Jonathan Roybal
MinorLeagueNews.com

Professional hockey fans in the northeast section of the country better stock up on the Ray-Bans. The NHL's future will be on display Monday, February 3, and let me tell you, the future is bright.

The 2003 AHL All-Star Classic will take place that day, with 48 of the best players in minor league hockey invading the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine, home of the AHL's Portland Pirates.

Need convincing that these youngsters are the future of the NHL? Consider this: Of the 262 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 92 percent have competed in the NHL.

The annual All-Star Game is made up of two teams, the Canadian AHL All-Star team, comprising players born in Canada; and the PlanetUSA AHL All-Star team, which contains players born in the United States and Europe. Luckily for the league, there are no all-stars yet from Mexico.

The two teams will consist of 21 skaters and three goaltenders. The AHL fans determined the starting lineup via on-line balloting on the league's website, while a committee of AHL coaches selected the remainder of the roster.

Introducing Team Canada

Eighteen members of the Canadian team have earned their first career AHL All-Star selections, including rookies Jason Spezza and Ray Emery of Binghamton, Jared Aulin of Manchester and Charlie Stephens of Hershey.

The league-leading Hamilton Bulldogs boast three starters on the Canadian AHL All-Star team: forwards Benoit Gratton and Jason Ward and goaltender Mathieu Garon. Hamilton will have a league-high five representatives at the event, as defenseman Mike Komisarek and goaltender Ty Conklin were named to the PlanetUSA team.

Manitoba Moose defenseman Brian Chapman was last month named captain of the Canadian AHL All-Star team. Portland Pirates forwards Peter and Chris Ferraro were given the same honor for PlanetUSA.

By virtue of leading the Chicago Wolves to the Calder Cup championship in 2002, John Anderson will serve as the head coach for the Canadian AHL All-Star team.

2003 Canadian AHL All-Star Team Starters

Mathieu Garon, Goaltender (Hamilton Bulldogs): Backstopping the top-ranked defense in the AHL, Mathieu Garon leads the league with a 1.99 goals against average and is second with his .928 save percentage. A second-round draft choice by Montreal in 1996, Garon (who turns 25 on Jan. 9) had a stellar junior career at Victoriaville (QMJHL), where he was named a First Team All-Star and the Canadian Major Junior Goaltender of the Year in 1998.

Ray Giroux, Defense (Albany River Rats): A member of last year's Eastern Conference champions from Bridgeport, Ray Giroux signed with the New Jersey Devils organization in the off-season, and currently ranks second on the Albany River Rats in scoring with 24 points in 36 games. Giroux, who finished in the top five among AHL defensemen in assists and points a year ago, played in the AHL All-Star Game in 2000 and 2002, totaling a goal and three assists in the two games.

John Slaney, Defense (Philadelphia Phantoms): Making his fourth consecutive AHL All-Star Classic appearance, John Slaney continues to be one of the leading offensive defensemen in the AHL. Slaney, who played parts of two seasons in Portland (1993-95) after being drafted ninth overall by Washington in 1990, has 71 goals and 138 assists for 209 points in 210 games since returning to the AHL in 1999. The MVP of the 2001 All-Star Game in Wilkes-Barre has five points in All-Star play, most of any defenseman in league history.

Benoit Gratton, Forward (Hamilton Bulldogs): Also a former Portland Pirate, Benoit Gratton is having a career year in 2002-03, leading the AHL in assists (36) and points (55) while captaining the league-leading Bulldogs. The Montreal native is on pace for 112 points this season, a total that would be the highest by an AHL player since 1995-96. Gratton played three seasons in Portland (1996-99) before joining the Calgary organization, where he had 46 points in 53 games for the eventual Calder Cup champions from Saint John in 2001.

Darren Haydar, Forward (Milwaukee Admirals): One of the headliners of the AHL's rookie class of 2003, Milwaukee's Darren Haydar has helped keep the Admirals in the thick of the West Division race since his three-point effort on opening night. A conference All-Star at the University of New Hampshire and the nation's second-leading scorer a year ago, Haydar has already impressed the parent Nashville Predators enough to earn a pair of recalls to the NHL.

Jason Ward, Forward (Hamilton Bulldogs): Selected by Montreal as the 11th overall pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Jason Ward is well on his way toward shattering the personal highs he set in 2001-02, when he recorded 24 goals, 33 assists and 57 points. The Bulldogs winger is second only to linemate Benoit Gratton in the league's scoring race, and his 11-game scoring streak from Nov. 2-22 (8g, 9a) is the second-longest in the AHL this season.

2003 Canadian AHL All-Star Team Reserves

Forwards                  Team                        DOB              Place of Birth

Aulin, Jared               Manchester               3/15/82          Calgary, Alta.
High-scoring rookie had 15 pts. in 10 games during December

Botterill, Jason         Rochester                 5/19/76          Edmonton, Alta
Former first-rounder has already set career high in goals

Hunter, Trent            Bridgeport                 7/ 5/80            Red Deer, Alta.
Made NHL debut with NYI during 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Papineau, Justin      Worcester                1/15/80          Ottawa, Ont.
Tied MVP Eric Boguniecki for AHL lead in goals (38) last yr.

Ready, Ryan             Manitoba                   11/ 7/78         Peterborough, Ont.
OHL All-Star at Belleville led Moose in playoff scoring in '02

Sim, Jon                    Utah                           9/29/77          New Glasgow, NS
Twice a 56-goal scorer in junior; won '99 Stanley Cup w/ DAL

Spezza, Jason         Binghamton              6/13/83          Mississauga, Ont.
First 19-year-old in All-Star Game since 2000 (Kalinin, Fata)

Stephens, Charlie    Hershey                    4/ 5/81            London, Ont.
Rookie leads all Hershey forwards in plus/minus rating

Tripp, John                Hartford                     5/ 4/77            Kingston, Ont.
Entered the season with 13 goals in 120 career AHL games

Trudel, Jean-Guy     Houston                    10/18/75        Sudbury, Ont.
AHL's leading scorer since 99-00 with 277 pts. in 261 games

Defensemen                  Team             DOB               Place of Birth

Chapman, Brian (C)         Manitoba       2/10/68          Brockville, Ont.
'91 Calder Cup champ has 72+ GP in 10 of 14 pro seasons

DuPont, Micki                   Saint John     4/15/80          Calgary, Alta.
Calgary native made NHL debut with Flames last year

Exelby, Garnet                 Chicago         8/16/81          Craik, Sask.
Big defenseman tops Wolves with plus-11 rating

McCarthy, Steve             Norfolk            2/3/81                Trail, B.C
Captained bronze-winning Team Canada at 2001 WJC

Roche, Travis                  Houston        6/17/78          Grand Cache, Alta.
'02 AHL Man of the Year won '00 NCAA title at N. Dakota

Westcott, Duvie              Syracuse       10/30/77        Winnipeg, Man.
Has four assists in 13 NHL games with Columbus this season

Goaltenders             Team             DOB                Place of Birth        

Emery, Ray               Binghamton              9/28/82          Hamilton, Ont.
Named Canadian Major Junior Goaltender of the Year in 2002

Lamothe, Marc         Grand Rapids          2/27/74          New Liskeard,Ont.
Tied for league lead in wins, third in minutes played

Introducing Team PlanetUSA

Seventeen members of the PlanetUSA team will be making their AHL All-Star debuts, including rookies John Pohl of Worcester, Jeff Taffe of Springfield, Mike Komisarek of Hamilton, Filip Novak of San Antonio and Niko Dimitrakos and Jim Fahey of Cleveland. All told, 35 of the 48 players chosen to head to Portland will be making their AHL All-Star debuts.

Providence Bruins defenseman Rich Brennan will establish league records by appearing in his seventh career AHL All-Star Game and his seventh in a row. Brennan has also been selected a starter for the fourth time in his career.

Hamilton Bulldogs head coach Claude Julien will be behind the bench for PlanetUSA, as a result of his club owning the league's best points percentage after play on January 12.

2003 PlanetUSA AHL All-Star Team Starters

Philippe Sauve, Goaltender (Hershey Bears): Now in his third campaign with the Hershey Bears, Philippe Sauve has been selected to his first AHL All-Star Classic. Born in Buffalo (where his father Bob, a former Bears goaltender, was playing for the NHL's Sabres), Sauve has a record of 13-7-5 this season, and his 2.18 goals against average is fourth-lowest in the AHL. A second-round draft choice by Colorado in 1998, the 22-year-old Sauve was named team MVP in each of his first two seasons in Chocolatetown.

Rich Brennan, Defense (Providence Bruins): Rich Brennan will make AHL history when he surpasses Fred Glover and Dunc Fisher as the only seven-time participant in an AHL All-Star Game. A Calder Cup champion in 1997 with the Hershey Bears, the native of Schenectady, N.Y., set an All-Star Game record by scoring two goals in 17 seconds during the 2001 event, and tied Glover and Fisher in 2002 by skating one shift despite a broken wrist. In addition to his 419 career AHL matches, Brennan has skated in 43 NHL contests with Nashville, Los Angeles, the N.Y. Rangers, San Jose and Colorado.

Brian Pothier, Defense (Binghamton Senators): A former All-American at RPI, Brian Pothier has anchored the defense for the first-year Binghamton Senators in 2002-03. The third-year pro spent the last two seasons in the Atlanta Thrashers organization, last year skating in 39 games with the eventual Calder Cup champion Chicago Wolves. Pothier, 25, has 19 points and a team-leading plus-15 rating in 33 contests with Binghamton.

Niko Dimitrakos, Forward (Cleveland Barons): For the 2003 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic, Barons rookie Niko Dimitrakos returns to the Pine Tree State, where he was a four-year standout at the University of Maine and a member of the Black Bears' 1999 national championship team. The AHL's Rookie of the Month for October, the 23-year-old Dimitrakos leads Cleveland in assists and points while playing in all 36 of the club's games.

Matt Herr, Forward (Providence Bruins): Making his second consecutive appearance in the AHL All-Star Classic, Matt Herr has averaged a point per game in his first season with the Providence Bruins. The New Jersey native played in Portland from 1998-2001, twice topping the 20-goal mark for the Pirates. Herr, a four-year standout at the University of Michigan, has appeared in 55 career NHL games with the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers.

John Pohl, Forward (Worcester IceCats): The nation's leading scorer with 79 points at the University of Minnesota last season, John Pohl joined the St. Louis organization after leading the Golden Gophers to the 2002 NCAA championship over Maine. One of two former Minnesota High School Players of the Year on the PlanetUSA roster (Jeff Taffe is the other), Pohl currently leads all AHL rookies in scoring with 38 points in 36 games for the IceCats.

2003 PlanetUSA AHL All-Star Team Reserves

Forwards                              Team             DOB    Place of Birth         

Ferraro, Chris (C)             Portland         1/24/73          Port Jefferson, N.Y.   
Scored winning shootout goals in '97 and '99 All-Star games

Ferraro, Peter (C)            Portland         1/24/73          Port Jefferson, N.Y.
'99 Calder Cup MVP has 446 pts. in 419 career AHL games

Hedstrom, Jonathan          Cincinnati      12/27/77        Skelleftea,Sweden
Swedish forward making his North American debut this season

Hilbert, Andy                        Providence     2/6/81           Howell, Mich.
'02 AHL All-Rookie forward led Bruins with 53 pts. last year

Kraft, Milan                          Wilkes-Barre   1/17/80        Plzen, Czech Rep.
Also has 5+4=9 pts. in 12 games with Pittsburgh in '02-'03

Mowers, Mark            Grand Rapids       2/16/74          Whitesboro, N.Y.
All-American at UNH spent last four years in Nashville system

Peluso, Mike                        Norfolk           9/2/74             Bismarck, N.Dak.
Team leader in assists, points has just 8 PIM on the year

Ponikarovsky, Alexei         St. John's      4/9/80             Kiev, Ukraine
2002 Olympian also played 10 playoff games for Toronto

Taffe, Jeff                             Springfield    2/19/81          Hastings, Minn.
2nd-rounder in '00 ranks fourth among AHL rookies in scoring

Varlamov, Sergei                Worcester    6/21/78          Kiev, Ukraine
Plus/minus rating of +19 ranks third among all AHL forwards

Defensemen                        Team             DOB    Place of Birth        

Fahey, Jim                            Cleveland      5/11/79          Milton, Mass.
Boston-area native scored first NHL goal 12/23 at FleetCenter

Komisarek, Mike                Hamilton       1/19/82          West Islip, N.Y.
7th overall pick in 2001 was +15 in 15 games during December

Malec, Tomas                      Lowell            5/13/82          Skalica, Slovakia
Tallied an assist in NHL debut with Carolina, 12/15 @ MIN

Novak, Filip                      San Antonio      5/7/82   Ceske Budejovice, Czech Rep   Acquired from NYR by Florida in 2002 Pavel Bure trade

Zizka, Tomas               Manchester      10/10/79        Sternberk, Czech Rep.   Has already surpassed his point total (21) from 2001-02

Goaltenders                         Team             DOB                Place of Birth        

Conklin, Ty                            Hamilton     3/30/76             Anchorage, Alaska
Former UNH standout was Hobey Baker finalist in '00 and '01

DiPietro, Rick                       Bridgeport   9/19/81            Winthrop, Mass.
1st pick in 2000 draft led Sound Tigers to '02 Calder Cup Final

The 2003 AHL All-Star Classic gets underway on Sunday, February 2, with the All-Star Skills Competition. The annual All-Star Game follows on Monday, February 3, and will be televised coast to coast to more than 40 million households throughout Canada and across the United States.