011 Brad Thiessen (S)*, Dustin Jeffrey*, Robert Bortuzzo, Eric Tangradi, John Curry

2012 Simon Despres (S)*, Colin McDonald

2013 Beau Bennett*, Chad Kolarik

2014 Brian Gibbons

* did not play due to injury/call up

S Starter

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