Salmelainen selected to play in 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic

January 27, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Edmonton Road Runners News Release


Edmonton Road Runners forward Tony Salmelainen has been selected to play for PlanetUSA in the 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic.

The 5'9", 185-pound native of Espoo, Finland currently leads the Road Runners in scoring with 31 points (15-16-31) in 41 games. Salmelainen also leads the Road Runners in goals (15), assists (16) and plus/minus (+21) and is also tied for the team lead with three game-winning goals.

PlanetUSA, which is comprised of players born in the United States and Europe, will face-off against the Canadian All-Star Team, which was announced on Wednesday. AHL fans determined the starting lineups of both teams via on-line balloting, while a committee of AHL coaches selected the remainder of the rosters. All 28 teams are represented by at least one all-star.

Of the 328 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 92 percent have competed in the NHL, including Daniel Briere, Andrew Brunette, Anson Carter, Pavol Demitra, Rick DiPietro, J.P. Dumont, Patrik Elias, Manny Legace, John Madden, Ladislav Nagy, Vaclav Prospal, Martin St. Louis, Marc Savard, Steve Sullivan and Tomas Vokoun.

The 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic will take place at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., home of the AHL's Manchester Monarchs. The event gets underway on Sunday, February 13, with the 2005 AHL All-Star Skills Competition at 5:00 p.m. (MT). The annual All-Star Game follows at 5:00 p.m. (MT) on Monday, February 14, and will be televised live nationally on Rogers Sportsnet.



American Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2005


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